Sebastian Acker
*1981 in Lichtenstein, East Germany
lives and works in Berlin
The work of the German-born artist, Sebastian Acker interrogates humankind’s shifting constructions of nature and their profound – though often invisible – impact on the environment. In a multi-disciplinary practice which spans videos, installations, prints and photographs, the artist advocates for what he calls “unlearning nature”, by unravelling the myths around the non-human world, the legacies of romanticism and the notion of pristine wilderness. Often focusing on the extraction and subsequent distribution of raw materials, Acker opens up a space for the observer to reorientate their position within the global ecosystem.
Acker studied at Chelsea College of Art before completing a MA at Slade School of Fine Art both in London. In 2021 he published his first artist book, Traces of Other Places, (Kerber) for which he received the Stiftung Kunstfonds Publication Grant. He has also been the recipient of an Arts Council England Grant, the AHRC Scholarship, the Neustart Kultur Grant from Deutscher Künstlerbund and the 20 Seconds for Art Award by KÖR at the Vienna Viennale. Recent solo exhibitions have taken place at Kunstverein Dresden (2022), Black Flamingo, Fahrbereitschaft/Haubrok Foundation in Berlin (2018) and Neuer Ravensburger Kunstverein (with Phil Thompson) in 2017. In 2018, Acker’s work was included in Manifesta 12 in Palermo ‘May The Bridges I Burn Light The Way’, Institute of Contemporary Arts in London ‘Diving into a Teacup’ in 2018, and Haus der Statistik in Berlin ‘Residenzpflicht’ in 2020. He has attended several international artist residency programs and given artist talks at Strelka Institute, Chelsea College of the Arts and the Slade School of Fine Art.
Education
| 2010-12 | MFA Sculpture, Slade School of Fine Art, London |
| 2004-07 | BA (Hons) Spatial Design, Chelsea College of Arts, London |
| 2002-03 | Foundation Art & Design, Chelsea College of Arts, London |
Solo Exhibitions
| 2022 | Sebastian Acker: Please Keep the Door Closed, Kunstverein Dresden, Germany |
| 2018 | Ennis House, Black Flamingo Projects @ Fahrbereitschaft / Haubrok Foundation, Berlin |
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| 2017 | Mountain Village (with Phil Thompson), Neuer Ravensburger Kunstverein, Germany |
Selected Group Exhibitions and Screenings
| 2022 | 20 Seconds for Art, KÖR Wien, screening on public transport across Austria |
| Editions II, Uta Stabler, Dresden, Germany | |
| 2020 | Residenzpflicht, curated by msk7, Haus der Statistik, Berlin |
| 2019 | Transpresence (screening), Studio 4413, Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| Kontext Festival, curated by Mariya Dmitrieva, Bolshoe Goloustnoe, Russia | |
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| 2018 | May the Bridges I Burn Light the Way, Exile Gallery at MANIFESTA 12, Palermo |
| Diving Into a Teacup (screening), ICA, London | |
| Mountain Village (screening), Strelka Institute/The New Normal, Moscow | |
| The Starting Point that will Also Be the Exit (screening), The Souvenir Museum, Paris | |
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| 2015 | Chelsea 10, Cookhouse Gallery/Triangle Space, London |
| Stones in a Field – Sorbus Video Week, Sorbus Galleria, Helsinki | |
| Magnolia Cube, 114 Middleton Road, London | |
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| 2014 | Sanssouci Realty Issue #1: The Latte Vision (screening), curated by Attilia Fattori Franchini and Paul Flannery, tank.tv |
| Flow, Store, London | |
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| 2013 | Nova Art Prize, Phillips Auction House, London |
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| 2012 | Ersatzmonument, C. Rockefeller Center for the Contemporary Arts, Dresden, Germany |
| The Function of the Oblique – Action, curated by Attilia Frattori Franchini, Son Gallery, London | |
| The Function of the Oblique – Resistance, curated by Attilia Frattori Franchini, No Format Gallery, London | |
| Come to Disruption, Arcadia Missa, London | |
| Come to Disruption, Tove’s Galleri – Vesterbro ConTemporary Workout Space, Copenhagen | |
| Slade Postgraduate Show, Slade School of Fine Art, London | |
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| 2011 | We Worked in Squares and Loved in Triangles, with Phil Thompson, SSE Space, London |
| Slade Interim Show, with Phil Thompson, Slade Research Centre, London | |
| Bloomsbury Festival, with Phil Thompson, Gordon Square, London | |
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| 2009 | The Ceiling Show, Supine Studios, London |
Awards, Grants & Residencies
| 2022 | KÖR – Kunst im Öffentlichen Raum Wien, 20 Seconds for Art Award, Austria |
| Deutscher Künstlerbund e.V., Neustart Kultur Stipend, Germany | |
| 2020 | Stiftung Kunstfonds, Publication Grant, Germany |
