Born 1968 in Neuss, Germany.
Lives and works in Berlin.
Education |
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| 1991–1997 | Universität der Künste, Berlin (master student of Georg Baselitz) |
Awards |
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| 2015 | Marianne-Werefkin-Preis, Verein der Berliner Künstlerinnen 1867 e.V., Germany |
| 2013 | Scholarship Deutsche Akademie, Villa Massimo, Italy |
| 2012 | Artist in Residence, Goethe Institute Lisbon, Portugal |
| 2008 | Art Prize Stadt Nordhorn 2008, Germany |
| 2007 | Residency Villa Aurora, United States |
| 2005 | Scholarship of The Chinati Foundation, United States |
Solo Exhibitions (selection) |
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| 2020 | Der unerfreuliche Zustand der Textur, KINDL – Centre for Contemporary Art, Berlin |
| 2018 | Psychotropische Landschaften, Städtische Galerie Delmenhorst, Delmenhorst |
| The Year of the Whale, Fogo Island Gallery, Fogo Island | |
| 2017 | DER TOTE PALAST ZITTERTE — ZITTERTE!, Mies van der Rohe Haus, Berlin |
| 2015 | Kontrastbedürfnis, Ernst-Barlach-Haus, Hamburg |
| We live in townscape and, after a trek, we shop in Futurism, art3 – art contemporain, Valence | |
| Examination of the Origins, Quartz Studio, Turin | |
| 2014 | Synapsen, ikop Museum für zeitgenössische Kunst, Eupen |
| 2012 | Vermilion Sands and other Stories from the Neon West, Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica, CA |
| 2010 | Isa Melsheimer, Carré d’art – musée d’art contemporain, Nîmes |
| Mittelland, Kunsthaus Langenthal | |
| 2008 | Fremdenzimmer, Stiftung Arp Museum Bahnhof Rolandseck, Rolandseck |
| 2007 | Mönchehaus Museum, Goslar |
| 2005 | The Chinati Foundation, Marfa |
| 2004 | corridors, Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht |
| 2003 | Kunstverein Arnsberg, Arnsberg |
| 2001 | Kunstraum München, Munich |
Group Exhibitions (selection) |
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| 2018 | Women House, The National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C. |
| Belonging to a Place: An Exhibition by Fogo Island Arts, Art Gallery at the Embassy of Canada, Washington, D.C. | |
| 2017 | Naturgeschichten, mumok, Vienna |
| Urban Lights Ruhr, City of Marl, Marl | |
| 2016 | Bühnenreif / 1. Akt, Stiftung Arp Museum Bahnhof Rolandseck, Rolandseck |
| Béton, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna | |
| Parc de Sculptures Contemporaines, Domaine du Muy, Le Muy | |
| 2015 | Le fil rouge, Espace Louis Vuitton, Paris |
| (Un) möglich! Künstler als Architekten, MARTa Herford | |
| 2014 | Backdoor Fantasies, KAI 10, Arthena Foundation, Düsseldorf |
| Jäger & Sammler in der zeitgenössischen Kunst, Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen | |
| 2013 | Macht. Wahn. Vision. Der Turm und urbane Giganten in der Skulptur, Städtisches Museum, Heilbronn |
| 2012 | Garden of Eden, Palais de Tokyo, Paris |
| 30 Künstler / 30 Räume, Neues Museum, Nürnberg | |
| 2011 | Mondes inventés, Mondes habités, MUDAM Luxemburg |
| 2010 | (re)designing nature, Künstlerhaus, Vienna |
Known for her engagement with the history of architectural styles—especially the legacy of Modernism and 1950s–70s examples of concrete architecture—Isa Melsheimer’s works are expressions of her intense research as well as formal investigations. The artist acts as archeologist of often forgotten or neglected buildings, recreating their distinctive shapes both from her study and from her vivid re-imagining of the forms and the spirit of the structures. The shift of scale inherent in the artist’s allusion to architectural structures often lets the works, made from poured concrete, appear as benches, stool-like objects, tiered steps or hollow containers that sometimes double as sites of constructed exotic vegetation. A recent body of work, her glazed ceramics find another kind of representation of architectural structures that depart in scale, material and color from the sources. Although their scale recalls the miniaturized and schematic appearance of preliminary architectural models, the material and colors add a fantastic, playful aspect. All her objects take a certain amount of free license, sometimes containing elements of fantastic recreation, but are always infused with a deep understanding and sympathy for their architectural sources.
