Alicja Kwade (1979 in Katowice, Poland) lives and works in Berlin. Her work investigates and questions universally accepted notions of space, time, science, and philosophy by breaking down frames of perception in her work. Kwade’s multifaceted practice spans sculpture, public installation, works on paper, videos, and photography.
This autumn, Alicja Kwade will open a solo exhibition at Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg. Most recently, she has exhibited in the following museums, among others: Berlinische Galerie – Landesmuseum für Moderne Kunst, Berlin, Germany; Langen Foundation, Neuss, Germany; MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge, USA; Dallas Contemporary, Dallas, USA; Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Espoo, Finland; Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, Denmark; Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich, Switzerland; YUZ Museum, Shanghai, China; Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK; Kunsthalle Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany; Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Haus Esters, Krefeld, Germany; Kestner Gesellschaft, Hanover, Germany; und Hamburger Bahnhof, Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin, Germany.
In 2019, Kwade was commissioned to create a monumental installation for the Metropolitan Museum in New York. She has also participated in international group exhibitions and biennials with site-specific installations: Place Vendome, Paris, France; Desert X AlUla, Saudi Arabia; Elevation 1049, St. Moritz + Gstaad, Switzerland; Helsinki Biennale, Helsinki, Finland; Desert X, Coachella Valley, USA; La Biennale di Venezia, 57th International Art Exhibition, Venice, Italy; and Public Art Fund, New York, USA.
Kwade's works are part of numerous private and public collections worldwide, including the Centre Pompidou, Paris, France; Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, USA; LACMA - Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, USA; Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark; Mudam - Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg; mumok - Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig, Vienna, Austria; and Yuz Museum, Shanghai, China.
2024
Voorlinden Museum, Wassenaar, The Netherlands
2023
In Agnosie, Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg, Germany
Natural Disposition, Skulpturenpark Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
2022
ARCA Wynwood, Public Commission, Miami, USA
Au Cours Des Mondes, Place Vendôme, Paris, France
2021
In Abwesenheit, Berlinische Galerie, Berlin, Germany
2020
Kausalkonsequenz, Langen Foundation, Neuss, Germany
2019
In Between Glances, MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge, MA, USA
Moving in Glances, Dallas Contemporary, Dallas, TX, USA
WeltenLinie, Palazzo Biscari, Catania, Italy
ParaPivot, Rooftop Garden Installation, The Metropolitan Museum, New York, USA
ParaParticular, 303 Gallery, New York, USA
The Resting Thought, Centre De Création Contemporaine Olivier Debré, Tours, France
2018
GLANCES, Blueproject Foundation, Barcelona, Spain
TRANS-FOR-MEN, EMMA — Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Helsinki, Finland
Out of Ousia, Kunsthall Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, Denmark
ENTITAS, KÖNIG GALERIE, Berlin, Germany
TunnelTeller, Castle Hill on the Crane Estate, Ipswich, MA, USA
Being, Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Berlin, Germany
MATERIA, PER ORA, Collezione Giuliani, Rome, Italy
AMBO, Kunsthalle Kiel, Kiel, Germany
LinienLand, Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich, Switzerland
2017
ReReason, YUZ Museum, Shanghai, China
Phase, KÖNIG GALERIE, Berlin, Germany
Revolution Orbita, kamel mennour, London, UK
A Trillionth of a Second, i8, Reykjavik, Iceland
Field Station: Alicja Kwade, Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, East Lansing, MI, USA
Deconstructing Borders, Sigmar Polke — Alicja Kwade, Museum Frieder Burda, Salon Berlin, Germany
2016
In Aporie, kamel mennour, Paris, France
Medium Median, Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK
I Rise Again, Changed But The Same, 303 Gallery, New York, USA