| Berliner Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Europa, Stipend Sonderprogramm, Germany | |
| 2019 | ‘Residenzpflicht’ Stipend, msk7 (supported by Senatsverwaltung Berlin), Germany |
| Kontext Residency, Dekabristen/Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Germany | |
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| 2017 | Arts Council England Grant, UK |
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| 2013 | Nova Art Prize, UK |
| Legion TV Residency, shortlisted, UK | |
| Ideas Tap Film Fund (with Phil Thompson), UK | |
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| 2012 | Duveen Travel Scholarship (with Phil Thompson), UK |
| Land Securities Studio Award, UK | |
| Danish Arts Council, Exhibition Grant with Come to Disruption, DK | |
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| 2011 | Littoral Arts Trust, Merz Barn Residency, Cumbria, UK. |
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| 2010 | Arts and Humanities Research Council Scholarship, UK |
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| 2009 | CeRCCa Residency, Llorenc del Penedes, Spain |
Selected Press & Publications
| 2022 | Duncan Ballantyne-Way, “Sebastian Acker”, Dahai, June 23, 2022 |
| 2021 | Sebastian Acker, Traces of Other Places (Berlin: Kerber, 2021, ISBN 978-3-7356-0761-4) |
| Stefan Fischer, “Gute Kopien”, Süddeutsche Zeitung, September 16, 2021, 35. Online version: “Ohne Kopie kein Original”, Süddeutsche Zeitung, September 15, 2021 | |
| 2019 | Maria Ines Plaza Lazo, “Notes on Palermo”, Arts of the Working Class, January 4, 2019 |
| 2018 | Barbara Engel (ed.), Historical versus Modern: Identity through Imitation? (Berlin: Jovis, 2018, ISBN 978-3-86859-498-0) |
| “EXILE X Summer Camp: ‘May the Bridges I burn light the way'”, O Fluxo, October 18, 2018 | |
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| 2015 | U. Ströbele, A. Greiner and J.P. Sexauer, 24h Skulptur – Notes on Time Sculptures (Berlin: Distanz, 2015, ISBN 978-3-95476-125-8) 94 |
| Martina Dlugaiczyk, “Aura für Alle”. In Die Ausstellungskopie, edited by Anette Tietenberg (Cologne: Böhlau, 2015, ISBN 978-3-412-22120-1) 99, 108 | |
| Martina Dlugaiczyk, “Surrogate Cities in China und Europa”. In Muster im Transfer, edited by Anette Tietenberg (Cologne: Böhlau, 2015, ISBN 978-3-412-22475-2) 247 | |
| Fernholme Road Living Project, Kitson Road No. 6, (London: Camberwell Press, 2015, ISBN 978-1-908971-40-1) 46 | |
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| 2014 | Pau Cata, CeRCCa 2009-2014, (Barcelona: Centre de Recerca i Creacio Casamarles, 2014, ISBN: 978-84-617-1778-1) 28-29 |
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| 2013 | Allison C. Meier, “Capturing the Chinese Copy Town Trend”, Hyperallergic, May 14, 2013 |
| Samuel Medina, “A Pair Of Artists Reveal China’s Counterfeit Cities”, FastCoDesign, May 20, 2013 | |
| Ryan O’Hanlon, “Why Is China Stealing Cities, Towns, and Buildings?”, Pacific Standard, May 16, 2013 | |
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| 2012 | Rozsa Farkas and Tom Clark, “How to Sleep Faster e2”, e-journal by Arcadia_Missa, December 2012 |
| “Slade Sculpture 2012”, print collection, published by Slade School of Fine Art, June 2012 | |
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| 2011 | “XY/Z – Sculpture 2011”, print collection, published by Slade School of Fine Art, June 2011 |
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| 2009 | Alistair Wildblood and Eugenia Ivanassevic,”Supine Studios Autumn/Winter 2009″, catalogue, November 2009 |
Selected Talks, Lectures & Events
| 2021 | Book presentation and signature session, Paris Photo Fair, Paris |
| Sebastian Acker in conversation with Duncan Ballantyne-Way, Black Flamingo, Berlin | |
| Podcast, Tokenverse Episode 7 with Ania Poullain-Majchrzak, DoinGud | |
| 2019 | Artist talk, Transpresence at Studio 4413, Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| Artist talk with msk7 / Residenzpflicht Residency, Modulare Unterkunft für Flüchtlinge, Berlin | |
| Artist talk, Kontext Festival, Bolshoe Goloustnoe, Russia | |
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| 2018 | Remote artist talk, Strelka Institute / The New Normal, Moscow |
| Fake news workshop, Institute for Strategic Dialogue, Facebook HQ, Berlin | |
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| 2014 | Visiting Artist Lecture, Contextual Practice Series, Chelsea College of Arts, London |
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| 2013 | Duveen Talk, Slade School of Fine Art, London |
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| 2012 | Artist Talk, Arcadia_Missa, London |
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| 2010 | Guest Lecture, Spaces & Narrations Lecture Series, Chelsea College of Arts, London |