Exhibition Opening: 26.6.2025
The first retrospective exhibition on the work of Nicola L. is organised in collaboration with Camden Art Centre, London; FRAC Bretagne, Rennes and Museion, Bolzano. Encompassing sculpture, painting and collage, films and performance dating from 1964 to 2014, it presents a practice that connects diverse movements and styles in 20th century art but ultimately defies categorisation. Drawing upon archive material, it offers an in-depth exploration of a multi-layered and expansive practice that is often situated within the history of pop art, feminism and applied art. Assembling works from public and private collections across Europe and North America, it provides a first opportunity to experience the artist’s comprehensive, multifaceted and highly topical practice with works addressing spirituality, sexuality, environmental issues and political activism.
The exhibition is accompanied by a new book published by the four institutions together with Lenz Press.
Biography
During her lifetime Nicola L. (b. 1932, El Jadida, as Nicole Jeannine Suzanne Leuthe; d. 2018 in Los Angeles) held solo exhibitions at the Sculpture Center, New York (2017); Frost Art Museum, Florida International University, Miami, Florida; M HKA, Antwerp; MAMAC, Nice; Le Magasin, Grenoble (all 1986) and Museo de Arte Contemporá neo de Ibiza (1976).
Her work has also been presented within group surveys at Museum Brandhorst, Munich (2022); Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Nice (2021); Tate Modern, London (2015); Centre Pompidou, Paris (2009) and Musée d’Ixelles (1975).
Her performances have been presented at Tate Modern, London (2015); the Liverpool Biennial (2014); and the Secession in Vienna (2009). She lived and worked in Paris, with brief stints in Brussels and Ibiza, from 1989 at the Chelsea Hotel in New York and from 2017 until the end of her life in Los Angeles.
The current retrospective began its tour at the Camden Arts Centre in London (4 October to 29 December 2024), will continue at the FRAC Bretagne from 31 January to 18 May 2025 and, after the Kunsthalle Wien, will conclude at the Museion in Bolzano from 11 October 2025 to 1 March 2026.