Alicja Kwade, De Appel Arts Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2015
Nach Osten, TRAFO Centre for Contemporary Art, Szczecin, Poland
Alicja Kwade: Monolog aus dem 11ten Stock, Haus am Waldsee, Berlin, Germany
Against the Run, Public Art Fund, New York, USA
Hectorpreis, Kunsthalle Mannheim, Germany
Etwas Abwesendes, dessen Anwesenheit erwartet wurde, KÖNIG GALERIE, Berlin, Germany
Warten auf Gegenwart II, Kunsthalle Nürnberg, Nuremberg, Germany
Die bewegte Leere des Moments, Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
2014
Warten auf Gegenwart, Kunstmuseum | Kunstverein St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland
Forecasting Horizon, Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen, Denmark
Alicja Kwade. Die Editionen 2008-2014, Edition Block, Berlin, Germany
Stillstand, Contemporary Food Lab, Berlin, Germany
2013
Solid Stars and other Conditions, i8, Reykjavik, Iceland
Degree of Certainty, Kunstmuseen Krefeld, Haus Esters, Krefeld, Germany
Nach Osten, KÖNIG GALERIE, Berlin, Germany
Gegenwartsdauer, kamel mennour, Paris, France
Kunstmuseum Bremerhaven, Bremerhaven, Germany
2012
The heavy weight of light, Harris Lieberman, New York, USA
Die Gesamtheit aller Orte, Kunsthal 44 Møen, Askeby, Denmark
In Circles, KÖNIG GALERIE, Berlin, Germany
Future Past, Grieder Contemporary, Zurich, Switzerland
2011
Sensor — Zeitraum für junge Positionen, ZKM Karlsruhe, Germany
Villa Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Robert-Jacobsen-Preis, Würth Haus Berlin, Berlin, Germany
52°31‘17,23, 13°24‘02,64, Polnisches Institut, Berlin, Germany
Belebung toter Einheiten, Oldenburger Kunstverein, Oldenburg, Germany
Alkahest, Kunstverein Bremerhaven, Bremerhaven, Germany
2010
Probleme massereicher Körper, Westfälischer Kunstverein, Münster, Münster, Germany
Ereignishorizont, Kestner Gesellschaft, Hanover, Germany
Broken away from Common Standpoints, Museion at Peep-Hole, Milan, Italy
2009
Grenzfälle fundamentaler Theorien, KÖNIG GALERIE, Berlin, Germany
Vom äußersten Rand der Bedingung, Galerie Christina Wilson, Copenhagen, Denmark
2008
Von Explosionen zu Ikonen, Hamburger Bahnhof, Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin, Germany
2007
Junge Sterne Rauchen, Galerie Lena Brüning, Berlin, Germany
2006
Maryon Park, Galerie Bernd Kugler, Innsbruck, Austria
B-IF 134, with Gregor Hildebrandt, UBERBAU, Dusseldorf, Germany
Daily Planet, Galerie Lena Brüning, Berlin, Germany
2005
Andernfalls ist es nur eine Schwingung des Äthers, Glue, Berlin, Germany
299711, 537 Km/s, Galerie Eugen Lendl, Graz, Austria
2004
Alicja Kwade, with Gregor Hildebrandt, Reuter, Dresden, Germany
Light suicide, Wandergalerie Stephanie Bender, Munich, Germany
2003
Stand by, Taubenstr. 13, St. Pauli, Hamburg, Germany
Adromeda-Virgo, Mt. Warning Galerie, Berlin, Germany
2023
Beyond Behind / Más allá de atrás, with Gregor Hildebrandt, Museo de Arte de Zapopan, Guadalajara, Mexico
Von Genen und Menschen, Deutsches Hygiene Museum Dresden, Dresden, Germany
h3h biënnale, Oosterhout, The Netherlands
Chengdu Biennale, Chengdu, China
ResetNOW, Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany
Wer wir sind. Fragen an ein Einwanderungsland, Bundeskunsthalle Bonn, Bonn, Germany
Entangled, Ensnared, Entwined, Longlati Foundation, Shanghai, China
2022
Different than it seems / Anders als es scheint, Kunsthalle Recklinghausen, Germany
Noor Riyadh Festival, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Frieze Sculpture Park, London, UK
Ostfriesland Biennale, Menkemaborg Uithuizen, Uithuizen, The Netherlands
Arcadia Triennale, Friesland, The Netherlands
23rd Triennale di Milano, Milan, Italy
Manif d‘Art — La biennale de Québec, Québec, Canada, USA
Elevation 1049/1822: Echoes, St. Moritz + Gstaad, Switzerland
Desert X AIUIa, AIUIa, Saudi Arabia
2021
Colección Jumex: Ambient Temperature; Museo Jumex, Mexico City
A secret show for a secret person in Ireland, Alicja Kwade & Gregor Hildebrandt, Kunstraum Konrad, Puchberg am Schneeberg, Austria
The Looking Glass, The Shed, New York, USA
The Same Sea, Helsinki Biennial, Vallisaari Island, Finland
No Order, Museum im Kulturspeicher, Würzburg, Germany
DESERT X, DX 21, Coachella Valley, CA, USA
