Nicola Arthen

The practice of Nicola Arthen (b. 1990, Germany) is an investigation into the mutual relations between object’s and human’s capacities, a negotiation between site and experience. By isolating things from their peripheral state and turning them into protagonists, he discovers their abilities to enchant human experience. His work takes the form of installations, sculptures and videos often contributing to a moderated environment they co-create, such as in the form of bespoke temperature devices or a scripted navigation system voice in a car ride. His work has been described as sensual and sincere, informed and economic in its organisation of space. Addressing the technological innovations aiding automation of machines and architecture, his work often uses recent production processes to other ends.

Arthen studied Fine Art at Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam, Goldsmiths University and Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. His work has since been shown in artist spaces, galleries and museums internationally, among others at NEST in The Hague, Kunstfort Vijfhuizen (Solo), PAOS in Guadalajara (Solo), Mexico, Lovaas Projects in Munich, the National Gallery in Prague and Bröhan Museum in Berlin.