Nilbar Güreş chooses a performative approach for her works, using photography, collage, drawing and video: she places everyday life realities in theatrical settings which deal with cultural identity codes, especially female or queer. The narrative presentation often depicts an exit strategy in a humourous way, without denying the brutal reality. Her work is based on long-term research and cultural observation by employing fieldwork practices; she lives with her protagonists and experiences their environment. The issues at stake always deal with a strong political standpoint and oppressing limitations of life which include sexims, violence and gender inequality.
Selected works
Exhibitions
Exhibitions
News
News
Biography
Biography
Nilbar Güreş
Born 1977 in Istanbul, Turkey
Lives and works in Istanbul and Vienna
Education
2002
Malerei und Grafik, Akademie der bildenden Künste, Vienna
2000
Fine Arts, Marmara University, Istanbul
Scholarships and awards
2018
De’Longhi Art Projects Artist Award
2015
BC21 Art Award
2014
Msgr. Otto Mauer-Preis
2013
Professor-Hilde-Goldschmidt-Preis
Solo exhibitions (selected)
2021
Sauer wie eine Zitrone
Kunsthaus Pasquart Biel
2019
See/Saw
Galerie Martin Janda, Vienna
MAGNET AND THE MOON
Galerist, Istanbul
Erzähl mir
Kunstverein Reutlingen
Lovers
Badischer Kunstverein
2018
OVERHEAD
Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz
Jumping Bed and Female Lovers
Galerie Tanja Wagner, Berlin
2017
Heartache of a Stone
Galerie Martin Janda, Vienna
2016
Open Phone Booth
The Israeli Center for Digital Art, Holon, Israel
Double Headed Snake
Rampa, Istanbul
2014
JesuitenFoyer, Vienna
FO.KU.S – Foto Kunst Stadtforum
Innsbruck
2013
Osmos, New York, NY (US)
Nilbar Wien-Na
Galerie Martin Janda, Vienna
Open Phone Booth
Rampa, Istanbul
2011
Self-Defloration
Künstlerhaus Stuttgart, Stuttgart
Nilbar Güreş, Undressing
EIKON SchAUfenster: quartier21/MuseumsQuartier, Vienna
Nilbar Güreş
Rampa, Istanbul
2010
Nilbar Güreş: Window Commission 2010
INIVA Institute of International Visual Art, Rivington Place, London
2009
Unknown Sports, Indoor Exercises
Salzburger Kunstverein, Salzburg
Group exhibitions (selected)
2021
And if I devoted my life to one of its feathers?
Kunsthalle Wien Museumsquartier, Vienna
2020
Yokohama Biennial
Jeju Biennale
Jeju Museum of Art (JMOA)
disturbance : witch
Zitadelle Spandau, Berlin
2019
Imagined Communities
1st Contemporary Art Biennial Sec_Videobrasil, São Paulo
COMMON GROUND
NIGHT/Plovdiv 2019 at Danchova House,
Old Town, Plovdiv
Rust & Bones
Galerie Tanja Wagner, Berlin
Drawing a New World
Purdy Hicks Gallery, London
COLLECTIVE EXHIBITION FOR A SINGLE BODY – THE PRIVATE SCORE – VIENNA 2019
Haus Wittgenstein, Vienna
Cherchez la Femme – Perücke, Kopftuch, Ordenstracht
Stadthaus Ulm
Vienna Biennale for Change 2019: BRAVE NEW VIRTUES. Shaping Our Digital World
MAK – Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna
flesh and blood
The American Hospital Art Gallery “Operation Room”,
Istanbul
ZOO (Zones of Otherness)
MOMus – Thessaloniki Museum of Photography | SKG Bridges Uprising Art & Culture Festival, Thessaloniki
all natural. 100 % Collections
Museum der Moderne Salzburg
Nature in Art
MOCAK Museum of Contemporary Art in Crakow
LISTEN TO US – ARTISTIC INTELLIGENCE | Works from Art Collection Deutsche Telekom
