Isabella Fürnkäs (D/F)
Born 1988 in Tokyo, Japan
Lives and works in Berlin and Düsseldorf
Isabella Fürnkäs (*1988, Tokyo, Japan) is an artist who works in a variety of media. The body of work involves equal shares of video, multi-media installation, performance and drawing. In her multi-layered oeuvre she addresses questions of physical and spatial intimacy, the influence of digitalization on interpersonal relationships, and the transformation of social communication patterns. Fürnkäs investigates visual spaces of our present and creates contextual shifts that echo our own vulnerabilities. In the context of her works, inner images and multi-layered questions are transformed into a repertoire of media-reflexive actions via performative, installative and time-based techniques. Experimental by nature her works involve a subtle comparison of the individual and its society, creating situations of disruption and (re-)creation. By using a wide range of materials such as glass, epoxy-coated cloth, fluids, fabrics or pottery in combination with audio, video and performance, her works open up to potential mental spheres beyond the familiar, in the unexpected state of being in-between.
She studied at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf with Keren Cytter and Andreas Gursky, where she finished as Meisterschülerin in 2017. In addition, she was a guest student at the Universität der Künste Berlin with Hito Steyerl. Previously, she studied art history and philosophy at the Universität zu Köln, the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste, as well as fine arts at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste Wien. She is the recipient of the CCA Artist-in-Residence Program in 2024 and the BERLIN MASTERS Schliemann Residency in 2022. Furthermore, she is a scholar of the Akademie der Künste Berlin and the winner of the first prize of the strike a pose K21 Kunstsammlung NRW award in 2021. She has participated in numerous residency programs such as the Bronner Residency Tel Aviv (2019); the artist residency of the Goethe Institut Dakar (2018); and received a travel grant from the Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen (2017). In 2016 she received the Förderpreis des Landes NRW, as well as the Paris Cité Internationale des Arts Paris residency. Since 2023 she is a lecturer at Hochschule der Bildenden Künste Braunschweig for digital art and practice.
Her work has been exhibited at Kunstmuseum Mühlheim, Germany (2025); Künstlerhaus Dortmund, Germany (2025); Art-O-Rama, Marseille, France (2024); Museum Moyland, Cleve, Germany (2022); Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany (2022); Wilhelm Hallen, Berlin, Germany (2022); Villa Schöningen, Potsdam, Germany (2022); KINDL - Centre for Contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany (2020); Kunsthaus NRW, Kornelimünster, Germany (2020); Sprengel Museum, Hannover, Germany (2019); Kunstverein Göttingen, Germany (2019); Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, Austria (2018); the 13. Biennale for Contemporary Art Dakar, Senegal (2018); Museum Abteiberg, Mönchengladbach, Germany (2016); Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf, Germany (2016); Nam June Paik Art Center, Seoul, South Korea (2016); and in the project space of the Julia Stoschek Collection in Düsseldorf, Germany (2013).
Her recent solo exhibitions and performances were on view at Wilhelm Hallen, Berlin, Germany (2024); Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany (2023); Salon Acme, Mexico City, Mexico (2020); Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne, Germany (2018); Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, Austria (2018); Osthaus Museum, Hagen, Germany (2018); Akademie der Künste der Welt, Cologne, Germany (2017); Pogobar KW Institute for Contemporary Art Berlin, Germany (2017) and Manifesta 11, Zurich, Switzerland (2016).
Fürnkäs' work can be found in numerous private and public collections, such as the collection of Kunsthalle Recklinghausen, the collection of Museum Abteiberg, the collection of the Ulsan Art Museum, South Korea, the Burger Collection Zurich/Hong Kong, the collection of Kunsthaus NRW, the collection of Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen and the Philara Collection, Düsseldorf, the private collection of Karla Zerressen, DE, and the private collection of Julia Stoschek, DE, amongst others.
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