Ulla von Brandenburg Germany, b. 1974
Overview
Ulla von Brandenburg (b. 1974, Karlsruhe, Germany) studied stage design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Karlsruhe and fine arts at the University of Fine Arts of Hamburg. Now based in Paris, she actively engages with the methodologies and approaches of theater, stage, and performance art to address cultural and social issues that have emerged at various moments in history, exploring how past narratives, rituals, and symbols have shaped contemporary society. Drawing inspiration from classical literature, Expressionist theater, and pre-Freudian psychoanalysis, von Brandenburg weaves recurring themes and imagery into a distinctive visual language that spans across diverse media including performance, theater, film, works on paper, painting, fabric, installation, sculpture, and stage design.
Her major solo exhibitions include presentations at Ernst Barlach Haus, Hamburg (2025), Espace Louis Vuitton Osaka (2024), Museo Reina Sofía, Madrid (2023), Kunstmuseum Stuttgart (2022), Weserburg Museum of Modern Art, Bremen (2021), Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2020), and Whitechapel Gallery, London (2018). Significant group exhibitions include Centre Pompidou, Paris (2015, 2017), Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris (2015), Performa 15, New York (2015), the 11th Lyon Biennale (2011), the 53rd Venice Biennale (2009), and Tate Modern, London (2007). Von Brandenburg was nominated for the Marcel Duchamp Prize (2016) and has received several other international awards, including the Finkenwerder Art Prize.
Her works are held in the collections of major institutions such as the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris (MAM), Centre Pompidou, Fondation Louis Vuitton, Tate Modern, Kadist Foundation Paris, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rennes, Centre National des Arts Plastiques (CNAP) Paris, Boros Collection Berlin, Israel Museum, Montblanc Cultural Foundation Hamburg, MAMCO Geneva, Hamburger Kunsthalle, National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne, Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami, Mudam Luxembourg, and the Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo (CAAC) in Seville, Spain.
Her major solo exhibitions include presentations at Ernst Barlach Haus, Hamburg (2025), Espace Louis Vuitton Osaka (2024), Museo Reina Sofía, Madrid (2023), Kunstmuseum Stuttgart (2022), Weserburg Museum of Modern Art, Bremen (2021), Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2020), and Whitechapel Gallery, London (2018). Significant group exhibitions include Centre Pompidou, Paris (2015, 2017), Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris (2015), Performa 15, New York (2015), the 11th Lyon Biennale (2011), the 53rd Venice Biennale (2009), and Tate Modern, London (2007). Von Brandenburg was nominated for the Marcel Duchamp Prize (2016) and has received several other international awards, including the Finkenwerder Art Prize.
Her works are held in the collections of major institutions such as the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris (MAM), Centre Pompidou, Fondation Louis Vuitton, Tate Modern, Kadist Foundation Paris, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rennes, Centre National des Arts Plastiques (CNAP) Paris, Boros Collection Berlin, Israel Museum, Montblanc Cultural Foundation Hamburg, MAMCO Geneva, Hamburger Kunsthalle, National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne, Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami, Mudam Luxembourg, and the Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo (CAAC) in Seville, Spain.
Exhibitions
