Photo: Horst Willi Kurschat
Born in Wuppertal, Susanne Kessler lives and works in Rome and Berlin. She studied painting and graphics at the University of the Arts (UdK) in Berlin and the Royal College of Art (RCA) in London (MfA).
Kessler is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the DAAD scholarship, the Kaiserring scholarship of the Mönchehaus Museum in Goslar, the Paul Strecker Prize of the City of Mainz, and the Von-der-Heydt Culture Prize of the City of Wuppertal in 2022. Her work has been profoundly influenced by her extensive travels to diverse regions such as Argentina, Japan, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Mali, Pakistan, India, China, and Iran. Each of these journeys left a distinct mark on her artistic practice, enriching her works with global cultural perspectives.
As an academic, she has shared her expertise as a guest lecturer at California State University (CSU) and as a professor of sculpture and drawing at City University of New York (CUNY).
Her solo exhibitions span many museums worldwide, including:
Germany: Von der Heydt Museum (Wuppertal), Gustav-Luebcke Museum (Hamm), Landesmuseum Mainz, Kunstverein Speyer, Kunstverein Rosenheim, Kunstverein Würzburg, Kunstmuseum Solingen, Kunstmuseum Albstadt, Nassauischer Kunstverein Wiesbaden, Museum Schloss Moyland, Mönchehaus Museum Goslar. Galerie M Berlin, Foundation DominoArt (Reutlingen), Kunstmuseum Bayreuth, Museum Kunst der Westküste
Internationally: National College of Art (Lahore, Pakistan), Goethe-Institut (Rome, London , Palermo ; New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Lahore, Washington/DC London), Sala Santa Rita (Rome), Museum Maam (Rome), Museo Macro (Rome), Museo Gam (Rome), Cantieri alla Zisa (Palermo), Gallery Chemould (Mumbai), October Gallery (London), Lalit Kala Academi (New Delhi), Taleghani Artist Forum (Tehran), University Gallery John Jay (New York, NY), American University Museum/ Katzen Art Center (Washington/DC), Council of Europe (Strasbourg), Gallery AAAS (AA for advancement of science, Washington, DC)
Critical Acclaim
Ulrike Wolff-Thomsen, director of the Museum Kunst der Westküste, wrote in 2018:
“The multitude and multi shapes of Susanne Kessler’s work, which within the overall project consists of objects, models, films, drawings, and installations, is extremely impressive. In addition, it is fascinating to see how all works exhibit autonomy while also connecting with each other, and referring to the line that began at the origin of all creation—the line that interconnects everything. In a quasi-organic growth process, the line develops continuously—at times very abstractly, at times by way of linking and condensing. A more variegated artistic vision, like a musical fugue, is hardly imaginable.”
CV and list of exhibitions in PDF