Delia Jürgens is a painter and poet living between Hanover, Cologne and Los Angeles.
Her work deals with the ambiguity of life in today’s world shaped by global economics and digital networks. She reflects on how economic and cultural values are created and how they affect the individual and collective consciousness or body. By establishing a link between the landscape’s reality and that imagined by its conceiver, she focuses on concrete questions that determine our existence. Jürgens wants to amplify the astonishment of the spectator by creating compositions or settings that generate tranquil poetic images. Her works show how life extends beyond its own subjective limits and challenges the binaries we continually reconstruct between the Self and the Other. The results of her multilayered works are deconstructed to the extent that meaning is shifted and possible interpretation becomes multifaceted while creating a new way of painting. Rather than presenting a factual reality, she shows an illusion fabricated to conjure the realms of our imagination in a dense imagery that can be both - spatial and fictional - existing in the gap between and the dependence of one another.
Growing up cross-culturally with German and Moroccan traditions as well as Asian philosophies, Jürgens evolved a great understanding of the interconnectivity of economical, social and traditional beliefs and how the development of identity formation is evidentiary and based on its environments. She investigates those dynamics of landscape and the omnipresent lingering of a ‘corporate world’ to reference postcolonial theory where origins are interwoven but yet not always genetc or visible.
Delia Jürgens holds an MFA in Fine Arts from the Braunschweig University of Arts where she studied with the German-American artist and professor of painting Frances Scholz and a BFA in Scenographics from the University of Applied Arts and Sciences Hannover. Her work has been exhibited in group and solo exhibitions at the Guangdong Museum of Art in Guangzhou (CHN), the Sprengel Museum Hannover (GER), the ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe (GER), the Kestner Gesellschaft Hannover (GER), the Heidelberger Kunstverein (GER), the Kunstverein Hannover (GER), Garden Gallery Los Angeles (US), _Tim Nolas Vienna (AUT) and the Kunstverein Langenhagen (GER) among others. She received the artist in residence stipend of the Künstlerhaus Meinersen (2015), the working grant of the Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony (2016) and the working grant of the Stiftung Kunstfonds (2019) and was honored with the Sprengel Price for Visual Arts of the Niedersächsische Sparkassenstiftung and the Sprengel Museum in 2018.
Jürgens is the founder of the avant-garde and interdisciplinary project DIS-PLAY.
DIS-PLAY exhibits the blend of virtual versus physical prospects showing different but interwoven collctive reality states on the merge of a live piece of art, an artist collective, an online exhibition format and an art platform. Each virtual appearance occurs physically at a different venue across cultures, countries and time zones and brings together a wide array of artists and people to engage and rethink the actual. DIS-PLAY argues that the possibilities that the internet offers for self-organization and the sharing of information are undermined by often hidden power structures of economics and meditates on ideas of collectivity and togetherness.Born in Hanover, Germany
Lives and works between Hanover, Cologne (GER) and Los Angeles (USA)
Education
2005 - 2006 | Sciences and Earth Sciences, Leibniz Universität Hannover
2006 - 2007 | Linguistic Studies of Arabic, Spanish and Zen Philosophies, Community College Hanover
2007 - 2008 | Stage Design in Assistance, Staatstheater / Staatsoper Hannover
2008 - 2011 | Scenographics, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hanover with Prof. Colin Walker
