Charly Nijensohn (Buenos Aires, 1966) is a multidisciplinary artist who lives and works in Berlin. Nijensohn’s practice delves into the idea of a confrontation between humanity and the natural forces of the universe. The relationship between the human figure and the surrounding space establishes a conflict that is both real and existential at the same time
During the 1980s, Nijensohn founded the performance group La Organización Negra, which rapidly garnered recognition in multiple Latin American countries. In the 1990s, he established the anonymous experimental art collective Ar Detroy. This collective served as a platform for the artist’s future individual development, fostering the interrelation of performance art, video, travel, and music.
In 2001, Nijensohn relocated to Berlin, marking a pivotal shift in his creative trajectory. This move facilitated the genesis of individual projects stemming from expeditions to ecologically compromised extreme territories. Such expeditions often involved collaboration with indigenous communities threatened by the encroachment of corporations and governments upon natural resources, as well as with local social groups within the areas explored.
Nijensohn represented Argentina at the 50th Venice Biennale with a solo exhibition. His works were featured at the BienalSur in the Saudi Arabian Museum of Contemporary Art (2023), Buenos Aires (2017), Mediations Biennale in Poland (2012), the Valencia Biennale (2001) curated by Peter Greenaway, the Singapore Biennale (2008) and the Dojima River Biennale in Osaka (2009) curated by Fumio Nanjo. Additionally, he has participated in prestigious festivals like Transmediale, Videobrasil in Sao Paulo, Rencontres Internationales at Louvre Auditorium in Paris (2020 & 2021), Haus der Kulturen der Welt (Berlin, 2020), Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (Madrid) and Centre George Pompidou (Paris), Monitoring in Kassel, Visions of Nature, Kunst Haus Wien (2017/2018), Video Art in Latin America, States of Crisis, LAXART in California (2017).
Nijensohn’s works have been displayed at renowned museums like the Köller-Müller Museum (Windflower, Perceptions of Nature, 2011) in Otterlo, Museum Morsbroich (Radical Shift) in Leverkusen, the Akademie der Künste (Realidad y Utopía, Argentina’s Artistic Path to the Present, 2011) in Berlin, Whitechapel Gallery (2010) in London, Políticas de la diferencia at the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano (MALBA) and Latin America: Video Views – Latin American Artist of the Twentieth Century, Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York.
Since 2020, Nijensohn has been leading the Regeneration Strategies project, creating art installations that provide utopian habitats for regional and migratory animals.
