Monica Bonvicini

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Monica Bonvicini
Born (1965-02-03) 3 February 1965 (age 59)
Venice, Italy
NationalityItalian
EducationHochschule der Künste, Berlin; CalArts
Known forConceptual art, installation art, sculpture
AwardsGolden Lion

Monica Bonvicini (born 1965 in Venice[1]) is a German-Italian artist who works with installation, sculpture, video, photography and drawing mediums. Bonvicini describes her practice as an exploration of relationshsips between architecture and space, power, gender and sexuality. [2][3]

Education and career[edit]

Bonvicini studied at the Hochschule der Künste in Berlin and at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia. Having studied in Berlin since end of the 1980s, Bonvicini began exhibiting her work internationally in the mid-1990s.

In 1998, Bonvicini was featured in the 1st Berlin Biennale, and in 1999 in the 48th Venice Biennial curated by Harald Szeemann.[4] With the architectural installation I Believe in the Skin of Things as in That of Women, 1999, she won the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 1999[5] along with Bruna Esposito, Luisa Lambri, Paola Pivi, and Grazia Toderi. Since then Bonvicini has participated in more than 20 international contemporary art biennials, including the Santa Fe Biennial (1999), Gwangju Biennale (2006), the first New Orleans Biennial (2008), the Berlin Biennale (1998, 2003, 2014), the Venice Biennale (1999, 2001, 2005, 2011, 2015[6]), the Istanbul Biennial (2003 -2017), and the Busan Biennale (2020).[7]

Bonvicini has been a scholar since many years, starting as a guest professor at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, in 1998. From 2003 to 2017 she was a Professor of Sculpture and Performance Art at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Vienna, Austria. Since 2017, she has been Professor of Sculpture at the Universität der Künste Berlin.[8] Bonvicini has also been invited to contribute as a guest lecturer in major institutions such as Columbia University, New York/US, Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Turin/Italy, Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel/Switzerland, Museum Ludwig, Cologne/Germany, Whitechapel Gallery, London/UK, Kunsthochschule Mainz, Mainz/Germany, among others.

In 2022, Monica Bonvicini obtained German citizenship and was elected as a member of the Akademie der Künste in Berlin, in the Visual Arts section. In 2012 she was appointed Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.[9] In 2005, she was awarded the Preis der Nationalgalerie für Junge Kunst, Berlin, Germany, followed by The Roland Prize for Art in Public Spaces, Bremen, Germany,[10] in 2012, the Hans-Platschek-Prize, Hamburg, Gemany, in 2019, The Acacia, Premio alla Carriera, Milan, Italy, in 2019 and the Oskar Kokoschka Prize, Vienna, Austria in 2020.[11]

Work[edit]

Monica Bonvicini works with a variety of media, her research encompasses psychoanalysis, labour, feminism, design and urbanity, and the influence of private and institutional spaces on behavioural codes.[12] Commonly described as working site-specifically, Bonvicini creates discursive displays that relate to an exhibiting venue and its operational context.[13] By employing text, humour, irony and often explicit material and language, her artworks challenge institutional boundaries and interrogate the role of the spectator.[14][15] Her work critically examines the legacy of modernism addressing both its artistic and social dimensions, while also drawing upon references from minimalism, conceptual art, Institutional Critique, feminist and queer subcultures as well as civil rights and other political movements.[16]

I Believe the Skin of Things as in That of Women, 1999[edit]

The artwork, titled I Believe the Skin of Things as in That of Women, attained the Golden Lion award at the 1999 Venice Biennale, under the curation of Harald Szeemann.[5] The installation constitutes an architectural space, constructed out of damaged drywall panels and aluminium studs, bearing quotes from famous male architects, including Auguste Perret and Adolf Loos.[15]These quotations are paired with drawings in graphite of cartoon-style figures, some of which performing a variety of sexual acts. The sketches evoke the drawings found in Charles Eames’s seminal essay, “What is a House?” (1944)  intended to illustrate the potential leisure activities within a residence, emblematic of a new, more adaptable modern domestic dwelling.[17]

