Lives and works in Vienna – as an art director, publisher and photographer.

Portrait: Kris Micallef

Exhibitions

GAYT PRIDE Exhibition ‘23

13 artists show their different approaches to the theme.

Gay Pride flags flew for the first time at the Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco 45 years ago, on 25 June 1978. Before that, the Pink Triangle had been used as a symbol for the LGBT community, although it represents a dark chapter in the history of homosexuality. The Nazi regime had used it to mark and stigmatise men who were interned as homosexuals in concentration camps. To stop identifying with a symbol of oppression, the community sought a new, inspiring symbol. 

Originally designed by artist Gilbert Baker, along with Lynn Segerblom, James McNamara and other activists, the design was revised several times after its debut in 1978. The colors of the gay pride flag reflect the diversity of the LGBTQIA+ community and the spectrum of human sexuality and gender.

Although Baker's original rainbow flag had eight colors, the most common version since 1979 to this day consists of six stripes: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. Each of the colors was originally assigned a special meaning: Red stands for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, blue for serenity and violet for spirit.

The two colors that "got lost" were pink (for sex) and turquoise (for magic). Actually a great pity!

Group show at GAYT Gallery / Vienna
June 2023

Divine Queens – Dark Knights

An ode to the masters of transformation: radiant drag icons like Candy Licious, Eimer KantWurst, Dopa Mania and "13" meet dark heroes in rubber & leather in this exhibition. Peter Schmid portrays the dress-up of the artists and models, exploring their new identities as social media influencers, role models and erotic projection surfaces. The photographs not only depict the fascinating appearances, they also make the people behind the "beauties of the night" tangible.

Solo exhibition at ROPP / Vienna
May to July 2023

My Gay Eye #19 – Sex Utopia

“The nineteenth issue of the gay anthology is about exploring erotic utopias, the sex of the future or the future of sex, secret desires, fantasies and stories, wet dreams and the images that artists have not yet dared to show. It is about freedom and experimentation with the new.”
The book publication was followed by an exhibition at Berlin's cult bookstore Eisenherz with works by the selected photographers.

Group show at Eisenherz / Berlin
December 2022