2008 - 2014 | Fine Arts, University of Arts Braunschweig with Prof. Frances Scholz and Prof. Asta Gröting
2012 / 2013 | study trips to New Mexico, Mexico City, New York (2012) and Los Angeles (2013)
2014 | Master of Arts, University of Arts Braunschweig, Fine Arts Department
2020 - 2021 | Poetry Studies, Invisible College with the Poet and Performance Artist Ariana Reines
Awards, Scholarships, Prizes
2015 | Artist-in-Residence Künstlerhaus Meinersen
2016 | Working grant of the Ministry of Science and Culture, Lower Saxony
2016 | Nomination Artist-in-Residence Goethe Institute Dublin by Elke aus dem Moore
2017 | Nomination Vordemberge-Gildewart Stipend by Christina Végh and Elmas Senol
2017 | Nomination Artist-in-Residence Goethe Institute Qatar by Elke aus dem Moore
2018 | Sprengel Prize of the Sprengel Museum and the Sparkassenstiftung Niedersachsen
2019 | Working grant of the Stiftung Kunstfonds
2019 | Nomination Großer Hans-Purrmann-Preis der Stadt Speyer by Frances Scholz
2020 | Nomination Ars Viva Prize by Kathleen Rahn
2020 | Shortlist Strabag Art Award
2020 | Shortlist Villa Massimo Rome
2021 | Nomination for the prize of the Kunststiftung Erich Hauser by Daria Mille
Solo Exhibitions
2018/19 | The Future is but a Second away, Sprengel Museum, Hanover, Germany, curated by Carina Plath
2017 | in response to, 34°12'52.6''N 116°27'18.0''W, Joshua Tree (CA), United States
2017 | Echoes in Rain, Ihme-Zentrum, Hanover, Germany
2016 | Untrodden Areas, Künstlerhaus Meinersen, Meinersen, Germany
2016 | Cloud Storage, Speisesaal, Brunswick, Germany / Kyoto, Japan
2015 | Life is an infinite Line [several Diodes triggering], Kunstraum 53, Hildesheim, Germany, curated by Julian Obertopp
2015 | BAWARIH RIFT - PART I (viscous pixels), Kunstverein Langenhagen, Langenhagen, Germany, curated by Ursula Schöndeling
2014 | XO - Image Carrier. Filling the Gap., Graduationshow, HBK, Brunswick, Germany
Group Exhibitions
2020 | nausicaä - painting over the Atlantic, Clages Galerie, Cologne, Germany, curated by Haris Giannouras
2020 | was bleibt, Konnektor - Forum für Künste, Hanover, Germany, curated by Boris von Hopffgarten
2020 | Phantom, bei vier, Cologne, Germany, curated by Laura Dechenaud
2020 | The day that dawns for you will also dawn for me, Scranch, 29 Palms (CA), United States, curated by Jessica Dillon
2020 | Surface Tension, Goeben, Berlin, Germany, curated by Sarah Theurer
2019 | Technoscapes, Heidelberger Kunstverein, Heidelberg, Germany, curated by Ursula Schöndeling
2019 | Cracked Lips, Nagel Draxler Reisebürogalerie, Cologne, Germany, curated by Frances Scholz
2019 | Everlasting Light, _Tim Nolas, Vienna, Austria, curated by Cornelia Lein
2018 | 6th GZ Triennial ‘As We May Think: Feedforward’, Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China, curated by Zhang Ga, Angelique Spaninks and Philipp Ziegler
2018 | Jahresgaben, Kunstverein Hannover, Hanover, Germany, curated by Sergey Harutoonian and Kathleen Rahn
2018 | Challenger Deep, Garden Gallery, Los Angeles, United States, curated by Britte Geijer and Zachary Korol-Gold
2018 | Wa(h)re Kunst, Landesvertretung Niedersachsen, Berlin, Germany, curated by Stefanie Sembill and Sergey Harutoonian
2018 | 88. Herbstausstellung, Städtische Galerie Hannover, Hanover, Germany, curated by Sergey Harutoonian and Kathleen Rahn
2018 | Face my Boost under your Shotspotter, Art Basel - Hard Space, Basel, Switzerland, curated by Marcel Hiller, Arthur Löwen and Markus Saile
2018 | 1938, Sprengel Museum, Hanover, Germany, curated by Inka Schube
2017 | Artworks in the Dark, Keith Bar, Berlin, Germany, curated by Sophia Domagala
2017 | Hwy 62, Jemez Homestead, Yucca Valley / Joshua Tree, United States, curated by Meg Madison
2017 | Cyber Corporeality, SCAG - Sanatorium Gallery, Vienna, Austria, curated by Sabrina Steinek
2017 | Hybrid Layers, ZKM │ Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe, Germany, curated by Giulia Bini, Daria Mille, Sabiha Keyif, Philipp Ziegler