I Believe the Skin of Things as in That of Women, examines the “phenomenology of gendered architectural space”,[18] focusing on the prevailing ideals of modernist architecture often shaped by its predominately male practitioners and theorists.[15] The title of the work references the famous quotation by Le Corbusier evoking a debate between him and Auguste Perret.[19] Where Le Corbusier advocated for horizontal windows, while Perret likened them to a man, asserting that windows should be vertical.[20]

Art historian Elena Zanchelli has noted that I Believe in the Skin of Things as in that of Women references the canon of architectural history in three significant ways, effectively calling for a reevaluation of this historical narrative, “first, through the allusion to treatises on architecture based on certain methods of dividing space, including “public” and “private,” as well as in the role that is “assigned” to women in them, second, the fragile, temporary walls of the installations undermine the authority of these types of views; and third, Bonvicini also parodies the greats of modern architectural history simply by quoting their own statements, taking architecture’s fixation on the female gender out of its latency”[21]

She Lies, 2010[edit]

The permanent installation, titled She Lies, was publicly revealed on May 11, 2010.[22] Commissioned by Public Art Norway, the artwork is situated on Oslofjord, positioned in front of the Oslo Opera House. Constructed from stainless steel, reflecting glass panels, and glass splinters, it stands on a styrofoam and concrete pontoon that is equipped with an anchoring system. The sculpture is not fixed but responds to the power of tides and wind, turning around its axis and moving within a range of 50 meters.[22]

The monumental sculpture measuring 12 x 17 x 16 meters is an interpretation of Caspar David Friedrich’s 1824 painting Das Eismeer.[23] Bonvicini reuses the imagery of the ice masses seen in Friedrich’s painting to establish connections with themes of ruin within the framework of Romantic ideals; central to this linkage are concepts intrinsic to Romanticism, including the reverence for nature and the pursuit of scientific inquiry.[24] Bonvicini describes the work as: “the synthesis of structure/skin/ornament explore the interface between nature and culture, or that of a cultural artefact. While reconstructing a famous Romantic painting, the work represents in a visual striking way the shape of an iceberg, as if one would have, by circumstances due to the global warming, ended up in the fjord in front of the opera house. A built ruin in best modernistic style, the sculpture on water will stand for a permanent state of erection/construction.”[22]

RUN, 2012[edit]

RUN is a permanent installation at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London that was installed for the 2012 Summer Olympics. The work’s composition and title were inspired by the lyrics and language in popular music. The work pays reference to specific songs, including The Velvet Underground’s “Run, Run, Run”, Neil Young’s “Running Dry” and Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run”. Constructed from steel and reflective glass, the three installed characters are nine meters tall and each piece weighs ten tons. Bonvicini’s work stands in the plaza of the Copper Box Arena, and is the largest installation in the park.

The nine-meter-high installation consists of three letters made of steel and glass, which during the day reflects the surroundings through its reflective surfaces. Installed inside there are 8000 LED lights that define the inner contours of the letters. The further use of the mirror glass inside the construction creates the so-called infinity mirror effect over a large area, which gives the letters a visual dynamic. While the work of art projects the natural changes caused by the light conditions during the day, they develop a luminous visual pull at night, which reinforces the title of the work again. The installation is currently being repaired following incidents of vandalism at the plant.[25]

As Walls Keep Shifting, 2019[edit]

As Walls Keep Shifting is a large-scale, site-specific artwork. A wooden structure of half a house, disassembled in three parts. Without walls, without windows, it is built anew and in dialogue with each new institution it encounters.

The artwork, last exhibited in 2022 at Kunsthaus Graz, presents itself as a scaffolding of a one-family residence constructed on a 1:1 scale. Originally conceived and erected in a double pack for economic reasons, these semi-detached houses can still be found nowadays in the northern regions of Italy.

Bonvicini's appropriation and adaptation of this type of house - was first shown in its original version at the OGR in Turin in 2019. In Graz, the sculpture lies scattered around the place, like the remains of a calculated disaster: the upper floor slides upon the ground floor wedging itself onto it, while the roof leans against the Kunsthaus' walls, menacing to take over the entire space.

