Anne Wenzel’s fascination for the language of heroism

Anne Wenzel studied sculpture at the AKI Enschede from 1992 to 1997. After her study she moved to Rotterdam.
Wenzel works on a strong and distinctive oeuvre of monumental ceramic sculptures and installations that are often placed in an accurately orchestrated setting. Wenzel takes a more subversive position between tradition and modernity. Departing from historical iconography, she tackles contemporary and often political themes by using a consciously chosen traditional medium: clay.

Out of a fascination for the language of heroism, she questions the manipulative force of nationalist architecture and sculpture. Investigating their formal language and history, Wenzel reinterprets the symbolic value by connecting it to current tendencies in political culture.

Anne Wenzel had numerous international exhibitions in museums and institutions as Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, S.M.A.K. Gent, Stedelijk Museum ‘s Hertogenbosch, Stedelijk Museum Schiedam, Bornholm Kunstmuseum, Sammlung Essl in Vienna en Witte de With. Her work is included in several international public and private colections.

In 2007 she was on the longlist of the Prixe de Rome and in 2008 nominated for the Dolf Henkes Award.In 2010 she won the Sydney Myer Fund Australian Ceramic Award and in 2014 the European Ceramic Context in Bornholm.

Anne Wenzel is represented by AKINCI Amsterdam, Galerie Tatjana Pieters Gent and Suzanne Tarasieve Paris.

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Website: Anne Wenzel