TransArts – Monica Bonvicini: Performative Architektur
Installation view, “And Rose”, San Carlo, Cremona, 2024
Photo:
Ilario Piatti
TransArts - Transdisciplinary Art
Since the
beginning of her career, working in space and with space has been one of the starting points of Monica Bonvicini's work. Her
work moves in the field of tension between architecture, power structures, gender and space. Bonvicini's works are not only
an expression of aesthetic and conceptual considerations, but also of in-depth analyses of the history and social meanings
of the places in which they are installed.
Starting with early works, she will also provide
insights into the development of her most recent installations, including ‘I Cannot Hide My Anger’ at Belvedere 21 in Vienna
in 2019, ‘I do You’ at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin in 2022 and the current installation ‘And Rose’ in the former church
of San Carlo in Cremona.
This raises the question of what constitutes interaction with the space. To what extent does
research influence the work? And how does this knowledge become visible in installations?
Monica Bonvicini is considered
one of the most influential artists of her time. In her multimedia practice, she examines the relationship between architecture,
space, power structures and gender.
Her work has been honoured many times: in 1999 she received the Golden Lion
at the Biennale di Venezia, in 2005 the National Gallery Prize for Young Art, in 2013 the Roland Prize for Art in Public Space,
in 2019 the Hans Platschek Prize for Art and Writing and in 2020 the Oskar Kokoschka Prize. In 2012, she was awarded the Order
of Merit of the Italian Republic.
Bonvicini's works have been shown in numerous international solo and group exhibitions
in renowned institutions, including Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin; Kunsthaus Graz; Belvedere 21, Vienna; BALTIC Centre for
Contemporary Art, Gateshead; Kunsthalle Fridericianum,
Kassel; KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin; Castello di
Rivoli, Turin; New Museum, New York; Lenbachhaus, Munich; Palais de Tokyo, Paris; Art Sonje Center, Seoul; The Art Institute
of Chicago, and many other venues. She has been represented at the world's most important
biennials, e.g. in Berlin,
Venice, New Orleans, Gwangju, São Paulo, Istanbul, Shanghai and Santa Fe, as well as at the Paris Triennial. Permanently installed
sculptures by Bonvicini can be found in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, on the Bjørvika Fjord in front of the Oslo Opera
House and on the façade of the Weserburg Museum, Bremen.
Monica Bonvicini was born in Venice and studied art at
the Berlin University of the Arts and the California Institute of the Arts, Los Angeles. From 2003 to 2017, she taught Performative
Art and Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Since 2017 she has held the professorship for sculpture at the Berlin
University of the Arts. She lives and works in Berlin.
