Fantastic imagery, subtle irony and a keen sense for the poetry of everyday life characterize Franziska Schmalzl's work. Her art is an invitation to look at the world with new eyes - with the eyes of the inner child who is the pen in her pictures. This inner child, says the artist, is a source of inexhaustible joie de vivre and the motor to uncover hidden potential.
With her current exhibition "Paradise within you", Schmalzl goes one step further. She asks about human happiness and creates her very own vision of paradise - not as a mythical place beyond the here and now, not as an unattainable reward for a morally impeccable life, but as something that is already present in every human being. According to Schmalzl, paradise does not lie outside us, but within us - hidden, but accessible if we turn our gaze inwards. Her works alternate between cheerful scenes and profound narratives, between bold colors and fine lines that almost seem like a diary. Humor plays a central role. For the artist, it is "the force that makes the heavy lighter and emphasizes the light without denying the dark". This results in pictorial worlds that inspire both a smile and a pause for thought - works that harbor an unexpected depth in their lightness.
The paradise within you © Franziska Schmalzl
"My art is an invitation to take a closer look: at the complexity of my pictures, at the play with words that open up a world of their own, at the humor that runs through my entire work like a finely woven thread - and not least at my own light and darkness of soul. At the end of this journey, I hope you will find a great gift: the knowledge of your own vitality, fullness and perfection," explains Schmalzl.
With "Das Paradies in dir", the artist not only gives her visitors pictures, but also impulses - quiet, thoughtful, but powerful. A call to explore your own inner landscape and perhaps a gentle hint that happiness is often closer than we think.
September 17 to November 2, 2025
https://kultur-burgenland.at/standorte/kulturzentrum-oberschuetzen
https://franziskaschmalzl.com
Your little birdie © Franziska Schmalzl