Plovdiv 2019 – European Capital of Culture
ÜBER LEBEN AM LAND
Kunst Haus Wien | Museum Hundertwasser, Vienna
Dancing with Witches
Pera Museum, Istanbul
Climbing Through The Tide
B7L9, Kamel Lazaar Foundation, Tunis
The Crime of Adolf Loos
Axel Verdorrt Gallery, Antwerp
Climbing Through The Tide
B7L9, Kamel Lazaar Foundation, Tunis
Drawing Biennal 2019
Drawing Room, London
Still Burning
Varberg Konsthall, Sweden
Body in Progress
ÖKFB – Österreichisches Kulturforum Berlin
ECOLOGIES OF DARKNESS. BUILDING GROUNDS ON SHIFTING SANDS
Savvy Contemporary, Berlin
2018
A PILLAR OF SMOKE
Galerie Paris-Beijing, Paris
The Time Needs Changing
Pera Museum, Istanbul
Veiled, Unveiled! The Headscarf
Weltmuseum, Vienna
Atlantic Dialogue #3: Trans-Atlantic
The Atlantic Project, Plymouth
From the Inside Out
DRAWING ROOM , London
A Pillar of Smoke
Maison De Peintres, Arles
Rohkunstbau XXIV “Mind the Gap”
Schloss Lieberose, Spreewald
Cherchez la femme
Jewish Museum Franconia, Fürth
SHIFTING HORIZONS
Krank Art Gallery, Istanbul
Lesbisches Sehen
Schwules Museum, Berlin
Mutterzunge
Babylon Oval, Berlin
colony
Schwules Museum, Berlin
I AM THE MOUTH – Works from Central and Eastern European Artists from Art Collection Telekom
Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb
2017
colony
Abud Efendi Mansion, Sultanahmet, Istanbul
…between us…
Museum für Neue Kunst – Städtische Museen Freiburg
Un-Working the Icon: Kurdish “Warrior-Divas”
apexart berlin, Gallery Mario Kreuzberg, Berlin
Queer Arzu Yabandır
Baki Kosar Culture & Art Festival, Izmir
ğ – queere Formen migrieren
Schwules Museum* Berlin
Cherchez la femme
Jüdisches Museum Berlin
LEARNING FROM BIG MISTAKES
Galerie Tanja Wagner, New York
ich weiß nicht. Wie die Beziehungen zwischen den Dingen wachsen
MAK, Wien
The Way Beyond Art
Van Abbe Museum, Eindhoven
2016
The Future Is Already Here – It’s Just Not Evenly Distributed
20th Biennale of Sydney
Let us cultivate our garden
Cappadox, Contemporary Art Programme Cappadox, Uçhisar, Nevşehir
Wir Flüchtlinge – Von dem Recht, Rechte zu haben
Badischer Kunstverein, Karlsruhe
South by Southeast. A Further Surface
Guangdong Times Museum, Guangzhou
SHE DEVIL 8 – IN THE MIRROR
Studio Stefania Miscetti, Rome
Poesie der Veränderung
Museum der Moderne, Salzburg
Shape of Time – Future of Nostalgia
Muzeul National de Arta Contemporana, Bukarest
Freundschaftsspiel Istanbul : Freiburg
Museum für Neue Kunst, Freiburg
Aus der Sammlung: Landschaft
Landesgalerie Linz
The Bill: For Collective Unconscious
Artspace, Auckland
Three Paths to the Lake
Galerie Martin Janda, Vienna
A Kingdom of Hours
Gasworks, London
The Epicenter of Everything
Galleri Syster, Luleå
Lines of Passage (in medias res)
The Municipal Art Gallery of Mytilene, Lesvos
VERCON LOSOIDOS. Poéticas de las Temporalidades
SIART 9, Bienal Internacional de Arte Bolivia, La Paz
Jahresgaben 2016/2017
Badischer Kunstverein, Karlsruhe
2015
Artists in Their Time
Istanbul Modern, Istanbul
Sweet Union
Sofia Queer Forum 2015, Sofia
Survival K(n)it 7 contemporary art festival
Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art, Riga
Mindsets
Studio Gallery, Budapest
Istanbul: Passion, Joy, Fury
MAXXI, Rome
Rainbow in the Dark
Malmö Konstmuseum, Malmö
Kardinal König Kunstpreis
Kunstraum St. Virgil, Salzburg