2017 | VG Award ‘17 - abstract, concrete, absolute, Kestner Gesellschaft, Hanover, Germany, curated by Elmas Senol and Christina Végh
2016 | Decal, 1009, Los Angeles, United States
2016 | Objects in Mirror are closer than they appear, Parrotta Contemporary Art, Stuttgart, Germany, curated by Philipp Ziegler
2015 | Landschaften, Künstlerhaus Meinersen, Meinersen, Germany
2015 | Artworks in the Dark, Keith Bar, Berlin, Germany, curated by Sophia Domagala
2015 | Raumstationen, Kunstverein Hannover, Hanover, Germany, curated by Kathleen Rahn and Ute Stuffer
2014 | Wall Hysteria, Hochschule für Bildende Künste Braunschweig, Brunswick, Germany
2014 | 31890 x 19706px. Displayable Outlooks on Promotion, RaSpace, Berlin, Germany
2013 | The Wrong - New Digital Art Biennial, thewrong.org
2013 | Nude Paintings, Media Markt Berlin, Germany
2013 | Personal Notebooks, Raymond Pettibon's’ private residence, Los Angeles, United States
2013 | I Oppose, Hochschule für Bildende Künste Braunschweig, Brunswick, Germany
2012 | Props, Hochschule für Bildende Künste Braunschweig, Brunswick, Germany
2012 | IchIchIch, RaumLABOR, Brunswick, Germany, curated by André Odier
2011 | I bow, Hochschulgalerie Braunschweig, Brunswick, Germany, curated by Frances Scholz
2011 | Nomadische Unschärfen, Temporary Gallery Cologne, Germany, curated by Frances Scholz, Caroline Nathusius
Artist Talks, Presentations, Collaborations, Interdisciplinary Projects
2020 | was bleibt, a painting series, soundscape and exhibition (irl and url) with Carlotta Drinkewitz
2020 | Artist Talk with Sarah Theurer / Cashmere Radio on the occasion of the exhibition Surface Tension, Goeben, Berlin, Germany
2019 | foundation of the Avantgarde DIS-PLAY
2018 | radio show and Interview on the occasion of the exhibition 6th GZ Triennial ‘As We May Think: Feedforward’, Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China
2018 | rtist Talk with Sergey Harutoonian and Kathleen Rahn on the occasion of the exhibition Wa(h)re Kunst, Landesvertretung Niedersachsen, Berlin, Germany
2016 | Lodos presents A Play @ PEEE, Museo Experimental El Eco, Mexico City, Mexico, curated by Francisco Cordero-Oceguera and Diego Salvador Rios
2016 | foundation of the live piece of art, online exhibition format, artist collective and platform DIS-PLAY
2015 | workshop summer school, Künstlerhaus Meinersen, Meinersen, Germany
2015 | workshop and artist talk with Ursula Schöndeling on the occasion of the exhibition BAWARIH RIFT - PART I (viscous pixels), Kunstverein Langenhagen, Langenhagen, Germany
2014 | BU - private portrait (neuer ordner) a painting series with Per Mertens, حليب Berlin, Germany
2014 | UNIT, Kaffee Burger, Berlin, Germany, through the night with Marcus Steinweg and Per Mertens
2014 | foundation of the online exhibition format and platform حليب (halib.biz)
2013 | Video Green, presentation, Hochschule Hannover, Hannover, Germany
2012 | foundation of the online exhibition format and live piece of art urinvited.net
2011 | Costume and Stage Design of the ballet Grey Dust in cooperation with choreographer Nanine Linning, Felix Nussbaum Haus / Theater Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany
Bibliography
“The opening Response”, by Josseline Black-Barnett, November 2020, Umbigo Magazine
“Strabag Art Award”, March 2020, Strabag Art Forum
“Echoes in Rain”, by Ursula Schöndeling, October 2019, HDKV
“6th Guangzhou Triennial - As we may think”, by Gu Ling, February 2019, OCULA
“The Downward Spiral - Pearl River Diary”, by Dean Kissick, January 2019, Spike Art Magazine
“Künstler*innen die uns aufgefallen sind”, Jens Hinrichsen, December 2018, Monopol
“Delia Jürgens kombiniert Digitales und Analoges”, December 2018, Süddeutsche Zeitung
“Olivenschlieren und Öllachen” by Bettina Maria Brosowsky, December 2018, TAZ
"Delia Jürgens Sprengel-Preis" by Carina Plath, November 2018
"Delia Jürgens im Sprengel Museum", Henning Queren, November 2018, Neue Presse
