Monica Bonvicini (b. 1965 in Venice, Italy) lives and works in Berlin, Germany. She studied in Berlin and at Cal Arts, Valencia, CA. From 2003 – 2017, she was Professor for Performative Arts, Spatial Strategies, and Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, Austria. Beginning in October 2017 she assumed the Professorship for Sculpture at the Universität der Künste, Berlin, Germany. Bonvicini has earned several awards, including the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy (1999), the National Gallery Prize for Young Art, Berlin, Germany (2005), and Oskar-Kokoschka Preis, Vienna, Austria (2020).

Bonvicini 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 ideals 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 both spectator and creator.

Monica Bonvicini has been the subject of major solo exhibitions at Kunstmuseum Bonn, Bonn, Germany (2023); Kunsthaus Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland (2023); Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin, Berlin, Germany (2022); Kunsthaus Graz, Graz, Austria (2022); Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany (2020); OGR, Turin, Italy (2019); Belvedere 21, Vienna, Austria (2019); Berlinische Galerie, Berlin, Germany (2017); BALTIC Center for Contemporary Art, UK (2016); Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany (2011); The Art Institute of Chicago, USA (2009); Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, Switzerland (2009); Sculpture Center, New York, USA (2007); and Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France (2002), among many others.

She has also participated in numerous international group exhibitions including Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zurich, Switzerland (2022); Contemporary Museum, Wroclaw, Poland (2021); Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC, USA (2021); Salzburger Kunstverein, Salzburg, Austria (2021); Quadriennale di Roma, Rome, Italy (2020); Busan Biennale, Busan, Korea (2020); Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, Denmark (2019); MAXXI, Rome, Italy (2018), among countless others.

Some of her permanent public art commissions include SHE LIES IN THE HARBOUR, Oslo Opera House, Oslo, Norway (2010); and RUN in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London (2012).

Monica Bonvicini was represented by KÖNIG GALERIE from 2013 to 2022.

MONICA BONVICINI