Born in Venice, Italy
Lives and works in Berlin, Germany
Monica Bonvicini is one of the most influential artists of her generation, well-known for her sharp and provocative artworks spanning sculpture, installation, drawing, video, and public projects. Her artistic exploration centers on the intersections of architecture, gender dynamics, and power structures, with a unique focus on both the built environment and the concept of destruction as a transformative agent. In her distinctive style, enriched with a dry and trenchant wit, Bonvicini's art remains unapologetically forthright, consistently forging a critical connection with the environments in which it is displayed, the very materials that constitute it, and the dynamic roles assigned to both the viewer and the artist.
Over the last three decades, Bonvicini’s innovative practice has made her a prominent figure in the global contemporary art world. Her practice has remained steadfast in delivering incisive critiques of entrenched patriarchal and socio-cultural conventions, reshaping contemporary art discourse and practice. She is also a well-regarded scholar, having held a professorship in Sculpture and Performative Arts at the Vienna Fine Arts Academy from 2003 to 2017. Since October 2017, Bonvicini assumed the professorship for Sculpture at the Universität der Künste in Berlin. She has also been a guest lecturer at major universities in Europe and abroad.
Bonvicini has earned several awards, including the Oskar Kokoschka Prize, Austria (2020); the Hans Platschek Prize for Art and Writing, Germany (2019); the Roland Prize for Art in Public Space from the Foundation Bremen, Germany (2013); the Preis der Nationalgalerie für junge Kunst from the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (2005); the Golden Lion at the Biennale di Venezia (1999).
She has held major solo exhibitions at institutions including Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin (2022); Kunst Museum Winterthur (2022); Kunsthaus Graz (2022); Bauhaus Dessau (2022); Kunsthalle Bielefeld (2020); Belvedere 21, Vienna (2019); Berlinische Galerie, Berlin (2017); Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead (2016); Deichtorhallen, Hamburg (2012); Art Institute of Chicago (2009); Centro de Arte Contemporaneo de Málaga (2010); Städtisches Museum Abteiberg, Mönchengladbach (2012); Kunstmuseum Basel (2009); Frac des Pays de la Loire, Carquefou (2009); Sculpture Center, New York (2007); Modern Art Oxford (2003); Secession, Vienna (2003); Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2002). Her work has been included in numerous institutional group exhibitions, such as Kunstmuseum Bonn (2023); Kunsthaus Zürich (2023); Deichtorhallen Hamburg (2023); Palais des Nations, Geneva (2023); Art Sonje Center, Seoul (2022); Castello di Rivoli, Turin (2021, 2005); National Gallery of Copenhagen (2019); Maxxi, Rome (2018); Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel (2011); MoMa PS1, New York (2009); National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavik (2008); Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin (2022, 2013, 2006, 2005, 2001).
Bonvicini’s artworks are permanently installed in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London; on the waterfront at Bjørvika, before the Den Norske Opera & Ballett House, Oslo; and in the Weserburg Museum of Modern Art, Bremen. In 2012 Bonvicini was appointed Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.
Her work has been featured in many prominent biennials, including Busan (2020); Istanbul (2017, 2003); Venice (2015, 2011, 2005, 2001, 1999); Berlin (2014, 2004, 1998); New Orleans (2008), Gwangju (2006); Sao Paulo (2006); Shanghai (2002); and Santa Fe (1999).
Bonvicini’s work is represented in the permanent collection of Museum of Modern Art, New York; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Istanbul Museum of Art; Museo d’Arte Moderna di Bologna; MAXXI, Rome; Castello di Rivoli, Turin; Jumex Museum, Mexico City; Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zürich; Museion, Bolzano; Museum Sztuki, Lodz; Neue Galerie, Graz,; Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin; Sammlung Hoffmann, Berlin; Neues Museum Weimar; Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin; Städtisches Museum Abteiberg, Mönchengladbach; Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus und Kunstbau, Munich; Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Kunst Museum Winterthur, Volpinum Kunstsammlung, Vienna; Fonds régional d’art contemporain (Frac) des Pays de la Loire, Carquefou; Fonds régional d'art contemporain (Frac) de Lorraine, Metz, among others.