Karolin Schwab

Karolin Schwab (*1987 in Stralsund) is a Berlin-based artist whose sculptural and site-specific works are characterized by a clear, minimalist formal language. Her artistic practice operates at the intersection of sculpture, installation, and architecture, addressing fundamental questions of space, identity, and belonging.

With poetic precision, she creates works that are not only aesthetically compelling but also provoke reflection on the relationship between humans and their surroundings. The tension between interior and exterior, between body and structure, between nature and construction, forms a recurring motif in her work.

Geometric basic forms—particularly circles, lines, surfaces, or abstracted outlines of houses—are central elements of her visual language. They function as symbols that enable universal readability and touch on deeper layers of experience and memory. Schwab is less concerned with the object itself than with its integration into a broader context—be it landscape, architectural, or social.

Schwab studied Fine Art at the University of East London before continuing her studies at the Berlin University of the Arts, where she became a master student of Ai Weiwei. Her work has since been exhibited internationally, including at the ARKEN Museum of Modern Art in Denmark, Grizedale Sculpture Forest in the UK, the Biennale Lindau, and in various galleries and art associations in Germany, France, the USA, and the UK.

One of her most prominent recent projects is the series My Floating Home, in which Schwab integrates sculptural house forms made of red-coated steel into open waters. These works create a powerful visual image of fragility and mobility, exploring themes such as home, migration, and the concept of locating oneself. They are featured as part of PURPLE PATH, a large-scale sculpture trail for Chemnitz 2025 – European Capital of Culture.

Karolin Schwab has received multiple awards for her work. Most recently, in 2023, she was awarded the CeU Art Award and a grant from the Stiftung Kunstfonds as part of the Neustart Kultur program. She is a member of the Royal Society of Sculptors in London—an acknowledgment of her contribution to contemporary sculpture.