2020
NGV Triennial, Melbourne, Australia
Bon Voyage! Reisen in der zeitgenössischen Kunst, Ludwig Forum for International Art, Aachen
7 Mirage: Contemporary Art in Augmented Reality, UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, China
Studio Berlin, Berghain, Berlin, Germany
... aber nur zuschaun tut richtig weh., Edition Block, Berlin, Germany
Down to Earth, Berliner Festspiele / Gropius Bau, Berlin, Germany
XXV. Rohkunstbau Zärtlichkeit/Tenderness — Vom Zusammenleben/About Common Living, Schloss Lieberose, Lieberose, Germany
ECHT UND FALSCH, Bingen Skulpturen-Triennale, Bingen am Rhein, Germany
Zeitlos / Vom Wesen der Zeit, Kunsthalle Göppingen, Göppingen, Germany
So wie wir sind 2.0., Weserburg, Museum für moderne Kunst, Bremen, Germany
Momentum, Voorlinden, Wassenaar, Netherlands
2019
Setouchi Triennale 2019, Honjima, Japan
Syncopation: Contemporary encounters with the Modern Masters, Pola Museum of Art, Kanagawa, Japan
Alicja Kwade and Nino Kvrivishvili, Kunsthalle at State Silk Museum, Tbilisi, Georgia
Less is More, Voorlinden, Wassenaar, The Netherlands
Listen to the Image, Look at the Sound, KAI 10 - Arthena Foundation, Dusseldorf, Germany
Blickachsen 12, Stiftung Blickachsen, Bad Homburg, Germany
Gorillas in our midst, MONA, Museum of Old and New Art, Tasmania, Australia
Negativer Raum, ZKM, Zentrum für Kunst und Medien Karlsruhe, Germany
The Moon. From Inner Worlds to Outer Space, Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Høvikodden, Norway
2018
1st Thailand Biennale: Edge of the Wonderland, Krabi, Thailand
Space Shifters, Hayward Gallery, London, UK
The Moon. From Inner Worlds to Outer Space, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Copenhagen, Denmark
Kunst und Kohle: Alicja Kwade mit Dirk Bell, Gregor Hildebrandt und Rinus van de Velde, Museum Gelsenkirchen, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Shift Matters, Alicja Kwade / Jorinde Voigt, Villa Schöningen, Potsdam, Germany
Into Nature: Out of Darkness, Drenthe, The Netherlands
Reichtum. Schwarz ist Gold (Wealth. Black is Gold), Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg, Germany
Biennale Gherdëina VI: Writing the Mountains, Ortisei / Val Gardena, Italy
2017
Perception is Reality — Über die Abbildung von Wirklichkeit und Virtuellen Welten, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Sterne, Kosmische Kunst von 1900 bis heute, Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz, Austria
Frieze London, Sculpture Park, London, UK
Liaisons/Links, with Lara Favaretto and Latifa Echakhch, Villa Medici, Rome, Italy
Viva Arte Viva, La Biennale di Venezia, 57th International Art Exhibition, Venice, Italy
The Transported Man, Eli and Eythe Broad Art Museum, East Lansing, MI, USA
Blickachsen 11, Bad Homburg and Frankfurt am Main, Germany
2016
Forming in the pupil of an eye, Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2016, Various Venues, Kochi, India
Zeit verstreichen. Moment und Dauer in der Gegenwartskunst, Kunstmuseum Solothurn, Solothurn, Switzerland
Le précieux pouvoir des pierres, MAMAC, Nice, France
Die Kerze, Museum Frieder Burda, Baden-Baden, Germany
Nuit Blanche, Paris, France
Food, 13th Fellbach Small Sculpture Triennial, Fellbach, Germany
EchtZEIT. Die Kunst der Langsamkeit, Kunstmuseum Bonn, Germany
Gutes böses Geld. Eine Bildgeschichte der Ökonomie, Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, Bade-Baden, Germany
ICH, Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt am Main, Germany
From the collection: NEW, Neuerwerbungen Sammlungspräsentation, SMAK, Ghent, Belgium
Künstlerräume, Weserburg, Bremen, Germany
2015
Night Begins the Day: Rethinking Space, Time, and Beauty, Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco, USA
Eppur si Muove (And yet it turns), Mudam Luxembourg, Luxemburg
Diamonds Always Come in Small Packages, Kunstmuseum Luzern, Switzerland
Die Mechanische Corps. Auf den Spuren Jules Vernes, MedienKunstVerein, Dortmund, Germany
Spieglein, Spieglein an der Wand, Kunstverein Wiesen, Germany
Vom Großen und Ganzen, Sammlung Haus N, Neumünster, Germany
Glasstress Gotika, Palazzo Franchetti / Instituto Veneto di Scienze, Venice, Italy
2014
