Paloma Varga Weisz

Paloma Varga Weisz (b. 1966, Mannheim, Germany) lives and works in Düsseldorf, Germany.Varga Weisz's artistic journey is influenced by familial ties, formal woodcarving training, and a nuanced exploration of various artistic expressions. She employs sculpture, watercolour, and drawing to delve into profound themes such as memory, mortality, and psychology. Her creations, whether on paper or three-dimensional, serve as extensions of her body and mind. 


Steeped in a legacy of artistic inspiration, her father, Feri Varga, a Hungarian artist, played a pivotal role in shaping her early artistic inclination. Her father's stories of an unconventional life alongside luminaries like Jean Cocteau, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso fuelled her innate artistic inclination from a tender age. 


As described by writer and art critic Jennifer Higgie: "Varga Weisz’s sculptures and works on paper acknowledge the uncensored daydreams of contemporary life; the kind that drift between the present, the future and the past with an ease that makes time-travellers of us all.” 


Varga Weisz's figures, both sculptural and illustrated, encapsulate a myriad of personal and collective motifs, often embracing unconventional and grotesque forms. Motivated by a quest to capture the body’s fleeting nature, the artist’s vocabulary illustrates life with bold symbolism and evolving emotions.

Unknown

Biography

Solo exhibitions
Year
Country, Exhibition Name, Location
2024
F, Studio Paloma Varga Weisz, MASSIMODECARLO Pièce Unique , Paris
2023
D, Wilde Leute, Konrad Fischer Galerie, Berlin
UK, Glass, Sadie Coles HQ, London
2021
F, Glory Hole, Le Consortium, Dijon
2020
UK, Bumped Body, The Henry Moore Institute, Leeds
2019
USA, Wundergestalt, Gladstone 64, New York
NL, Bumped Body, Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht
2018
UK, Wild Bunch, Sadie Coles HQ, London
2017
P, Paloma Varga Weisz, Galeria Pedro Cera, Lisbon
D, Skulpturenhalle, Thomas Schütte Foundation, Neuss/Holzheim
2016
D, Kabinettstück Curated by Moritz Wesseler, Fürstenberg Zeitgenössisch, Donaueschingen
N, Paloma Varga Weisz, Gerhardsen Gerner, Oslo
2015
I, Root of a Dream Curated by Marianna Vecellio, Castello di Rivoli, Turin
2014
UK, Paloma Varga Weisz, Sadie Coles HQ, London
2013
D, Unfired Curated by Moritz Wesseler, CAPRI, Düsseldorf
IRL, Krummer Hund, Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin
D, Krummer Hund, Kabinett für aktuelle Kunst, Bremerhaven
2012
UK, Paloma Varga Weisz, Sadie Coles HQ, London
D, Maison de Plaisance (with Rosemarie Trockel) Curated by Stefanie Kreuzer, Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen
2011
UK, Spirits of My Flesh, Chapter, Cardiff
2009
IL, Paloma Varga Weisz, Sommer Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv
2008
A, Bumped Body Curated by Gerald Matt and Angela Stief, Kunsthalle Wien project space, Karlsplatz, Vienna
D, Paloma Varga Weisz, Konrad Fischer Galerie, Berlin
USA, Paloma Varga Weisz, Gladstone Gallery, New York
2007
UK, Paloma Varga Weisz, Sadie Cole HQ, London
2006
IRL, Paloma Varga Weisz, Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin
2005
UK, Paloma Varga Weisz, Sadie Coles HQ, London
USA, Chor, Gladstone Gallery, New York
2004
D, Paloma Varga Weisz Curated by Guide de Werd, Museum Kurhaus Kleve, Kleve
2003
D, Stubaifrau, Konrad Fischer Galerie, Düsseldorf
2002
D, Big Trip, Konrad Fischer Galerie, Düsseldorf
I, Waldfrau, Castello di Rivara, Turin
Group exhibitions
Year
Country, Exhibition Name, Location
2024
A, Eternal Feminine Curated by Leonie Mir, Gmunden
2023
USA, COLLECTION HIGHLIGHTS EXHIBITION, Rubell Museum Miami , Miami
D, IN IHRER ZEIT. SPUREN VON GEWICHT, Kunsthalle Museum Bremerhaven, Bremerhaven
D, ANIMAL FARM, Kunst & Denker Contemporary , Düsseldorf
D, DER NEUE SAMMLUNG, Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf
2022
I, Balancing Act, MASSIMODECARLO, Milano
D, Konterfei, Orangerie Schloss Benrath, Düsseldorf-Benrath
UK, Repeater, Sadie Coles HQ, London
USA, The searchers, HDTS 2022, Joshua Tree
D, 25 Jahre Kurhaus Kleve, Museum Kurhaus / Kleve, Kleve
I, Winter Wunderkammer, MASSIMODECARLO, VSpace
I, Pupille. Ci fioriscono gli occhi se ci guardiamo Curated by Rita Selvaggio, Casa Masaccio Centro per l'Arte Contemporanea, San Giovanni Valdarno
I, Glassstress 2022 – STATE OF MIND, Fondazione Berengo Art Space, Venice
I, Afterimage Curated by Bartolomeo Pietromarchi, Alessandro Rabottini, MAXXI, L'Aquila
2021
S, SKOGSPROMENAD, CFHILL, Stockholm
UK, Trees die stand: Plants and humans Curated by Freda Uziyel, Pi Artworks, London
UK, Fourth plinth shortlist exhibition, The National Gallery, London
USA, Les fleurs du mal, Parotta Contemporary Art, Cologne and Bonn
UK, Cracked, Tristan Hoare, London
2020
D, Group Show, MOUNT KAPLAN, Berlin
D, -a breath? a name? - the ways of worldmaking, Biennale Gherdëina 7, Dolomiten, Jubel Jubel, - Es rolle der Rubel, Tiefkeller, Bonn
A, The effects of crossings and self-aggrandization in the human kingdom, Mario Mauroner Gallery, Vienna
2019
ROK, Homo Faber: Craft in Contemporary Sculpture, Asia Culture Center, Gwangju
F, The American Scene, National Museum of Ceramics, Sevres
CZ, A cool Breeze, Galerie Rudolfinum, Prague
UK, The Enigma of the Hour - 100 Years of Psychoanalytic Thought, Freud Museum, London
D, Multiface, Georg Hornemann studio, Berlin
CH, Mask: In Present Day Art, Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau
S, Animalesque / Art Across Species and Beings, Bildmuseet, Umea
GR, The Palace at 4 a.am, NEON Foundation, Archeological Museum, Mykonos
2018
UK, ISelf Collection Bumped Bodies, Whitechapel Gallery, London
I, Al Dio Ortopedico, Galleria Gentili, Florence

