works
bio
works
bio
Barbara Nanning was born in 1957 in The Netherlands and lives and works in Amsterdam. She graduated from the prestigious Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam and is the recipient of several international awards.
Nature, both organic and inorganic, is a constant source of inspiration for Nanning. She continuously explores new approaches in her artistic practice to create hypnotic surface textures by taking inspiration from the shapes and colors of crystals, jellyfish, flowers, and microorganisms. She is skilled in the ancient decorative technique verre églomisé, which literally and figuratively enriches the sensual inner surfaces of her works by adding a gilded and shining layer of gold or palladium. Nanning combines regularity with fluidity, order with chaos, and rigidity with informality. “I see myself as a material-bound artist, pushing the boundaries of glassmaking that result in fascinating transparency, optical effects, and reflectivity”.
Barbara Nanning’s mesmerizing sculptures unite tradition with innovation and are a fusion of carefully chosen unconventionally combined elements. Nanning unites classical artistic methods with her innovative use of materials to achieve an entirely unique language of form, one which often evolves in the making process. As Barbara notes, “After each of my trips abroad I return to my studio with a profusion of new ideas about color, design and texture that has profoundly influenced my work.” Nanning sets down her inspiration in dozens of sketches, drawings and photos that function as a memory aid.
Nanning’s work has been showcased most recently at Design Miami, Basel, TEFAF, Salone del Mobile Milano, KunstRAI Amsterdam, and the Salon Art + Design fair in New York. She is represented in the permanent collections of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, amongst many other distinguished museums. Her work has been collected by 62 museums across 16 countries and also found in numerous private collections.
Her work has been featured in publications such as Elle Decor, Galerie, Financial Focus, and Art & Antiques.