monica bonvicini
biography
Born in Venice in 1965, Monica Bonvicini studied art in Berlin and at Cal Arts, Valencia, CA. Since 2003 she holds a position as Professor for Performative Arts and Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Beginning in October 2017 she assumes the professorship for sculpture at the Universität der Künste, Berlin. She lives and works in Berlin.
Monica Bonvicini emerged as visual artist and started exhibiting internationally in the mid-1990s. Her multifaceted practice—which investigates the relationship between architecture, power, gender, space, surveillance and control—is translated into works that question the meaning of making art, the ambiguity of language, and the limits and possibilities attached to the ideal of freedom. Dry-humored, direct, and imbued with historical, political and social references, Bonvicini’s art never refrains from establishing a critical connection with the sites where it is exhibited, the materials that comprise it, and the roles of spectator and creator. This approach, which has been at the core of her production since her first solo exhibition at the California Institute of the Arts in 1991, has formally evolved over the years without betraying its analytical force and inclination to challenge the viewer’s perspective while taking hefty sideswipes at socio-cultural conventions.
Born in Venice in 1965, Monica Bonvicini studied art in Berlin and at Cal Arts, Valencia, CA. Since 2003 she holds a position as Professor for Performative Arts and Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Beginning in October 2017 she assumes the professorship for sculpture at the Universität der Künste, Berlin. She lives and works in Berlin.
Monica Bonvicini emerged as visual artist and started exhibiting internationally in the mid-1990s. Her multifaceted practice—which investigates the relationship between architecture, power, gender, space, surveillance and control—is translated into works that question the meaning of making art, the ambiguity of language, and the limits and possibilities attached to the ideal of freedom. Dry-humored, direct, and imbued with historical, political and social references, Bonvicini’s art never refrains from establishing a critical connection with the sites where it is exhibited, the materials that comprise it, and the roles of spectator and creator. This approach, which has been at the core of her production since her first solo exhibition at the California Institute of the Arts in 1991, has formally evolved over the years without betraying its analytical force and inclination to challenge the viewer’s perspective while taking hefty sideswipes at socio-cultural conventions.
Bonvicini has earned several awards, including the Golden Lion at the Biennale di Venezia (1999); the Preis der Nationalgalerie für junge Kunst, from the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (2005); the Rolandpreis für Kunst for art in the public from the Foundation Bremen, Germany (2013), the Hans Platschek Prize for art and writing, Germany (2019); the 2019 Premio ACACIA alla Carriera, Milan, Italy; and the Oskar Kokoschka Prize, Vienna, Austria (2020). Her work has been featured in many prominent biennials, including Berlin (1998, 2004, 2014), La TriennaIe Paris (2012), Istanbul (2003, 2017), Gwangju (2006), New Orleans (2008), and Venice (1999, 2001, 2005, 2011, 2015). She has had solo exhibitions at Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2002); Modern Art Oxford, England (2003); Secession, Vienna (2003); Staedtisches Museum Abteiberg (2005, 2012); SculptureCenter, New York (2007); Art Institute of Chicago (2009); Kunstmuseum Basel (2009); Frac des Pays de la Loire, France (2009); Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel (2011); Centro de Arte Contemporaneo de Malága, Spain (2011); Deichtorhallen Hamburg (2012); Kunsthalle Mainz (2013); BALTIC Center for Contemporary Art, England (2016); Berlinische Galerie, Berlin (2017); and Belvedere 21, Vienna (2019).
gallery exhibitions
images
Fleurs du Mal (pink), 2019
Steel, hand blown glass
170 × 150 × 150 cm (approx.)
Photo: Andrea Rossetti
Fleurs du Mal (pink), 2019 (detail)
Steel, hand blown glass
170 × 150 × 150 cm (approx.)
Photo: Andrea Rossetti
Marlboro Man, 2019
Silkscreen on aluminum
400 × 620 cm
Photo: Andrea Rossetti
Structural Psychodrama #3, 2017
polystyrene, aluminium, MDF, plaster, paint, chain steel, hook.