How to (…) things that don’t exist – an exhibition developed out of the 31st São Paulo Biennial
Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, Porto
BC21 BostonConsulting & BelvedereContemporary Art Award 2015
21er Haus, Wien
So wilde Freiheit war noch nie. Für Christine Lavant
Kunstraum Lakeside, Klagenfurt
Illusion
RAMPA, Istanbul
Cappadocia Struck, Contemporary Art Programme Cappadox, Uçhisar, Nevşehir
31st São Paulo Bienal Touring Program, SESC Campinas, São Paulo
SESC São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo
Museu de Arte Murilo Mendes, Juiz de Fora
Überschönheit
Salzburger Kunstverein, Salzburg
2014
The Moving Museum Istanbul
Sishane Otopark, Istanbul
On the moment of change there is always a new threshold of imagination
Artspace, Auckland
Short
Galerie Martin Janda, Vienna
How to (…) things that don’t exist
31st Biennal de São Paulo, São Paulo
Fair Play
MAXXI – Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo, Rome
Fragile Sense of Hope
ACT – Art Collection Telekom, me Collectors Room/Stiftung Olbricht, Berlin
Square(s)
François Ghebaly Gallery, Los Angeles
Meeting Points 7: Zehntausend Täuschungen und hunderttausend Tricks
21er Haus, Vienna
Hier und Jetzt/Hic et Nunc. 10 künstlerische Interventionen im Jubiläumsjahr
Stift Klosterneuburg
Ghosts, Spies and Grandmothers
SeMA Biennial, Mediacity Seoul
AGITATIONISM
EVA International Ireland’s Biennial, Limerick City
Kunsttriennale für zeitgenössische Kunst, Sion im Wallis
Customs Made: Quotidian Practices and Everyday Rituals Maraya Art Centre, Sharjah
Desiring the Real. Austria Contemporary
European Parliament, Strasbourg
Art Gallery of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Sarajevo
Moskau/Nischnij Nowgorod
One Night Stand
KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin
Private Matters
ApexArt, New York
WoWmen!
Kaai Theather, Brussels
Feminis-Arte II
CentroCentro Cibeles, Madrid
2013
New Continent: A Selection From the Video Collection of the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art
Minsheng Art Museum
Desiring the real
Depo, Istanbul
Unknown Forces
Tophane-i amire, Istanbul
S/HE IS THE ONE
Kunstraum Niederösterreich, Vienna
Game Changer
Meadow Bank Sports Centre
Art Festival Edinburgh
Nouvelles Vagues/A History of Inspiration
Palais de Tokyo, Paris
Istanbul Modern – Bahrain
Bahrain National Museum, Manama
hetero q.b.
Museu Nacional de Arte Contemporânea, Lisbon
new, closer, together
Sofia Contemporary, Sofia
Zeichen, Gefangen im Wunder. Auf der Suche nach Istanbul heute
MAK, Vienna
Kunstverein Hannover
Envy, Enmity, Embarrassment
ARTER, Istanbul
At the Gender Bazaar
Musée des civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée, Marseilles
2012
Rosa Arbeiter auf goldener Strasse
Akademie der bildenden Künste, Vienna
Eastern Vistas
Smiths Row Gallery, Bury St Edmunds
Arrivals and Departures 2012: Mediterranean
Mole Vanvitelliana, Ancona
Desiring the Real
Museum MUAC, Mexico City
Rapid Pulse Performance Festival
Defibrillator
performance art gallery, Chicago
Life is Elsewhere
Galerie im Körnerpark, Berlin
In Which Language shall I tell my Story…
Steldelijk Museum, Schiedam
Desiring the Real
MOCAB Museum Of Contemporary Art, Belgrade
Passage
Galerie Martin Janda, Vienna
Wie zusammen leben?
