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Okka-Esther Hungerbühler (*1988, Bonn) lives and works in Berlin and Berlitt (Ostprignitz-Ruppin). She studied at the University of the Arts, Berlin and the Cooper Union, New York, and graduated as a master student from Professor Thomas Zipp’s class in 2016.
Hungerbühler’s oeuvre is spanning painting and sculpture. Her fabulous sculptures are made of wrapping paper, tape, feathers and other found materials. Seemingly having fallen out of time they are re-ordered as thoughtful compositions. The artist evokes themes which could not be more timeless: social interactions, feelings and roles.
Some of Hungerbühler’s creatures have motorised inner lives, awakening carefully compiled imaginary communities. Her paintings are both abstract and figurative, symbolizing European cities and princess dresses, while representations of fable animals are also a recurring motif. Her ambiguous pictorial worlds bear witness to memories and abysses – always accompanied by a pinch of humor. Hungerbühler invites us to activate and discover storytelling all over again.
In 2014, Okka-Esther Hungerbühler was awarded the Berlin Art Prize. In 2017, she received the Villa Concordia working scholarship in Bamberg and was nominated for the Berlin Masters Prize. She had several solo exhibitions (selection) at Galerie Haverkampf Leistenschneider, Berlin; Schwartzsche Villa, Berlin; Avlskarl Gallery, Copenhagen; Villa Concordia and has been included in a variety of group exhibitions (selection): Kunstverein Dresden, Dresden; New Home; Berlin; Elektrohalle Rohmberg, Salzburg; Haus am Lützowplatz, Berlin; Galerie Wedding, Berlin; KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin; Funkhaus Berlin, Berlin; Max-Lieber-Mann-Haus, Berlin; Kunstsaele, Berlin.
Born in Bonn, Germany / geboren in Bonn, Deutschland
Lives and works in Berlin, Germany / lebt und arbeitet in Berlin, Deutschland
Universität der Künste Berlin, Meisterschülerin (Professor Thomas Zipp)
Cooper Union, New York
Okka-Esther Hungerbühler “Balloon trapped in airport sculpture”, Avlskarl Gallery Copenhagen, Denmark
Okka-Esther Hungerbühler “Borkenkäfer”, artothek Cologne, Germany
Okka-Esther Hungerbühler NASE, Kunstverein Dresden, Dresden, Germany
Non-Player Character, Kunstverein Schwerin
“Für Ilse”, A Cooperative Exhibition with Anne Fellner, New Home, Berlin
“Okkas Kleider”, Sangt Hipolyt Berlin, Germany
‘You Can Do Better – Bad Painting’, Recommended by Laura Helena Wurth, Elektrohalle Rhomberg, Salzburg, Austria
‘Prozess_Farbe’, Städtische Galerie Nordhorn
‘It Was All a Dream’, curated by Laura Helena Wurth, Haus am Lützowplatz, Berlin
‘Okka-Esther Hungerbühler – Die faule Nuss’, Schwartzsche Villa, Berlin
‘Sitting in Circles’, Galerie Wedding, Berlin
‘bandwagon nr. 1’, Pogo-Bar, KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin
‘Ich zeige mich von der vorteilhaftesten Seite’, Philipp Haverkampf Galerie, Berlin
‘Empty bars from above in Copenhagen’ Avlskarl Gallery, Kopenhagen (solo)
‘Willkommen im neuen Jahr’, Philipp Haverkampf Galerie, Berlin (solo)
Jeder gegen jeden, D.e.l.f., Wien, Solo
‘Winter’, Sox, Berlin
‘Das Duell’, Villa Concordia, Bamberg
‘Berlin Masters’, Max-Lieber-Mann-Haus, Berlin
‘Wenig Licht, kein Wasser’, Philipp Haverkampf Galerie, Berlin (solo)
‘Children of Korn’, Argh, Berlin
‘Enough romance. Lets fuck.’ curated by Cosima von Bonin for ‘curated.by’, Galerie Gabriele Senn, Wien
‘To Lie in Cheese, to Smile in the Butter’ curated by Maurin Dietrich and Kate Brown, Kunstsaele Berlin
‘Yoga Dog’, curated by Veit Loers, Galerie Kai Erdmann, Hamburg
‘Brillantine: Charlotte Dualé, Ian Edmonds, Okka-Esther Hungerbühler, Mary B. Kay’ Ashley and Or Gallery, Berlin
‘The Memory For Beautiful Exceptions’, Kreuzberg Pavillon, Berlin
‘Destiny Was Knocking’, Berlin Art Prize, Artisterium, Tbilisi
‘Hippies Use Side Door. Das Jahr 2014 Hat Ein Rad Ab’, curated by Cosima von Bonin, MuMoK, Wien
‘(and the duck also)’, Kunsthalle Galapagos, New York
‘Spectra Vision’, curated by Anselm Reyle, Galerie Hidari Zingaro, Berlin
Recherche Stipendium Berlin
Strabag Art Award shortlist
Villa Concordia Preis
Karl-Hofer-Gesellschaft Förderung 2016
Berlin Art Prize
Helmut-Thoma-Stiftung 2014
