Nicolai Howalt
Nicolai Howalt is a Danish artist whose photographic work spans documentary, conceptual, and installation art. He is interested in duality, connections and relationships, and while death is an aspect of his work, he sees mortality as part of an ongoing investigation of life and its fragility. Howalt’s work is marked by the absence of a decisive moment, focusing instead on the heartless quietness of the anticipation and aftermath of a situation, devoid of any narrative cues
For example, the photographs from his Endings series present a study of death in the form of the ashes that remain following the cremation of a human being. Recalling images of distant star systems and galaxies, these dust landscapes beg the question of our material positioning within the universe. Similarly, the artist’s jarring images of wrecked vehicles capture an ambiguity between the crumpled metal detritus of a car crash and the suggestion of aerial geological strata.
Howalt has had solo exhibitions at Esbjerg Kunstmuseum, Bruce Silverstein Gallery in New York, Martin Asbæk Gallery in Copenhagen, and Center for Fotografi in Stockholm. His work has been included in group exhibitions in Denmark at Statens Museum for Kunst, ARoS, and Skagens Museum.
Courtesy of the artist and …
Nicolai Howalt is a Danish artist whose photographic work spans documentary, conceptual, and installation art. He is interested in duality, connections and relationships, and while death is an aspect of his work, he sees mortality as part of an ongoing investigation of life and its fragility. Howalt’s work is marked by the absence of a decisive moment, focusing instead on the heartless quietness of the anticipation and aftermath of a situation, devoid of any narrative cues
For example, the photographs from his Endings series present a study of death in the form of the ashes that remain following the cremation of a human being. Recalling images of distant star systems and galaxies, these dust landscapes beg the question of our material positioning within the universe. Similarly, the artist’s jarring images of wrecked vehicles capture an ambiguity between the crumpled metal detritus of a car crash and the suggestion of aerial geological strata.
Howalt has had solo exhibitions at Esbjerg Kunstmuseum, Bruce Silverstein Gallery in New York, Martin Asbæk Gallery in Copenhagen, and Center for Fotografi in Stockholm. His work has been included in group exhibitions in Denmark at Statens Museum for Kunst, ARoS, and Skagens Museum.
Courtesy of the artist and Edel Assanti
ARoS, Aarhus Arm Museum, Denmark
Bornholms Artmuseum, Denmark
Esbjerg Art Museum, Denmark
Kunsten, Museum of Modern Art Aalborg, Denmark
Maison Europeenne de Photographie, Paris, France
MUSAC, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León. Spain
Museum of Fine Art Houston, Houston, TX
Skagens Museum, Skagen, Denmark
The Danish Arts Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
The K.P.A. Kunst på arbejdspladsen, Copenhagen, Denmark
The Museum of Art Photography, Odense, Denmark
The National Museum of Photography, Copenhagen, Denmark
Martin Asbaek Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
Edel Assanti, London, UK
Bruce Silverstein, New York, NY