440 × 630 × 28 cm
Hurricanes and Other Catastrophes
Camp Fire, Hot November, CA. 2018, 2019
Tempera and spray paint on Fabriano paper
150 × 200 cm
Photo: Jens Ziehe
Alabama 2011, 2016
Diptych
Tempera and spray paint on Fabriano paper mounted on canvas
198 × 307 cm overall; 2 pieces 198 x 153 cm
Woodward Tornado, 2016
Tempera on Fabriano paper lined on fabric
190 × 153,6 cm
Photo: Jens Ziehe
As Walls Keep Shifting , 2019
Installation view at OGR, Turin
Photo: Andrea Rossetti
Italian Homes #4, 2019
Pigment print on paper
59 × 79,5 cm; 60,5 × 81 × 3,5 cm framed 39 x 59,5 cm image size
Italian Homes #11, 2019
Pigment print on paper
59 × 79,5 cm; 60,5 × 81 × 3,5 cm framed 39 x 59,5 cm image size
Italian Homes #28, 2019
Pigment print on paper
59 × 79,5 cm; 60,5 × 81 × 3,5 cm framed 39 x 59,5 cm image size
Flagging Down Up All Night, 2019
Steel, black leather men's belts
120 × 113 × 100 cm approximately
Hang Your Dry, 2018
LED tubes, wire, rubber caps, electric cable, silver tape, chrome bar, troughed sheets
230 × 232 × 35 cm
Same Old Shit, 2018
mirror, MDF
90 × 80 × 2,6 cm
Guilt Kette, 2018
Steel, silver, acrylic glass, wood
51 × 41 × 13,5 cm
Photo: Andrea Rossetti
Breathing, 2017
Steel structure, compressed air cylinder, compressor, rope, synthetic fiber, leather belts
Dimensions variable
Photo: Jens Ziehe
Breathing, 2017
Installation view at Art Basel | Unlimited 2019
Steel structure, compressed air cylinder, compressor, rope, synthetic fiber, leather belts
Dimensions variable
Photo: Andrea Rossetti
Sculture
Diener/Starlight Black, 2017
Brass, iron, varnish
190 × 20 × 57 cm
Diener/Starlight Black, 2017
Brass, iron, varnish
190 × 20 × 57 cm
With One Leg, 2017
print on Tyvek and spray paint
183 × 136 × 3 cm
Of The Wall, 2017
print on Tyvek and spray paint
183 × 136 × 3 cm
Run Black #1, 2014
Spray paint on canvas
49 × 35 cm
Photo: Lorenzo Palmieri
fuck, 2013
Spray paint on canvas
58,5 × 73 cm; 65,9 × 80,4 × 4 cm framed
no, 2013
Spray paint on canvas
43,4 × 77,7 cm; 50,5 × 85,4 × 4 cm framed
Blind Corner, 2004
ink and tempera marker on paper
71,5 × 90 cm; 76 x 95 x 4,5 cm framed
Blind Date, 2004
ink and tempera marker on paper
71,5 × 90 cm; 76 x 95 x 4,5 cm framed
Women Carrousel, 2002
Tempera marker on Fabriano paper
150 × 130 cm; 160 × 141 × 5,5 cm framed
Photo: Lorenzo Palmieri
Vitruvius, 2002
Tempera marker on Fabriano paper
150 × 130 cm; 160 × 141 × 5,5 cm framed
Photo: Lorenzo Palmieri
Saint Peter, 2002
Tempera marker on Fabriano paper
150 × 130 cm; 160 × 141 × 5,5 cm framed
Photo: Lorenzo Palmieri
Places of ID (Three People at the...), 2002
Tempera marker on Fabriano paper
150 × 130 cm; 160 × 141 × 5,5 cm framed
Photo: Lorenzo Palmieri
public exhibitions
OGR
Torino
As Walls Keep Shifting
31.10.2019 – 9.2.2020
Photo Luigi DePalma Courtesy OGR Torino
OGR
Torino
As Walls Keep Shifting
31.10.2019 – 9.2.2020
Photo Andrea Rossetti Courtesy OGR Torino
OGR
Torino
As Walls Keep Shifting
31.10.2019 – 9.2.2020
Photo Andrea Rossetti Courtesy OGR Torino
OGR
Torino
As Walls Keep Shifting
31.10.2019 – 9.2.2020
Photo Andrea Rossetti Courtesy OGR Torino
Kunstverein Hamburg
Hamburg
2019-05-17
Political Affairs - Language Is Not Innocent
21.7.2019
Photo: Fred Dott
Kunsthal Charlottenborg
Charlottenborg
Europa Endlos
21.3 – 11.8.2019
Photo: Norbert Miguletz
KAI 10 | ARTHENA FOUNDATION
Düsseldorf
Body in Pieces
22.2 – 12.5.2019
Photo: Hans-Georg Gaul
KAI 10 | ARTHENA FOUNDATION
Düsseldorf
Body in Pieces
22.2 – 12.5.2019
Photo: Hans-Georg Gaul
KAI 10 | ARTHENA FOUNDATION
Düsseldorf
Body in Pieces
22.2 – 12.5.2019
Photo: Hans-Georg Gaul
Kunstverein Hamburg
Hamburg
Class Relations: Phantoms of Perception
27.10.2018 – 27.1.2019
Photo: Fred Dott
Berlinische Galerie
Berlin
3612,54 M³ VS 0,05 M³
16.9.2017 – 26.2.2018
Photo: Jens Ziehe
Berlinische Galerie
Berlin
3612,54 M³ VS 0,05 M³
16.9.2017 – 26.2.2018
Photo: Jens Ziehe
Berlinische Galerie
Berlin
3612,54 M³ VS 0,05 M³
16.9.2017 – 26.2.2018
Photo: Jens Ziehe
15th Istanbul Biennial
Hamam
Istanbul
a good neighbour
16.9 – 12.11.2017
Photo: Sahir Ugur Eren
15th Istanbul Biennial
Hamam
Istanbul
a good neighbour
16.9 – 12.11.2017
Photo: Sahir Ugur Eren
15th Istanbul Biennial
Hamam
Istanbul
a good neighbour
16.9 – 12.11.2017
Photo: Sahir Ugur Eren
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art
Gateshead
her hand around the room
18.11.2016 – 26.2.2017
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art
Gateshead
her hand around the room
18.11.2016 – 26.2.2017
Photo: John McKenzie
press
Monica Bonvicini on Her New Massive Sculpture on View in Berlin, a 33-Foot-Long Whip
Artnet News
December 5, 2017
Six things you need to know about Monica Bonvicini
Fetishism, Freud and transparent toilets - a brief guide to this great Italian artist’s work
Phaidon
June 2017
publications
Monica Bonvicini: I CANNOT HIDE MY ANGER
Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König
Berlin
2019
Monica Bonvicini
Kerber
Bielefeld
2017
Monica Bonvicini
Phaidon
London
2014
Monica Bonvicini - Disegni
Distanz
Berlin
2012
A Black Hole of Needs, Hopes and Ambitions
Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König
Berlin
2011