Trame. Copper Crossing in contemporary art and technology, Triennale di Milano, Italy
GOLD, Bass Museum of Art, Miami Beach, FL, USA
XX. ROHKUNSTBAU — REVOLUTION, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Brandenburg, Schloss Roskow, Germany
One place next to another, WINZAVOD Centre for Contemporary Art, Moskow, Russia
Vanitas — Ewig ist eh nichts, Georg Kolbe Museum, Berlin, Germany
Unendlicher Spaß, Unfinite Jest, Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Ökonomie der Aufmerksamkeit, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, Austria
Blow-Up, Albertina, Kunst Museum Palais, Vienna, Austria
Living In The Material World, Kunstmuseum Krefeld, Krefeld, Germany
Der Baum der Erkenntnis. Kunst und Alchemie, Museum Kunstpalast, Dusseldorf, Germany
„Nullpunkt aller Orte“ in der Reihe Junge Sammlungen, Museum Weserburg, Bremen, Germany
Widersprüchliche Konturen, Märkisches Museum, Witten, Germany
Propaganda für die Wirklichkeit, Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen, Germany
2013
Lightness of Being, Public Art Fund, City Hall Park, New York, USA
Back to Earth. Die Wiederentdeckung der Keramik in der Kunst, Herbert Gerisch Stiftung, Neumünster, Germany
KölnSkulptur #7, Skulpturenpark Köln, Cologne, Germany
An Idea of Beauty, Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, Italy
Goldrausch. Gold in der Gegenwartskunst, Villa Merkel, Galerien der Stadt Esslingen am Neckar, Esslingen, Germany
When Attitudes Became Form Become Attitudes, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Detroit, IL, USA
Zabludowicz Collection, London, UK
2012
When Attitudes Became Form Become Attitudes, CCA Wattis Institute, San Francisco, CA, USA
One-on-one, KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany
Portfolio Berlin 2, Kunsthalle Rostock, Rostock, Germany
Made in Germany II, Kunstverein Hannover, Hanover, Germany
Raw Materials, Stiftung für Konkrete Kunst und Design, Ingoldstadt, Germany
Künstlerinnen Räume, K21, Dusseldorf, Germany
Goldrausch.G old in der Gegenwartskunst, Kunsthalle Nürnberg, Nuremberg, Germany
Into The Woods, Galeries Lafayette, Paris, France
Karl-Schmidt-Rotluff Stipendium, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Dusseldorf, Germany
Reisen in unbekannte Welten, Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany
Carculture, Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz, Linz, Austria
Gold, Belvedere, Vienna, Austria
Wie kommt das Neue in die Welt? Neun internationale Bildhauer in Berlin, Haus am Waldsee, Berlin, Germany
Surplus Authors, Witte de With, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
A Disagreeable Object, SculptureCenter, Long Island City, USA
New Public, Museion Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy
THE GARDEN OF EDEN, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France
2011
Berlin 2000-2011 Playing among the ruins, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
Over Black black, Castello di Rivara — Centro d’Arte Contemporanea, Rivara, Italy
Blank Back Mirror, Kunsthaus Langenthal, Switzerland
Herbei ein Licht!, Lismore Castle Arts, Waterford, Ireland
Abstrakt //// Skulptur, Georg-Kolbe-Museum, Berlin, Germany
Über Dinge, Kunsthaus Muerzzuschlag, Austria
„__“ Vorübergehend unsichtbar, MMK Zollamt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
From Trash to Treasure, Kunsthalle Kiel, Kiel, Germany
Poetry & Forms, Kunsthaus Langenthal, Langenthal, Switzerland
Transformed Objects, KAI 10, Dusseldorf, Germany
Spaceship Earth, Centre of Contemporary Art, Torun, Poland
2010
Dorothea von Stetten-Kunstpreis, Kunstmuseum Bonn, Bonn, Germany
Eclats, CEAAC, Strasbourg, France
Unsichtbare Schatten — Bilder der Verunsicherung, Marta Herford, Herford, Germany
Schwarz, Märkisches Museum, Witten, Germany
Leinen los!, Herbstausstellung, Kunstverein Hannover, Hanover, Germany
Mutinity seemed a probability, Fondazione Giuliani, Rome, Italy
Die perfekte Ausstellung — oder warum eine solche nicht existiert, Heidelberger Kunstverein, Heidelberg, Germany
The Marienbad Palace, Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda, Ireland
Wystawa, Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
Silent Revolution, K21 Ständehaus, Dusseldorf, Germany
