naefmilena@gmail.com
Milena Naef (*1990) is a visual artist who works mainly with the materials marble and glass. As a fourth generation artist working with the medium of stone, the works reflect a search for her own positioning within the sculpting family and its tradition. She creates works that explore the physical and mental space of the human body, in which the body is sometimes visibly and sometimes invisibly present. The body functions as the material itself, questioning the duality between subject and object. Her work also explores the limits of possibility in stone as a material, challenging the traditional view of stone. Her glass works transfer drawings, often exploring urban space, and integrate new and uncontrollable crack lines through the firing process, loosening up and continuing the creative process.
I am fascinated by the thought that our bodies stand in a constant ‘choreography’ with their environment. Due to the inevitable presence of our bodies, I believe that we define ourselves through the constant interaction we are forced to have with our surroundings. Our own creations have allowed us to appropriate, to cultivate and to reflect upon the spaces we inhabit. The ability to shape and to manipulate materials impacts ourselves through the physical exploration in itself. I consider this interactive exploration as a reflection on ourselves as a material.
When do structures inhibit or liberate us and our physical form?
What is the consequence of the fact that our bodies are always ‘filling space’?
Upcoming / Ongoing Exhibitions
21.11. - 24.11.2024 UNFAIR24, Gashouder, Amsterdam (NL)
08.08. - 05.09.2024 'Myths of Mothers and Other Monsters, Second Iteration', 8 Cubic Meters, Amsterdam (NL)
12.05. - 28.08.2024 'Steinbilder - Wasserbilder', Steinskulpturenmuseum Fondation Kubach-Wilmsen, Bad Münster
Exhibitions
'Körper', Steinskulpturenmuseum Fondation Kubach-Wilmsen, Bad Münster, DE, 2023
'Mythen von Müttern und anderen Monstern', L6, Freiburg, DE, 2023
'Plots and Pieces' Soloshow at Dock Basel, CH, 2023
'Avoiding the Void', art@work (ti&m), Frankfurt, Zurich, Bern, Switzerland, 2022
MARBLE, Kunsten Museum of Modern Art, Aalborg, Denmark, 2022
JUNGKUNST, Winterthur, Switzerland, 2021
'One eye and two takes on vulnerability', Lumen Travo, Amsterdam, NL - Duo show with Matea Bakula, 2020
Art Rotterdam with Lumen Travo Gallery, NL, 2020
'Prospects & Concepts' (Mondriaan Fonds), Art Rotterdam, NL, 2020
Glass Generations 2019, Alter Hof Herding, Coesfeld/Lette, Germany, 2019
New Horizons, Museum Jan van der Togt, Amstelveen, The Netherlands, 2019
Balanceakte / Balancing Acts, Kunstverein Springhornhof, Neuenkirchen (Soltau), Germany, 2019
'Jonge Beelden', Beelden in Leiden, Leiden, The Netherlands, 2019
'Sculpting the Body', ad/ad - Project Space, Hannover, Germany, 2018
'Prosecute my Posture', Garage Rotterdam, Rotterdam, NL, 2018
Studio Oliver Gustav, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2018 // Solo Show
Kunst op de Koffie, Arnhem, NL, 2017
'Staging the Inhabitable', Theater 't Fijnhout, Amsterdam, NL, 2017
Art4More Festival, Athens, Greece, 2017
'The principle of least effort' at Kunstvereniging Diepenheim, NL, 2017
Physical Space, SCHUIT, Utrecht, NL, 2017
Amsterdam Art Fair with Lumen Travo, NL, 2017
PLAYTIME at Kunstvlaai, Amsterdam, invited by Kunsthuis SYB, NL, 2017
'Mighty Process', Lumen Travo, Amsterdam, NL, 2017
Kunst & Design Expo @ KNSM, SBK, Amsterdam, NL, 2016/17
'Selected by... Graduation show 2016', Corrosia, Almere, NL, 2016/17
Sprouts II, SBK, Amsterdam, NL, 2016
'Nieuwe Oogst', Galerie Bart, Amsterdam, NL, 2016
7e Sybren Hellinga Kunstprijs, Beetsterzwaag, NL, 2016
'Nieuwe Oogst', Galerie Bart, Nijmegen, NL, 2016
'SELECTED', Looiersgracht 60, Amsterdam, NL, 2016
Graduation Show Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam, NL, 2016
'Unannealed', Arti et Amicitae, Amsterdam, NL, 2016
'Two Doormen', DITS, Amsterdam (red light district), NL, 2015
'Wonder and Wander', De Oude Kerk, Amsterdam, NL, 2015
'Constant Companion', De Oude Kerk, Amsterdam, NL, 2014
E*Cinema: 'Medical Experimentation', EYE Film Institute, Amsterdam, NL, 2013
Residencies
'Uproot Rotterdam' Residency, Museumpark, Rotterdam, 2016
Prizes
Frans de Wit Prijs, 2019
7e Sybren Hellinga Kunstprijs, 2016
GRA Award Autonomous Art, 2016
Education
2011 - 2016
Bachelor Degree in Arts in Art & Design, Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Mondriaan Fonds Werkbijdrage Jong Talent
from March 2018 - February 2019
Media & Communication
Intro image by Bibi Altink
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