Alicja Kwade

b. 1979, Polish-German

By Sylvia Walker

November 28, 2020

Alicja Kwade is a contemporary artist living and working in Berlin, Germany. Born in 1979, the Polish-
German contemporary visual artist is known for her mixed-media sculptures and installations, investigating the structures of our reality and society.

Portrait of Alicja Kwade in her studio. / Photo: Olivier Mark / Kunstmagazin Parnass.

Her artistic practice is based around the concept of space, time, science and philosophy, establishing sculptural objects, video and photography reflecting on the perception of time and how the physical body experiences and inhabits space and time. Recurring motives throughout her oeuvreare the use of found objects, imperfect doubling, mirror images and repetition in general.[1][2]

Alicja Kwade has had group and solo shows across the world since the 00s and in particular since the 10s. In 2017, she participated in the 57th International’s Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale in Venice, Italy. She has had group shows at major institutions such the Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France; the Louisiana Museum of Art, Louisiana, United States of America; the KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany; Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, Germany; Hamburger Bahnhof, Germany and the Bass Museum of Art, Miami, United States of America.

Alicja Kwade is collected by major public and private collections, such as the Berlinische Galerie, Berlin, Germany; Boros Collection, Berlin, Germany; Burger Collection, Hong Kong, China; Centre Pompidou, Paris, France; Coppel Collection, Mexico; Daimler Art Collection, Stuttgart, Germany; European Patent Office, Munich, Germany; K11 Foundation, Hong Kong, China; LACMA, Los Angeles, United States; MACBA Collection, Barcelona Spain; Mudam, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg; Momok Foundation Ludwig, Vienna, Austria; Patrizia Sandrette Re Rebaudengo, Turin and Yt Museum, Shanghai, China.[3] Kwade is ranked as number fifty one on the Artfacts top 100 and ranks top 100 in Germany and top 10 in Poland.[4] As a result, Alicja Kwade features in our article The Most Influential Young Artists Today.

Artworks

Alicja Kwade, Selbstporträt als Geist, 2020. Bronze – 63 4/5 × 40 3/5 × 20 1/2 in / 162 × 103 × 52 cm. Edition of 3 + 2AP. Courtesy of König Galerie.

Alicja Kwade, TrialTurn, 2019. Stainless steel, bricks — 230 x 450 x 430 cm / 90 1/2 x 177 1/8 x 169 1/4 inches. Courtesy of 303 Gallery / Photo: Todora Photography LLC.

Alicja Kwade, Installation view: Trans-For-Men, EMMA — Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Helsinki, 2018. Courtesy of 303 Gallery. / Photo: Ari Karttunen / EMMA.

Alicja Kwade, DrehMoment, 2018. Installation view: Out of Ousia, Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, 2018. Courtesy of 303 Gallery. / Photo: Roman März.

Alicja Kwade, 5days 23hours, 2017/ 144 pocket watch hands (brass) on paper, framed – 60 1/5 × 60 1/5 × 2 1/5 in / 153 × 153 × 5.5 cm. Courtesy of König Galerie.

Alicja Kwade, In Circles of Time (UTC+1/UTC-12), 2015. Acier inoxydable et plaqué or / Stainless steel and gold plated – 45 7/10 × 23 3/5 × 141 7/10 in / 116 × 60 × 360 cm. Courtesy of Kamel Mennour.

Alicja Kwade, Option 1-2, 2011. Glas 2 parts – 29 1/2 × 49 1/5 × 4 3/10 in / 75 × 125 × 11 cm. Courtesy of Cultural Avenue.

Notes:

[1] 303 Gallery, Alicja Kwade at https://www.303gallery.com/artists/alicja-kwade/biography consulted 18/09/2020.
[2] Artsy, Alicja Kwade at https://www.artsy.net/artist/alicja-kwade consulted 18/09/2020.
[3] Ibid. note 1.
[4] Artfacts, Alicja Kwade at https://artfacts.net/artist/alicja-kwade/62182 consulted 28/11/2020.

Sylvia Walker

Sylvia Walker (b. 1986, US) is an art historian, essayist, art critic, and curator. After contributing to numerous publications, and curating exhibitions in the United States of America and beyond, she currently works as the assistant director of Contemporary Art Issue (CAI).

Author archive →