Kwade manipulates common materials like wood, glass, and copper through chemical processes to explore the ephemerality of the physical world.

Her works often include reflection, repetitive sounds, and inaccurate doubling to create immersive and experiential spaces that beg viewers to question their perception of reality.

[5] First shown at MIT List Visual Arts Center in 2020, the installation Light Touch of Totality is made up of five stainless steel rings, each about 16 feet in diameter, which appear frozen in time at various angles and points of contact.

[8] She had purchased her first warehouse space from Bryan Adams, and then gradually acquired and connected the two neighboring ateliers as her studio grew to 9,500 square feet.

[10][11] As part of a 2021 revitalization project of 550 Madison Avenue, Kwade created Solid Sky (2021), a work comprising nearly 22,000 kilograms of polished spherical quartzite suspended from the ceiling of the glassbox lobby with stainless steel chains.

[12] Beginning with her first institutional show at Hamburger Bahnhof in 2008, Kwade had solo exhibitions at Kestnergesellschaft in Hannover; Kunsthalle Schirn in Frankfurt (2015); and Whitechapel Gallery, London (2016); among others.