Salzburger Kunstverein
Der Mensch. Der Fluss
National Gallery Sofia
Istanbul Modern
Museum Boijmans Rotterdam
2011
Der tägliche Aufstand
< rotor > association for contemporary art, Graz
Dream and Reality
Istanbul Museum of Modern Art, Istanbul
Responding to the New Moon
Galerie Tanja Wagner, Berlin
1. International Photo Festival, Bursa
Tolerabilis
Toskanische Säulenhalle im Zeughaus, Augsburg
Der Mensch. Der Fluss
Donauschwäbisch Central Museum Ulm
The Daily Uprising
< rotor > association for contemporary art, Graz
Austria Davaj!
Schusev State Museum of Architecture, Moscow
Tactics of Invisibility
ARTER, Istanbul
Zwölf im Zwölften
Tanas, Berlin
Never that’s when…
Open Space – Zentrum für Kunstprojekte, Vienna
2010
Ex-Territory, Tel Aviv
Tactics of Invisibility
TANAS, Berlin
Where do we go from here
Secession, Vienna
6th Berlin Biennale, Berlin
Curated by
Galerie Ernst Hilger, Vienna
Starter
Arter, Istanbul
On Paper
Stalke Gallery, Kirke Sonnerup
Not a Lens But a Prisma
Eugenio de Almeida Foundation, Evora
The Others
Museo d’Arte Contemporanea della Sicilia
Derriére le rideau, une génération hors d’elle …
Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris
Tactics of Invisibility
Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, Vienna
Ankara-Vienna
Gallery Nev, Ankara
2009
Performance und Gender, Politik, Soziale Fragen und Intercultural Studies
Fotogalerie, Vienna
13 Lessons in Performance Art
Screening at Cinema TOP, Vienna
The Future is Analogue-Lomography
MAK, Vienna
Video in Progress 3: Performans za video
Center Urbane Kulture Kino Siska, Ljubljana
quelques images de la scene turque contemporaine
Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Strasbourg
Performance//Frame
Gallery Anita Beckers, Frankfurt
What Keeps Mankind Alive?
11th International Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul
Red Thread
TANAS, Berlin
The Seen and The Hidden: Dis_covering The Veil
Austrian Cultural Forum, New York
Video in Progress 3
Gallery Photon, Ljubljana
Photonic Moments IV
ProArtOrg, Belgrade
Positionen
Drei Drostei-Haus des Barock und der Moderne, Pinneberg
Unfair Provocation
Hafriyat Karaköy, Istanbul
2008
Emergency Exit
Outlet Gallery, Istanbul
Bewegte Bilder
Deutsches Filmmuseum, Frankfurt
Ansichten Wien
Galerie Kroart, Vienna
Try, Live / Photonic Moments
Gallery Photon, Ljubljana
Urban Jealousy
1st International Roaming Biennial of Tehran
World One Minutes
Today Art Museum, Beijing
Permanent Waiting Room
Social Centre TPO
University of Bologna
Political department Bologna
Ajdovšina
Ljubljana
Seven Seven Contemporary Art, London
Seems to be
Tiroler Künstlerschaft, Innsbruck
Abwesend
Soho in Ottakring, Vienna
2007
Open Artist Studios
BMSuma Contemporary Arts Center, Istanbul
Be realistic, aim for the impossible!
