Overview
Born in Essen, Germany, Nicole Henning currently resides in Zurich, Switzerland. She holds a Bachelor in Fine Arts from the Lucerne School of Art and Design (HSLU) and a Master in Transdisciplinarity from the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). Beyond her work as a visual artist, Henning collaborates on theater productions as a stage and costume designer.
 

Henning’s work explores fundamental questions about the individual’s place in today’s world. Her recent paintings depict this world as a colorful, surreal playground. Her extensive experience as a stage designer informs her art, with the stage serving as a central element of her creative reflection. In her earlier works, these stages were set in private rooms, model landscapes, or dollhouses, with Anna, her protagonist, either present or absent. The stage design and mise-en-scène reflected Anna's elusive realities.

 

While her earlier stages were primarily interior spaces, Henning's current compositions incorporate elements of the outside world. She sources fragments from the internet and her photo archive, including scenes from consumer culture and the leisure industry, and arranges them into intricate backdrops. These backdrops form the setting for painterly enactments, dramas, and games where various protagonists emerge, blending into their vivid surroundings and becoming part of the object world they inhabit. Her mise-en-scène addresses the complexities of a modern world where simulated realities and constructed worldviews are prevalent, emphasizing the role of the individual within these contexts.

 

Henning’s painting technique allows her to capture the immediacy and changeability of reality. The traces of her process, the vigor of her brushstrokes, and her vibrant color choices convey liveliness, violence, and ambivalence. Her work draws aesthetic inspiration from Pop Art and theatrical backdrop painting, using abstract painterly interventions to add layers of interpretation to her pieces. This unique approach positions Henning as a distinctive voice in contemporary art, seamlessly blending theatricality and visual art to probe the multifaceted nature of modern existence.

Works
  • Nicole Henning, CLOWN, 2024
    Nicole Henning
    CLOWN, 2024
    Paper, acrylic, oil on canvas
    175 x 130 cm
    68 ⅞ x 51 ⅛ in
  • Nicole Henning, Desert, 2024
    Nicole Henning
    Desert, 2024
    Acrylic on canvas
    150 x 200 cm
    59 x 78 ¾ in
  • Nicole Henning, SHOWDOWN, 2024
    Nicole Henning
    SHOWDOWN, 2024
    Acrylic on canvas
    140 x 245 cm
    55 ⅛ x 96 ½ in
  • Nicole Henning, SINGING GIRL, 2024
    Nicole Henning
    SINGING GIRL, 2024
    Acrylic on canvas
    145 x 115 cm
    57 ⅛ x 45 ¼ in
  • Nicole Henning, DANCER 1, 2023
    Nicole Henning
    DANCER 1, 2023
    Guache and acrylic on canvas
    225 x 160 cm
    88 ⅝ x 63 in
  • Nicole Henning, DANCER 2, 2023
    Nicole Henning
    DANCER 2, 2023
    Guache and acrylic on canvas
    205 x 160 cm
    80 ¾ x 63 in
  • Nicole Henning, The Singer, 2022
    Nicole Henning
    The Singer, 2022
    Acrylic on canvas
    123 x 270 cm
    48 ⅜ x 106 ¼ in
  • Nicole Henning, OT, 2021-23
    Nicole Henning
    OT, 2021-23
    Acrylic and oil on canvas
    220 x 175 cm
    86 ⅝ x 68 ⅞ in
  • Nicole Henning, CAMOUFLAGE, 2020-2024
    Nicole Henning
    CAMOUFLAGE, 2020-2024
    Acrylic on canvas
    150 x 120 cm
    59 x 47 ¼ in
  • Nicole Henning, PINOCCHIO, 2020-2022
    Nicole Henning
    PINOCCHIO, 2020-2022
    Acrylic and oil on canvas
    180 x 160 cm
    70 ⅞ x 63 in
  • Nicole Henning, DANCER 3, 2020
    Nicole Henning
    DANCER 3, 2020
    Guache and acrylic on canvas
    225 x 160 cm
    88 ⅝ x 63 in
  • Nicole Henning, DUBBLE BUBBLE, 2020
    Nicole Henning
    DUBBLE BUBBLE, 2020
    Acrylic on canvas
    160 x 140 cm
    63 x 55 ⅛ in
  • Nicole Henning, STARLET, 2020
    Nicole Henning
    STARLET, 2020
    Oil on canvas
    220 x 165 cm
    86 ⅝ x 65 in
  • Nicole Henning, Wonderland 1, 2020
    Nicole Henning
    Wonderland 1, 2020
    Acrylic on canvas
    145 x 125 cm
    57 ⅛ x 49 ¼ in
  • Nicole Henning, WONDERLAND 2, 2020
    Nicole Henning
    WONDERLAND 2, 2020
    Acrylic on canvas
    130 x 170 cm
    51 ⅛ x 66 ⅞ in
  • Nicole Henning, Maske, 2019
    Nicole Henning
    Maske, 2019
    Acrylic and oil on wood
    200 x 112 cm
    78 ¾ x 44 ⅛ in
  • Nicole Henning, DANCER 4
    Nicole Henning
    DANCER 4
    Acrylic and oil on canvas
    235 x 160 cm
    92 ½ x 63 in
  • Nicole Henning, DANCER 5
    Nicole Henning
    DANCER 5
    Acrylic and oil on canvas
    230 x 160 cm
    90 ½ x 63 in
Exhibitions
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