Peter Steckroth has been working with Carola Wagenplast since 2000 as the artist collective known as Jochen Schmith. They both studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Hamburg. Their artworks often take the form of site-specific installations that include objects, videos, light, painting, texts, and performances situated in institution-critical environments. They base their work on research and critical reflections on places and their histories, the question of value, social relevance, and the role of the observer.

Jochen Schmith is currently working on the relationship between public and privatized space. What changes take place in the public space through interventions and the exertion of influence which consequently impact social relations?

Works by Jochen Schmith have been included in exhibits at the Kunstverein Braunschweig, Kunstverein Hamburg, Hedah in Maastricht, Kunsthaus in Bregenz, Bundeskunsthalle Bonn, Kunstverein Heidelberg, Para/Site in Hong Kong, Halle für Kunst in Lüneburg, VI, VII in Oslo, Kunstverein Harburger Bahnhof, Centre of Contemporary Art in Warsaw, WCW Gallery in Hamburg, Kunstverein Langenhagen, SUBTE in Montevideo, Kunsthalle Mannheim, Marres in Maastricht, and the Golden Pudel Club in Hamburg.

Jochen Schmith was awarded the Edwin-Scharff-Preis, the Lichtwark Förderpreis, as well as fellowships at WIELS in Brussels, kunstzeitraum in Munich, and the Villa Concordia in Bamberg. Jochen Schmith has been a visiting professor at the HfbK in Hamburg and the HGB in Leipzig.

Peter Steckroth is a resident at the Tarabya Cultural Academy from October 2023 to January 2024.