The artwork’s title, As Walls Keep Shifting, refers to the “House of Leaves” novel by Mark Z. Danielewski, similarly rendering a powerful metaphorical image of the house as a living space. The timber construction reflects the power dynamics of the family system, the socio-economic periphery and its chaos. The project questions the establishment of private space together with its resulting discontents, such as seclusion, intimate dynamics, disappointment and reactionary feelings.

The architectural sculpture can be considered as a bio construction: with a wooden house you have an energy saving of 40 to 50% on average compared to concrete or brick buildings. Solid wood does not burn, it chars slowly and only on the surface; if matched with specific insulating materials it allows for a very low energy consumption. As Walls Keep Shifting is made of about 20 cubic meters of solid fir wood, about 12 tons of wood and more than 1000 screws.

Video works[edit]

Besides sculptural and two-dimensional works, Bonvicini also created numerous videos and multimedia installations. These artworks follow the topics common to her practice, interrogating the politics of body, gender, space, architecture and art institutions. Sometimes they stem from performances, like her video work “No Head Man,” which originated in the performance conceived for the 27th São Paulo Art Biennial.[26] The works of moving image are often minimalistic, drawing on references to the history of European Nouvelle Vague / Auteur cinema and avant-garde video artists, like Jack Goldstein. The video art of Bonvicini, with artworks such as Hausfrau Swinging, 1997, Hammering Out (an old argument), 1998, Destroy She Said, 1998, and No Head Man, 2009, are included in renowned collections worldwide, including Julia Stoschek collection,[27] Sammlung Hoffmann, FRAC Lorraine[28] and Castello di Rivoli[29] to mention few.

Hurricanes and Other Catastrophes, 2006-ongoing[edit]

From 2008, Bonvicini commenced her black-and-white painting series, dedicated to the topics of natural disasters, and their ensuing architectural debris and social catastrophes. The artworks resulted from the artist being invited to participate in the 1st New Orleans Biennial, with Bonvicini using images found in media or taken by the artist herself while visiting New Orleans after it had been struck by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The works seek to draw the attention to the political origins and social consequences of the global warming that cause storms and hurricanes to be stronger and occur more often than in the past.[30][31][32]

NEVER TIRE, 2020[edit]

NEVER TIRE is a large-scale series of drawings made by Monica Bonvicini dealing with the political and emotional upheaval of the last year. The drawings feature phrases, lyrics and quotes reworked from fragments of text by authors such as Judith Butler, Natalie Diaz, Soraya Chemaly, Andrea Dworkin and the memoirs of Philip Johnson. The sentences are cut, reversed and changed to be given new meaning, often playing on the aesthetic of graffiti and protest signs. The series was first exhibited in the solo exhibition Monica Bonvicini: Lover's Material at Kunsthalle Bielefeld.[33]

Exhibitions (selection)[edit]

Works in public collections (selection)[edit]

Publications (selection)[edit]