Bibliography

Year
Author, Publication Title, Date
2020
THE PALACE AT 4 A.M., Exhibition Catalogue.
– A BREATH? A NAME? – THE WAYS OF WORLDMAKING, BIENNALE GHERD.INA 7, ORTISEI, Exhibition Catalogue.
HOMO FABER: CRAFT IN CONTEMPORARY SCULPTURE, Exhibition Catalogue.
2019
BUMPED BODY, Exhibition Catalogue.
MASK, IN PRESENT-DAY ART, Exhibition Catalogue.
THE ENIGMA OF THE HOUR, 100 YEARS OF PSYCHOANALYTIC THOUGHT, Exhibition Catalogue.
A COOL BREEZE, Exhibition Catalogue.
2018
KUNSTMUSEUM BREMERHAVEN, SAMMELN, PR.SENTIEREN, DOKUMENTIEREN, Exhibition Catalogue.
THE BEAUTIFUL ESCAPE, Exhibition Catalogue.
2017
NEUE D.SSELDORFER KUNST SZENE IN 70 PORTR.TS, Exhibition Catalogue.
ROOT OF A DREAM, Exhibition Catalogue.
REVOLT OF THE SAGE, Exhibition Catalogue.
MINDESTENS_EIN_GEDANKE_ZU. 25 TEXTE ZU 25 ARBEITEN VON 25 K.NSTLERBUNDES BREMERHAVEN-STIPENDIUMS, Exhibition Catalogue.
DREAMERS AWAKE, Exhibition Catalogue.
PLAY WITH ME. DOLLS. WOMEN. ART, Exhibition Catalogue.
PALOMA VARGA WEISZ, Exhibition Catalogue.
CREATING OURSELVES: THE SELF IN ART, Exhibition Catalogue.
LUTHER UND DIE AVANTGARDE, Exhibition Catalogue.
2016
WOLKE UND KRISTALL. DIE SAMMLUNG DOROTHEE UND KONRAD FISCHER,, Exhibition Catalogue.
CERAMIX: DE RODIN À SCHÜTTE, Exhibition Catalogue.
HINTER DEM VORHANG. VERH.LLUNG UND ENTH.LLUNG SEIT DER RENAISSANCE. VON TIZIAN BIS CHRISTO, Exhibition Catalogue.
2015
DU SOLLST DIR (K)EIN BILD MACHEN, Exhibition Catalogue.
THE PROBLEM OF GOD, Exhibition Catalogue.
RABENMUTTER. ZWISCHEN KRAFT UND KREISE: M.TTERBILDER VON 1900 BIS HEUTE, Exhibition Catalogue.
QUEENSIZE – FEMALE ARTISTS FROM OLBRICHT COLLECTION, Exhibition Catalogue.
NO MAN’S LAND: WOMAN ARTISTS FROM THE RUBELL FAMILY COLLECTION, Exhibition Catalogue.
2014
BASIC RESEARCH – NOTES ON THE COLLECTION, Exhibition Catalogue.
THE HUMAN FACTOR: THE FIGURE IN CONTEMPORARY SCULPTURE, Exhibition Catalogue.
THE DISTAFF SIDE, Exhibition Catalogue.
RUBELL FAMILY COLLECTION, HIGHLIGHTS AND ARTISTS’ WRITINGS, Exhibition Catalogue.
GENIUS LOCI, Exhibition Catalogue.
2013
LES AVENTURES DE LA VÈRITÈ. PEINTURE ET PHILOSOPHIE: UN RÉCIT, Exhibition Catalogue.

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