Diane Simpson: Dressing Up constitutes the first European retrospective of the work of the pioneering American sculptor and is accompanied by Simpson’s first comprehensive monograph and catalogue raisonné. The exhibition traces five decades of practice, foregrounding how Simpson—influenced by minimalist conceptual rigor and the popular figuration of the Chicago Imagists—synthesizes precise form, ornamental vocabularies, and pronounced corporeality. Large-format sculptures are shown alongside preparatory drawings, making visible the process of translation from sartorial and architectural sources into spatial structures. The project reconsiders categories historically marginalized within western modernism (craft, ornament, and bodily presence) while critically reframing their gendered coding. It also demonstrates how Simpson’s cross-disciplinary methods, “non-artistic” procedures, and attention to display, architecture, and staging provide a pertinent lens through which to view social, cultural, and gendered standardizations of the body. The exhibition and publication aim to consolidate scholarship on Simpson and expand debates on modern and contemporary sculpture.

Diane Simpson is a Chicago-based artist whose practice encompasses sculptural work and meticulous preparatory drawings. Taking inspiration from clothing, architecture, and everyday materials, she transforms structural and cultural references into refined, spatially complex forms. Simpson studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (1971–78). Her work has been featured in numerous exhibitions across the United States, including the Whitney Biennial (2019), the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (2016), the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston (2015), and the Chicago Cultural Center (2010).  Simpson presented a solo exhibition at the American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, and the outdoor installation Good for Future on the Bluhm Family Terrace at the Art Institute of Chicago (both 2025–26). In Europe, her first presentation took place at Nottingham Contemporary in 2020. She received an Anonymous Was A Woman award in 2019 and a Graham Foundation research grant in 2018.

Heike Eipeldauer is curator at mumok, Vienna, where she organized the exhibition Medardo Rosso: Inventing Modern Sculpture (2024–25), later shown at Kunstmuseum Basel. She served as deputy general director at mumok from 2024 to 2025 and headed the collection department at the Leopold Museum from 2018–19. Previously, she worked as curator at Kunstforum (2004–17). Eipeldauer has curated more than fifty exhibitions, including Meret Oppenheim (2013–14), Love in Times of Revolution: Artist Couples of the Russian Avant-Garde (2015–16), Georgia O’Keeffe (2016–17), James Welling: Metamorphosis (2017), Collaborations (2022), Mapping the 60s (2024–25), and Kazuna Taguchi: I’ll never ask you (2025), and she has collaborated with S.M.A.K., Ghent; Tate Modern, London; the Art Gallery of Ontario; LaM Lille; Fondation Beyeler, Basel; and Kunsthaus Zurich. Eipeldauer teaches regularly, serves on international juries, and is the author and the editor of numerous publications on modern and contemporary art.

Sarianne Soikkonen holds a master’s degree in art history and museology from the University of Jyväskylä. Her professional career is oriented toward exhibitions, catalogue production, and curatorial practice. During her 25 years at Finnish art museums, Soikkonen has developed a comprehensive understanding of exhibition coordination and management. Since 2011, she has been a team member at the Sara Hildén Art Museum, and in 2019, Soikkonen was appointed as the chief curator of exhibitions. In this role, she is responsible for overseeing major Finnish exhibitions and the museum’s international projects, which have included artists such as Berlinde De Bruyckere (2018), Kiki Smith (2019), Marcel Dzama (2023), and Lee Bul (2024).

mumok is run by the Austrian Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture and is situated in Vienna's historic center. It is Austria's leading museum for international modern and contemporary art. With its emphasis on Pop Art, Photorealism, Vienna Actionism, and performance and media art, the museum offers a unique blend of art focused on society and reality in the twentieth and the beginning of the twenty-first centuries. mumok has held several retrospective exhibitions including those of John Baldessari, Claes Oldenburg, Florian Pumhösl, Cosima von Bonin, and Heimo Zobernig. The museum has actively participated in contemporary sociopolitical discourse, opposing tendencies that threaten artistic freedom with ambitious group exhibitions such as Changing Channels: Art and Television, China: Facing Reality, or Gender Check: Femininity and Masculinity in Eastern European Art. A substantial educational program and activities such as symposia, lectures, film screenings are held regularly.