  • Monica Bonvicini. As Walls Keep Shifting, exhibition catalogue Kunsthaus Graz and Kunst Museum Winterthur, with texts by Konrad Bitterli, Monica Bonvicini, Jacob Fabricius, Katia Huemer, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Samuele Piazza, Barbara Steiner, Elena Zanichelli, Walther König, Cologne, 2023. ISBN 978-3-7533-0308-6
  • Monica Bonvicini. I do you, exhibition catalogue Neue Nationalgalerie, with texts by Joachim Jäger, Irina Hiebert Grun, David Adjaye, Diedrich Diederichsen, Dario Gamboni, Distanz Verlag, Berlin, 2023. ISBN 978-3-95476-506-5
  • Monica Bonvicini. Hot Like Hell, exhibition catalogue Kunsthalle Bielefeld, edited by Christina Végh, Snoeck Verlagsgesellschaft, Cologne 2021. ISBN 978-3-86442-336-9
  • Monica Bonvicni. I CANNOT HIDE MY ANGER., exhibition catalogue Belvedere 21, König Books, 2019. ISBN 978-3-96098-641-6
  • Monica Bonvicini., exhibition catalogue Berlinische Galerie, with texts by Dr. Thomas Köhler, Kate Sutton, Kerber Verlag, 2017. ISBN 978-3-7356-0388-3
  • Monica Bonvicini. Survey by Janet Kraynak, Interview by Alexander Alberro, Focus by Juliane Rebentisch, Artist’s Writing by Monica Bonvicini. Phaidon Press, 2014. ISBN 978-0-7148-6705-2
  • Monica Bonvicini – Disegni., exhibition catalogue Museum Abteiberg Mönchengladbach, Deichtorhallen Hamburg/Sammlung Falckenberg, Distanz Verlag, Berlin 2012. ISBN 978-3-942405-68-3
  • Monica Bonvicini. A BLACK HOLE OF NEEDS, HOPES AND AMBITIONS, exhibition catalogue Gestión Cultural y Comunicácion – CAC Malaga, with texts by Fernando Francés, Carson Chan, Malaga, 2011. ISBN 978-84-96159-99-0
  • Monica Bonvicini. Both Ends., exhibition catalogue Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, Cologne 2010. ISBN 978-3-86560-873-4
  • Monica Bonvicini, exhibition catalogue Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus und Kunstbau, Munich, Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Basel, with texts by Matthias Mühling, Nikola Dietrich, Jan Verwoert, DuMont, Cologne, 2009. ISBN 978-3-8321-9220-4
  • Monica Bonvicini Anxiety Attack, exhibition catalogue Modern Art Oxford/ Tramway, Oxford / Glasgow, with texts by Suzanne Cotter, Miria Swain, 2003. ISBN 978-1901352177
  • Monica Bonvicini / Sam Durant. Break it / Fix it, exhibition catalogue Secession Wien, Revolver Publishing, Frankfurt (am Main) 2003. ISBN 3-901926-64-X
  • Monica Bonvicini: Scream & Shake, exhibition catalogue Le Magasin, Centre National d’Art Contemporain, Grenoble, with texts by Lionel Bovier, Joshua Decter, Diedrich Diederichsen, Donna Petrescu, Interview between Monica Bonvicini and Andrea Bowers, 2001. ISBN 978-2906732728
  • Monica Bonvicini. Bau, exhibition catalogue GAM Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea Torino and hopefulmonster, with texts by Dan Cameron, Susanne von Falkenhausen, 2000. ISBN 88-7757-106-3
  • Monica Bonvicini, exhibition catalogue De Appel Foundation, with texts by Jan Ralske, De Appel Foundation, Amsterdam, 1999. ISBN 90-73501-45-8
  • Monica Bonvicini – platz machen, published by Goldrausch Frauennetzwerk, e.V., Künstlerinnen-projekt “Ohne Kompromiß“, with a text by Harald Fricke, Berlin, 1994.

Bibliography (selection)[edit]

