Jennifer Schmidt | Rose Garden: Fist in a Velvet Glove

Rose Garden: Fist in a Velvet Glove is a “feminist assertion”, as described by its creator, multi-disciplinary artist Jennifer Schmidt. The project was born during a residency at Spoor in June/July 2024, where Jennifer produced a 4-colour screen printed poster that went on to form a site-specific installation and social sculpture at Trix, a music and artist venue in Antwerp, Belgium.

Jennifer spent a month in Antwerp, Belgium, designing, printing and exhibiting Rose Garden: Fist in a Velvet Glove. During her residency, she researched the history of Flemish painting and fashion, and spent a lot of time walking, observing plants and flowers in situ, growing along the sidewalks, bike paths and roads, and in front of buildings and houses. The A2 editioned poster that resulted from this time also takes the form of a variable repeat pattern. These posters then took on a further dimension when they were wheat-pasted as an architectural installation outside Trix. The installation evoked the essence of a courtyard rose garden, visible inside and outside Trix, and by surrounding apartment complexes. The roses appeared to climb the brick wall panels, resembling chords and tracks, and provided a site for social interactions.

The rose design and photographs were sourced from Jennifer’s own urban garden in Brooklyn, NY, where she grows roses within the industrial neighbourhood of Sunset Park, bordered by the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, an industrial waterfront, Historic Greenwood Cemetery, NYC public schools, and the Jackie Gleason Bus Depot. Jennifer comments; “Growing roses is a daily practice for me, like walking. I am attempting to nurture and promote growth and beauty through the propagation of flowers, tending to their needs each day, while observing their development.”

The checkerboard motif in the poster harks to its place of creation; inspired by the prevalence and presence of checkerboard motifs in Flemish and Dutch architecture and design. Similarly, Jennifers choice of colours highlight her research, and look to the striking use of red and green in traditional Flemish painting and contemporary Flemish fashion design.

As part of the project, Jennifer also hosted a Garden Party. The installation involved the sharing of food and drinks, conversations about language and the interpretation of phrases across cultures, and artist presentations. The garden party was a site for exchange with the rose garden as catalyst.