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Berndnaut Smilde was born in 1978 in Groningen, The Netherlands. He currently lives and works in Amsterdam.
Smilde’s work consists of installations, sculptures and photos. Using his daily surroundings and spaces as motives, Smilde is interested in the temporal nature of construction and deconstruction. His work refers to both the physical state of a building as well as a moment of revelation that depicts either hope or fragility. Smilde analyses spaces and their appearance and takes them apart to investigate their unique details and features. His artistic point of view often centres on duality. His works question: inside and outside, temporality, size, the function of materials and architectural elements.
Smilde holds an MA from the Frank Mohr Institute, Groningen. Awards include a start stipend from The Netherlands Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture. Exhibitions include: De Groen Collection, Arnhem, The Netherlands (2017); From Saatchi Gallery, London, UK (2017, 2012); Ronchini Gallery, London, UK (2017, 2014); Spazio 22, Milan, Italy (2016); The Hague, The Netherlands (2015, 2012); Hong Gah Museum, Taipei, Taiwan (2016); Shanghai 21st Century Minsheng Museum of Modern Art, Shanghai, China (2014) and Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland (2008). He is in the permanent collections of Smithsonian Institute, Washington, USA; Saatchi Gallery, London, UK; Bonnefanten Museum, Maastricht, The Netherlands; Frans Hals Museum – De Hallen Haarlem, The Netherlands; Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
Click here to download full CV
Click here to watch a feature on the Nimbus series from the Avant/Garde diaries.
Click here to watch a video of Berndnaut Smilde creating a cloud for the work Nimbus II.
Exhibitions
2023 Sublimation, Space Mijo, Namhae, KR
2022 Momentum, Ronchini, London
2021 Traumbild Senden, Museum gegenstandsfreier Kunst, Otterndorf, Germany
World Expo 2020, Netherlands Pavilion, Dubai, UAE
2020 I skyene, Stavanger Art Museum, Stavanger, Norway
Gathering Clouds, George Eastman Museum, Rochester, USA
Wolken in der Zeitgenössischen Kunst, Olderburger Kunstverein, Oldenburg, Germany
Mirrors of Time, Kasteel d’Aspremont Lynden, Oud Rekem, Belgium
Doors are closed. All people are gone., Motel Spatie X Collectie De.Groen, The Netherlands
Zonamaco, Ronchini Gallery, Mexico
2019 O que emana da agua, Carbono Gallery, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Up Date, Galerie Sign, groningen, The Netherlands
Pick Me, We Like Art @ De.Groen Fine Art Collection, Arnhem, The Netherlands Mythe, Cwart, Knokke Heist, Belgium
Dallas Art Fair, Ronchini Gallery, USA
2018 Breaking The Fourth Wall, The Armory Show, New York, USA
Pillar of Cloud, Hermann Struck Museum, Haifa, Israel
We Like Art, Westergasfabriek, Amsterdam
Uitnacht Arnhem, CEA, Arnhem, Netherlands
Nimbus, Winston Wachter Fine Art, Seattle, USA
2017 VISITANTS, FORM, Perth, Australia
Polderlicht, Oosterpark, Amsterdam
Secret Postcard Sale, Westergasfabriek, Amsterdam
Parklicht, Stichting Polderlicht, Oosterpark, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
1000 Miles an Hour, Vinyl Factory, London, UK
EXPO Chicago, Ronchini Gallery, Chicago, USA
Good Shed, Perth, Australia De Groen Collection, Arnhem, The Netherlands
Dismantled Ruben, Ronchini Gallery, London,
2016 Ranking-the-Arts-Winner, NP3, Groningen, The Netherlands
Spazio 22, Milan, Italy
2015 Art Brussels, Ronchini Gallery, Brussel
A Climate Fictionalism, Hong-Gah Museum, Taipei
2014 Antipode, Ronchini Gallery, London UK
Cosmos, 21st Century Minsheng Museum, Shanghai
2013 The Uncanny, Ronchini Gallery, London
Kammerspiele, Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht
2012 Platform 57, The Hague
Press & Downloads
- Berndnaut Smilde in Faena Aleph
- Berndnaut Smilde in National Geographic
- Berndnaut Smilde in Time Magazine
- Berndnaut Smilde in The Financial Times – Weekend Life&Arts
- Berndnaut Smilde in KNEON Magazine
- Berndnaut Smilde in Bazaar Magazine
- Berndnaut Smilde in The Daily Telegaph – Review
- Berndnaut Smilde in Christie’s Magazine
- Berndnaut Smilde in Cèline AW Catalogue
- Berndnaut Smilde in AFR Weekend
- Berndnaut Smilde in Architectural Digest
- Berndnaut Smilde in Arte
- Berndnaut Smilde in The Daily Telegraph
- Berndnaut Smilde in Elle Decoration
- Berndnaut Smilde in Harper’s Bazaar
- Berndnaut Smilde in Peak
- Berndnaut Smilde in National Geographic
- Berndnaut Smilde in Ragmag
- Berndnaut Smilde in Art’s Vice
- Adeline de Monseignat and Berndnaut Smilde in Art Collection + Design (Taiwan)
- Ronchini Gallery, Adeline de Monseignat and Berndnaut Smilde in Departures
- Berndnaut Smilde in AnOther Magazine
- Berndnaut Smilde in Garage
- Berndnaut Smilde in Harper’s Bazaar
- Adeline de Monseignat and Berndnaut Smilde in The Star Online
- Berndnaut Smilde in BBC News
- Adeline de Monseignat and Berndnaut Smile in Corriere della Sera
- Ronchini Gallery, Adeline de Monseignat and Berndnaut Smilde in The Mayfair Times
- Berndnaut Smilde in The Independent Magazine