Works[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Great Women Artists, Monica Bonvicini interviewed by Phaidon Press".
  2. ^ Holzwarth, Hans W. (2009). 100 Contemporary Artists A-Z (Taschen's 25th anniversary special ed.). Köln: Taschen. p. 68. ISBN 978-3-8365-1490-3.
  3. ^ Stead, Chloe. "Artist Monica Bonvicini on sex, aggression, and climate change". www.freundevonfreunden.com/. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Artfacts, 48 Venice Biennale Kunsthalle, list of participants".
  5. ^ a b "LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 1999 at La Biennale di Venezia Venice - Artmap.com". artmap.com. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  6. ^ "Interview with Monica Bonvicini (Italy), artist selected to participate in the exhibition All The World's Futures - Biennale Arte 2015. Exhibited at the Arsenale Corderie".
  7. ^ "Busan Biennale List of participating artists".
  8. ^ "Berufung: Monica Bonvicini übernimmt Professur für Bildhauerei, Universität der Künste Berlin".
  9. ^ "Monica Bonvicini at Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin by Ana Teixeira Pinto".
  10. ^ "Rolandpreis geht an Monica Bonvicini" (in German). Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  11. ^ "Monica Bonvicini erhält den Oskar Kokoschka Preis".
  12. ^ Abramenko, Maria (26 May 2021). "Fetish as art A talk with Monica Bonvicini". www.nastymagazine.com/. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  13. ^ Adjaye, David (2023). Jäger, Joachim; Hiebert Grun, Irina; Neue Nationalgalerie (eds.). “A Vitrine for Objects,” in Monica Bonvicini: I do You. Berlin: DISTANZ. p. 122. ISBN 978-3-95476-506-5.
  14. ^ Diederichsen, Diederichsen (2023). Jäger, Joachim; Hiebert Grun, Irina Hiebert Grun; Neue Nationalgalerie (eds.). “Transparency and Impenetrability,” in Monica Bonvicini, I do You. Berlin: DISTANZ. p. 98. ISBN 978-3-95476-506-5.
  15. ^ a b c Kraynak, Janet (2014). “The Architecture of History: On the Art of Monica Bonvicini,” in Monica Bonvicini. London: Phaidon. p. 65. ISBN 9780714867052.
  16. ^ von Falkenhausen, Susanne (2000). "From concept to gesture: Bonvicini's play with the strategies of modernism, or how to turn minimalism from its head onto its hands," in: Monica Bonvicini - Bau. Torino (Turin), Italia: Hopeful Monster and Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (GAM). pp. 75–85. ISBN 8877571063.
  17. ^ Zanichelli, Elena, “Wall and Pretense - A Foray into Monica Bonvicini’s Tactics of Displacement,” in Monica Bonvicini: As Walls Keep Shifting. Cologne: Walther König, 2023. p. 42.
  18. ^ Gallatley, Andrew. "Just Add Water, 09 September 1999". Frieze. Retrieved 11 April 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  19. ^ Wogenscky, André (2006). Le Corbusier's Hands. The MIT Press. p. 60. ISBN 9780262232449.
  20. ^ Probst, Ursula Maria (2010). Wolfs, Rein (ed.). If You Can’t Stop. Don’t Stop. Let the Air Shudder with Clarity, in Monica Bonvicini: Both Ends. Cologne: Walther König. p. 154. ISBN 978-3-86560-873-4.
  21. ^ Zanichelli, Elena (2023). "Wall and Pretense - A Foray into Monica Bonvicini’s Tactics of Displacement,” in Monica Bonvicini: As Walls Keep Shifting. Cologne: Walther König. ISBN 978-3-7533-0308-6.
  22. ^ a b c ""H.M. Queen Sonja Takes Part in the Unveiling of She Lies at The Opera"". Koro. 11 May 2010. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  23. ^ ""Monica Bonvicini - She Lies in Oslo"". Art-Agenda.com. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  24. ^ Alberro, Alexander (2014). “In Conversation with Monica Bonvicini,” in Monica Bonvicini. London: Phaidon Press. p. 28. ISBN 9780714867052.
  25. ^ Butler, Andy (6 May 2012). "Monica Bonvicini: Run". www.designboom.com/. Designboom. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  26. ^ Paulo, Bienal São. "German Art in São Paulo - Bienal". www.bienal.org.br. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  27. ^ e.V., JULIA STOSCHEK FOUNDATION. "NUMBER ONE: DESTROY, SHE SAID". www.julia-stoschek-collection.net. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  28. ^ "Collection FRAC Lorraine | Monica Bonvicini:Hammering Out (an old argument)". collection.fraclorraine.org. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  29. ^ "Monica Bonvicini - Castello di Rivoli". Castello di Rivoli (in Italian). Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  30. ^ "Publication Hot Like Hell, exhibition catalogue Kunsthalle Bielefeld, 2020/2021".
  31. ^ "Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Monica Bonvicini, Hurricanes and Other Catastrophes, 2022".
  32. ^ "Kunsthalle Wilhelmshaven, group show: Oh clouds, oh storms, oh winds ... Art Amid the Storm, 2023/2024".
  33. ^ Végh, Christina. "Monica Bonvicini: Lover's Material". www.kunsthalle-bielefeld.de. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  34. ^ "MONICA BONVICINI GUILT". König Galerie.
  35. ^ Schonwald, Cedric. "Monica Bonvicini à Carquefou | Zérodeux / 02" (in French). Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  36. ^ "Informationen".

External links[edit]

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