Agnes Scherer
Agnes Scherer (b. 1985, Germany) lives and works in Berlin and Salzburg. She studied painting at the Kunstakademie in Düsseldorf.
Scherer’s work develops unique forms of presentation by inscribing handmade artefacts into holistic theatrical frameworks. With her elaborate operettas and narrative installations, she creates complex pictorial work that resists immediate objectification and commodification, instead demanding from viewers a heightened level of focus and engagement. A persistent questioning that runs through her art-making aims at power relations and their underlying psychologies. Drawing from analyses of artistic, anthropological and cultural history, Scherer adopts artistic strategies that originally served the consolidation of power through the hierarchy of representation and repurposes them with critical intent. Her work often illustrates the uncanny ways in which historical systems, economies and roles are reflected in the present.
Solo and group exhibitions include: Kunstverein Düsseldorf; Cabaret Voltaire, Zürich; Sans titre, Paris; Kunstverein Tiergarten/Galerie Nord, Berlin; Casa Cristea Schneider, Berlin; Kinderhook & Caracas, Berlin; Tramps, NY; Langer Donnerstag, Museum Ludwig, Köln; KIT, Düsseldorf; Fanta Spazio, Milan; Kunstmuseum Solingen.
Collections: Moderna Museet, Stockholm; KOLUMBA Museum, Cologne; Kunsthaus NRW Kornelimünster, Aachen
Education
2009 – 2016
Studies of Fine Arts, Painting, at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
2005 – 2011
Studies of History of Arts, Classical Archaeology, Empirical Cultural Studies at Eberhard-Karls-University, Tübingen and University of Vienna, Magistra Artium (Distinction)
Teaching
2021 – ongoing
Professorship at the painting department at Mozarteum, Salzburg
2019 – 2021
Scientific Assistant, department of Art History and Art Theory, Prof. Dr. Isabelle Graw, Hochschule für Bildende Künste / Städelschule, Frankfurt am Main
Residencies
2015
Residency in Longformacus (Nigel Greenwood Art Prize), Scottish Borders, Scotland
Grants – Prizes:
2019
Berlin Art Prize
2016
Young Artist Prize, Kunststiftung NRW
2015
Nigel Greenwood Art Prize
Solo Exhibitions
2023
Solo exhibition, Kunstverein Heidelberg, Heidelberg
2022
A thousand times yes, Sans Titre, Paris
2021
The Notebook Simulations, curated by Eva Birkenstock, Kunstverein Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf
My refuge, my treasure, without body, without measure, ChertLüdde, Berlin
2020
The Salty Testament, Residency, 1646 – project space for contemporary art, The Hague
The Teacher, Cabaret Voltaire, Zürich
Coeurs Simples, Galerie Sans Titre, Paris
2019
ORLANDO TUSSAUD, Philipp Haverkampf Galerie, Berlin
The Very Hungry, Horse & Pony, Berlin
The Teacher, Kinderhook & Caracas, Berlin
2018
Cupid and the Animals, TRAMPS, New York City
2017
The 7th Seal, 8q, Cologne
2016
Landbuben, 8q, Cologne
Group Exhibitions
2022
K60, Wilhelm Hallen Berlin
Spirits, LORE DEUTZ, Cologne
2020
Far Back Must Go Who Wants To Do A Big Jump, Galerie ChertLüdde, Berlin
2019
MASKULINITÄTEN, Kunstverein Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf
Tales of the Haunted and the Body, Casa Cristea Schneider, Berlin
2018
My Body Doesn’t Like Summer, curated by Stephen Kent, Galerie Philipp Haverkampf, Berlin
Chambre 10, Sans Titre, Paris
Institut für Bienenzucht: Agnes Scherer, Aleksander Hardashnakov, Issy Wood, Liebigstraße 114, Cologne
2017
Hinterland, Realpositive, Schkeuditz
Cupid and the Animals, Museum Ludwig, Cologne
Sans Titre, Quai de la Tournelle 45, Paris
La Diablesse, curated by Simone Kennedy Doig, TRAMPS, London
2016
Tie His Hands Gently, curated by Aurel Schmidt, Romeo, New York City
Anfangen Pt. II, Elektrohaus, Hamburg
Mary und der Vulkan, curated by Elmar Hermann, KIT, Düsseldorf
2015
Susy Culinski & Friends, curated by Beatrice Marchi, Fanta Spazio, Milan
Look at the Harlequins!, Kunstmuseum Solingen, Solingen
Mittagstisch, curated by Alex Heilbron, Ladybug House, San Francisco
In Line with the Curve of Night, curated by Tiziana La Melia, MODEL Gallery, Vancouver
2014
Klasse Doig, Display Gallery, London
2013
Pleasures, curated by Behrang Karimi, Down At The Studio, Mozartstraße, Cologne
At The Indoor Pond, Parkhaus am Malkasten, Düsseldorf
Sportsgeist, curated by Elmar Hermann, Künstlerverein Malkasten, Düsseldorf
Jenseits der Bühne, Edinburgh Art Festival 2013, Canongate Venture Building, Edinburgh
2011
Fine Line?, KIT, Düsseldorf
Curatorial Projects
2020
Von vielköpfigen Monstern und gestaltloser Gewalt, Claudia Barth, curated by Agnes Scherer, Projektraum sonnundsolche, Düsseldorf
In the tame beast’s eye: a grotto, curated by Agnes Scherer, (Brunhilde Groult; Tom Hardwick-Allan, Paul DD Smith) , Galerie Zarinbal Khoshbakht, Cologne
Collections
Moderna Museet, Stockholm
KOLUMBA Museum, Cologne
Kunsthaus NRW Kornelimünster, Aachen
Bibliography – Selected Articles
2022
“FABEL VOM ABGESCHÖPFTEN: Jan Verwoert on Agnes Scherer at Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf” by Jan Verwoert, Texte zur Kunst, Issue 125, March 2022, pp. 213-216.
2021
“Wie die Künstler des Barock interessiert Scherer weniger die Improvisation, sondern “das ganz Elaborierte”” by Elke Buhr, on Monopol, May 2021, pp. 76-78.
“Gallery Weekend Berlin 2021: Dieses Jahr ist alles anders” by Anna Meinecke, on Gallerytalk, 27 April 2021, online.
“My refuge, my treasure, without body, without measure: Agnes Scherer at Gallery ChertLüdde”, on Special Ops, Spring 2021, Online.
2020
“School’s out forever: On Agnes Scherer’s Operetta ‘The Teacher’” by Steven Warwick, Texte zur Kunst, Issue 120, December 2020, pp. 92-94.
“I’m interested in all forms of object theatre as a way to lend artifacts agency” by Lena van Tijen, on Metropolis M, 6 November 2020, online.
“IN REAL LIFE THERE IS NO REWARD – Review of “Coeurs Simples”, a solo show by Agnes Scherer’ by Sif Lindblad, 26 October 2020, on Arts of the Working Class, Online.
“Sélection galerie: Agnes Scherer à la galerie Sans Titre (2016)” by Philippe Dagen, LeMonde, 2 October 2020, Online.
2019
“Gewinner des sechsten Berlin Art Prize stehen fest” by Donna Schons, 16 September 2019, on Monopol, Online.
“Superfacesurface: Malerei in Berlin #11 Agnes Scherer”, KubaParis, Online. “Agnes Scherer – ORLANDO TUSSAUD”, Kuba Paris, Online.
“Puppet Politics: Artist Agnes Scherer’s Pastiche of Pantomime Power” by Stanton Taylor, 22 May 2019, on Frieze, Online.
“Agnes Scherer” by Steven Warwick, Critic’s Picks on Artforum, Online.