Madonna Psycho Slut, Grimm Museum, Berlin, Germany
Neugierig?, Bundeskunsthalle Bonn, Bonn, Germany
2009
Kunst zwischen Spurensuche und Utopie, Berlinische Galerie, Berlin, Germany
Like a Rolling Stone, Museum of Contemporary Sculpture, Oronsko, Poland
scheinbar, Kunstverein Eislingen, Eislingen, Germany
Spatial Works, Färgfabriken, Stockholm, Sweden
Was sonst soll ich lieben, wenn nicht das Rätsel?, Neuer Kunstverein Aschaffenburg, Aschaffenburg, Germany
Kunstpreis der Böttcherstraße 2009, Weserburg, Bremen, Germany
2008
Endless Sphere, Center of Contemporary Art, Kiev, Ukraine
AURUM, Centre PasquArt, Biel, Switzerland
2007
Kunstpreis Junger Westen für Skulptur, Kunsthalle Recklinghausen, Recklimghausen, Germany
WG, Malkasten, Dusseldorf, Germany
2006
Lichtwerke aus der Sammlung, MUMOK, Vienna, Austria
2005
The other sight, Künstlerhaus Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany
Kunststudentinnen und Kunststudenten stellen aus, Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn, Germany
2015
Hector-Prize of Kunsthalle Mannheim
2011
Robert Jacobsen-Preis
Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Stipendium
Arbeitsstipendium Stiftung Kunstfonds
Bremerhaven-Stipendium
2008
Piepenbrock Förderpreis für Skulptur
2007
Kunstpreis Junger Westen für Skulptur, Kunsthalle Recklinghausen (2. Platz)
2006-2007
DAAD Postgraduiertenstipendium, Warsaw, Poland
NaföG-Stipendium
2005
IBB Förderpreis für Fotographie (2.Platz)
2002-2005
Stipendium der Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes
2002
Erasmus/Sokrates Stipendium, Chelsea College of Art and Design, London, UK
About Change Collection, Berlin, Germany
Berlinische Galerie, Berlin, Germany
Boros Collection, Berlin, Germany
Burger Collection, Hong Kong, China
Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
Daimler Art Collection, Stuttgart, Germany
DD Collection, Halandri, Greece
DekaBank Kunstsammlung des 21. Jahrhunderts, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Domus Collection, Beijing, China
European Patent Office, Munich, Germany
Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin, Italy
GreyChurch Collection and Project Space, Vancouver, Canada
HAM Helsinki Art Museum, Helsinki, Finland
HEART Herning Museum of Contemporary Art, Herning, Denmark
Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, DC, USA
Isabel and Agustín Coppel Collection, Mexico City, Mexico
K11 Art Foundation, Hong Kong
KAI 10 | ARTHENA FOUNDATION, Dusseldorf, Germany
Kunsthalle Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
Kunsthalle zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
Kunsthalle Praha, Prague, Czech Republic
Kunstmuseum Sankt Gallen, Sankt Gallen, Switzerland
Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Dusseldorf, Germany
LACMA - Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark
Lubeznik Center for the arts, Michigan City, IN, USA
MACBA Collection, Barcelona, Spain
MATE - Mario Testino Museum, Barranco, Peru
MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge, MA, USA
Mudam – Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg
mumok – Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig, Vienna, Austria
Museum Frieder Burda, Baden-Baden, Germany
Museum Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich, Switzerland
Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas USA
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia
Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Berlin, Germany
Olbricht Collection, Berlin, Germany
Reykjavik Art Museum, Reykjavik, Iceland
Saastamoinen Foundation, Helsinki, Finland
SAHA Association, Istanbul, Turkey
Sammlung Andra Lauffs-Wegner, Bad Honnef, Germany
Sammlung Fiede, Aschaffenburg, Germany
Sammlung Grasslin, Sankt Georgen, Germany
Sammlung Haus N, Kiel, Germany
Sammlung Philara, Dusseldorf, Germany
Sammlung Wemhöner, Herford, Germany
Sammlung Würth, Schwäbisch Hall, Germany
Sammlung zeitgenössischer Kunst der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn, Germany
The Istanbul Museum of Modern Art, Istanbul, Turkey
Vehbi Koç, Foundation, Istanbul, Turkey
Wrocław Contemporary Museum, Wrocław, Poland
Yuz Museum, Shanghai, China
Zabludowicz Collection, London, UK