"Zwischen Jetzt und Gleich", November 2018, H1
"Sprengel Preis für Delia Jürgens", October 2018, Kunstforum
"Challenger Deep", Ezequiel Olvera, October 2018, Medium
"Challenger Deep", Garden Gallery Los Angeles, September 2018, Tzvetnik
"Challenger Deep", Garden Gallery Los Angeles, August 2018, CurateLA
"88. Herbstausstellung", Kunstverein hannover, August 2018, eflux
"1938. Birthday Party with Guests", Sophie Wright, March 2018, British Journal of Photography
"Geburtstag mit Gästen", Henning Queren, March 2018, Neue Presse
"1938. Geburtstagsfest mit Gästen", March 2018, Sprengel Blog
"Was Menschen im Aufzug tun", Daniel Schacht, Christina Sticht, March 2018, dewezet
"Delia Jürgens erhält den Sprengel-Preis", March 2018, Tiefgang
"Sprengel-Preis 2018 für Delia Jürgens", Daniel A. Schacht, February 2018, Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung
"Sprengel Preis für Delia Jürgens", Daniel A. Schacht, February 2018, Göttinger Tageblatt
"Delia Jürgens erhält den Sprengel Preis", February 2018, Niedersächsische Sparkassenstiftung
"Hybrid Layers - ein Kurzportrait", January 2018, ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe
"vienna contemporary", Kristina Kulakova, January 2018
"in response to", Zachary Korol-Gold, January 2018, earth sciences
"in response to", November 2017, Tzvetnik
"Hybrid Layers", October 2017, OFluxo
"Hybrid Layers", October 2017, Tzvetnik
“Cyber Corporeality”, October 2017 Art Viewer
“Cyber Corporeality”, August 2017 PW Magazine
“Adieu Engholm, Hello Sanatorium Gallery” by Sabine B. Vogel, August 2017
“Sanatorium Gallery in Vienna” by Sabrina Steinek, August 2017, exhibist
“MATERIALISIERTE BILDER” by Annekathrin Kohout, July 2017, sofrischsogut
"Hybrid Layers", June 2017, Deutschlandfunk
"Hybrid Layers", June 2017, Mousse Magazine
"Hybrid Layers", June 2017, art-in.de
"Hybrid Layers", ZKM | Center for Art and Media, May 2017, eflux
"Hybrid Layers" by Regina Hock, May 2017, Presseportal
"VG Art Award ‘17 | abstract, concrete, absolute" by Elmas Senol, March 2017, Kestnergesellschaft
"Perfect Rectangeles" by Jonny Coleman, June 2016, in Untrodden Areas, DIS-PLAY
"ABC for DJ" by Marcus Steinweg, June 2016, in Untrodden Areas, DIS-PLAY
"Materializations" by Sabiha Keyif, June 2016, KubaParis
"OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR" by Philipp Ziegler, June 2016, artipool
“Life is an infinite Line [several Diodes triggering]” by Julian Obertopp, November 2015, Kunstraum 53
“Die Macht der Pixel in der Kunst” by Bettina Maria Brosowsky, March 2015, TAZ
Publications
"Delia Jürgens. Nocturne in Daylight - in seven movements -", DIS-PLAY, Berlin, Los Angeles, August 2021, ISBN: 978-3-949444-01-2
"The opening Response", November 2020, Umbigo Magazine
"Falling off the Edges - Reality from a different Angle", DIS-PLAY, Berlin, Los Angeles, October 2019
"Scratches of Use and Traces left", HDKV, Heidelberg, October 2019
"Everlasting Light", _Tim Nolas, Vienna, Austria, June 2019
"6th GZ T ‘As We May Think: Feedforward’"", Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, December 2018 粤ICP备12071615号-2
"ALONG THE LINE", Tzvetnik, Moskow, December 2017
"COSMIC SKELETON" in Band I von X, DIS-PLAY, Los Angeles, Berlin, December 2017, ISBN: 978-1985222342
"La Nuit Blanche", Kestner Gesellschaft, Hanover, March 2017
"Materializations", 2017, KubaParis
"The Like Button in HD", Lodos Gallery / Museo el Eco, Mexico City, 2016
"Delia Jürgens. Untrodden Areas", DIS-PLAY, Berlin, Los Angeles, June 2016, ISBN 978-3-00-055715-6
"Raumstationen, Kunstverein Hannover, Hanover, 2015, ISBN 978-3-934421-54-7
"Delia Jürgens. XO", self published, Berlin, July 2014
"IchIchIch, Hochschule für Bildende Künste, Brunswick, April 2012
"Nomadische Unschärfen", Temporary Gallery Cologne, 2011
Private and Public Collections
Frances Scholz
Rosemarie Trockel
Sammlung Niedersächsische Sparkassenstiftung, Sprengel Museum hannover
Sabine DuMont Schütte