Karşi Sanat Art Gallery, Istanbul
Imagine there is an Art Work
BMSuma Contemporary Arts Center, Istanbul
5th International Filmmor Women’s Film Festival
French Cultural Center Istanbul
Italian Cultural Center Istanbul
Ağrı, Diyarbakır, Van
2006
Art auction: human rights
MAK, Vienna
Arabesque Süperi Lothringer
13íer gallery, Munich
Wir machen das schon wieder (We`re doing it again)
Andreas Huber Galerie, Vienna
2005
Hot Spots-Emerging Artists
Collection Essl, Klosterneuburg
2003
Installation for Marcus Omofuma
Afrikadorf, Stadtpark, Vienna
New Suggestions / New Proposals
Borusan Gallery, Istanbul
Nilbar Güreş
Born 1977 in Istanbul, Turkey
Lives and works in Istanbul and Vienna
Monographs
Overhead, VfmK Verlag für Moderne Kunst, Linz 2018
Who is the Subject?, Osmos Books
Articles
Nilbar Güres in der Galerie Tanja Wagner: Über Tradition und Geschlechterrollen by Suzan Kizilirmak, by Potsdamer Tagesspiegel, April 2018
Little Mother is watching you by Ingo Arend, by taz, March 2018
Ein Riss in allen Dingen by Monopol Magazine, 2018
Nilbar Güreş wins the De’Longhi Art Projects Artist Award 2018 by LAF, 2018
Nilbar Güreş: Die Suche nach verborgenen Spielräumen by Kurier, 2018
“I like a certain softness.” by Anna Larkin, by Exberliner, 2018
Nilbar Güres im Lentos: Dem Patriarchat entwachsen by Roman Gerold, by derStandard, June 2018
Little Mother is watching you by Ingo Arend, by Getidan, February 2018
Turkish artist Nilbar Güres has won the De’Longhi Art Projects Artist Award at London Art Fair 2018 by Mark Westall, by FAD Magazine, January 2018
Young Galleries and Subversive Work Add Edgy Appeal to London Art Fair on its 30th Anniversary by Artnet, January 2018
Nilbar Güreş – Overhead: Die Frau in der Gesellschaft: das verborgene Gesicht by Désirée Hailzl, by Art Magazine, June 2017
Queer-migrantische Gemütszustände und aktuelle Erfahrungen by Yeast Art of Sharing, 2017
Nilbar Güreş by Melissa Canbaz by Girls like Us Magazine, 2017
Ausstellung im Jüdischen Museum Berlin – Blicke unter den weiblichen Schleier by Christiane Habermalz, by Deutschlandfunk Kultur, 2017
Queere Künstler zwischen Berlin und Istanbul by Deutsche Welle, 2017
Mode und Religion : Political Hair, heiliges Haar by Caroline Fetscher, by Der Tagesspiegel, 2017
Ausstellung “ich weiß nicht”: Der tote Angsthase und die Überwachungsstudien by Roman Gerold, by derStandard, July 2017
Contemporary Turkish Artists You Should Know About by Wide Walls, 2016
From a Cave Church to a Fairy Tunnel, an Outdoor Exhibition Revels in Turkey’s Landscape by HYPERALLERGIC, 2016
“They are all Turks, but very very nice”: Re-placing contemporary artists of Turkish origin by European Journal of Future Research, 2016
Nilbar Güreş: Aus der Reihe getanzt by Anne Katrin Feßler, by derStandard, 2016
A VERY THIN LINE by Contemporary And, 2016
Frieze New York by Tim Gentles, by Art Agenda, May 2016
Schleier, Kopfstand und Selbstbewusstsein by Michael Huber, by Kurier, 2015
Nilbar Güreş by Exhibist Magazine, 2015
On the moment of change there is always a new threshold of imagination by Artspace, 2015
In Conversation with Artist Nilbar Güreş by The Guide Istanbul, 2014
The 10 Best Turkish Artists And Where To See Their Work by C. A. Xuan Mai Ardia, by The Culture Trip, 2014
Reasons why Istanbul is your new go-to art hub by Francesca Gavin, by Dazed Digital, 2014
Nilbar Güreş by Merve Unsal by Dare, September 2014
Defining an identity in art by Global Times, 2013
Unsichtbare Feuer am Bosporus by Anne Katrin Feßler, by derStandard, January 2013