Artists
Alexandra Bircken Born in 1967 in Remscheid, Germany | Lives and works in Köln
Portrait
Alexandra Bircken
Foto: Thomas Brinkmann
The Cologne artist Alexandra Bircken originally worked as a fashion designer. However, her jewelry and articles of clothing developed into independent creations that defied any practical use. As a consequence, an artistic concept has come into being since 2004 that has taken a very unique position in contemporary sculpture. She has developed a process that is motivated by the material and is formulated out of the material
Her objects and installations bear witness to an immense sensitivity and understanding of working with natural materials like twigs and stones, but also in working with industrially produced materials like wool, nylon stockings, rope, or artificial materials like polyester wadding. She mounts and combines these into objects that are presented as individual sculptures or in assemblages as installations. The operations that went into creating these objects are perceptively comprehensible and imprinted in the work. The weaving, crocheting, knitting, sewing, tearing, and folding imbue them with a distinctive aesthetic.
Through the combination of the elements, materials, and workmanship techniques, the material is ennobled and contextually shifted, placing the expectations of materiality and its perception in question and shifting the view of reality.
Education
| 1995-1997 | Eigenes Modelabel “Faridi” (mit Alexander Faridi), London, Great Britain |
| 1991-1995 | BA Fashion, Central St. Martins College of Art and Design, London, Great Britain |
| 1990-1991 | Fine Art Foundation, Central St. Martins College of Art and Design, London, Great Britain |
Solo exhibitions (selection)
| 2010 | Blondie, Kölnischer Kunstverein, Colonge |
| 2009 |
Alles muss raus!, BQ, Berlin Crossings, Herald St, London, Great Britain |
| 2008 | Units, Docking Station, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| 2007 | Holz, Gladstone Gallery, New York, USA |
| 2006 | BQ, Colonge |
| 2005 | Herald St, London, Great Britain |
| 2004 | BQ, Colonge |
Group exhibitions (selection)
| 2011 |
Skulpturales Handeln, Haus der Kunst, Munich EINS PLUS EINS, M.1 Arthur Boskamp-Stiftung, Hohenlockstedt Wash, then dance, Tinderbox, Hamburg Suspense. Suspended Sculptures, EX3 Centre for Contemporary Art, Florenz, Italy |
| 2010 |
Kimmerich, New York, USA Neues Rheinland. Eine postironische Generation, Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen Undone, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds, Great Britain Rive droite / Rive gauche, Paris, France SPOT ON 05, Museum Kunst Palast, DĂĽsseldorf The same sight slighter, Renwick Gallery, New York, USA Feint Art, Kunstverein Freiburg |
| 2009 | The Long Dark, The International 3, Manchester, Great Britain |
| 2008 |
Brussels Biennial, Brüssel, Belgium Borders, Museum Boijmans Van Beunigen, Rotterdam, Netherlands View 14: Hooking up, Mary Boone Gallery, New York, USA Martian Museum of Terrestrial Art, Barbican Art Gallery, London, Great Britain Paradies und zurück, Sammlung Rheingold in Schloss Dyck Anti-Baby Pille, Aktualisierungsraum, Hamburg 2007Unmonumental, New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, USA Hope and Despair, Cell Project Space, London, Great Britain Common Threads, Charlottestown Confederation Center, Charlottestown; Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Calgary, Canada Um-Kehrungen, Kunstverein Braunschweig L’Homme nu, Volume 2/3: L’Homme et son environnement, Maison Populaire, Montreuil, France |