Simon Denny
Simon Denny (b. 1982 Auckland, New Zealand) lives and works in Berlin, Germany. He makes artworks that unpack stories about technology using a variety of media including painting, web-based media, installation, sculpture, print and video. He studied at the Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland and at the Städelschule, Frankfurt am Main.
Recent solo exhibitions include Petzel Gallery, New York (2024); Dunkunsthalle, New York (2024); Kunstverein Hannover, Hannover (2023); the Gus Fisher Gallery (University of Auckland), Auckland (2022); Outernet, London (2022); Kunstverein in Hamburg, Hamburg (2021); K21– Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf (2020); the Museum of Old and New Art, Tasmania (2019); MOCA, Cleveland (2018); OCAT, Shenzhen (2017); Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2017); WIELS Contemporary Art Centre, Brussels (2016); Serpentine Galleries, London (2015); MoMA PS1, New York (2015); Portikus, Frankfurt (2014) MUMOK, Vienna (2013); Kunstverein Munich, Munich (2013).
Denny represented New Zealand at the 56th Venice Biennale in 2015. Denny has curated exhibitions such as Proof of Stake at Kunstverein in Hamburg (2021) and Proof of Work at Schinkel Pavillon, Berlin (2018). His works are represented in major institutional collections including MoMA (New York), Kunstsammlung Nordrhein Westfalen (Düsseldorf), Walker Art Centre (Minneapolis), Buffalo AKG (Buffalo), Kunsthaus Zürich (Zürich), Sammlung zeitgenössischer Kunst der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Berlin), Hamburger Kunsthalle (Hamburg) and Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Wellington).
He co-founded the artist mentoring program BPA//Berlin Program for Artists and serves as a Professor of Time-Based Media at The Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg.
Solo Shows
- 2024
- 2023
- ‘Optimism’, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland, NZ, Auckland
- ‘Metaverse Landscapes’, Fine Arts, Sydney, Paddington, AU
- ‘Read, Write, Own ’, Altman Siegel, San Francisco, US, San Francisco
- ‘Metaverse Landscapes’, Frans Masereel Centrum, Kasterlee, BE
- ‘Metaverse Landscapes’, Kunstverein Hannover, Hannover, DE
- 2022
- 2021
- 2020
- 2019
- 2018
- 2017
- ‘The Founder’s Paradox’, Michael Lett, Auckland, NZ, Auckland
- ‘Shenzhen Entrepreneurial Form’, Fine Arts, Sydney, Paddington, AU
- ‘Regulation’, BOZAR, Brussels, BE, Brussels
- ‘FaaS – Feedback as a Service: Reflecting on messaging, debate and criticality inside a parliamentary discussion on internet governance’, BOZAR, Brussels, BE, Brussels
- ‘Real Mass Entrepreneurship’, OCAT Shenzhen, Shenzhen, CN
- ‘Hammer Projects: Simon Denny’, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, US, Los Angeles
- 2016
- 2015
- 2014
- 2013
- 2012
- 2011
- 2010
- 2009
- 2008
- 2007
- 2006
Group Shows
- 2024
- 2023
- ‘Calculating Empires: A Genealogy of Technology and Power, 1500-2025’, Fondazione Prada, Milan, IT, Milan
- ‘The Irreplacible Human’, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, DK
- ‘Expanded world. Between the physical and the virtual.’, Espacio Fundación Telefónica, Madrid, ES
- ‘Exploring Decentralised Web’, HEK (House of Electronic Arts), Basel, CH
- ‘Horizons: Is there anybody out there?’, Antenna Space Shanghai, Shanghai, CN
- ‘Are you working now’, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung, TW, Taichung
- ‘Brave new work’, Galerie Alte Schule Adlershof, Berlin, DE, Dörpfeldstraße 56
- ‘Collective Worldbuilding – Kunst im Metaversum’, HEK (House of Electronic Arts), Basel, CH
- ‘Gödel Escher Bach’, West Den Haag, The Hague, NL
- ‘I’ll Be Your Mirror: Art and the Digital Screen’, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, US
- 2022
- ‘Time After Time: The Polychronicity in Blockchain’, Hyundai Motorstudio Beijing, Beijing, CN
- ‘My Life in the Metaverse’, Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi, AE
- ‘DYOR – Do Your Own Research’, Kunsthalle Zürich, Zürich, CH, Limmatstrasse 270
- ‘#Datamaze: Hybrid Condition’, DOX Centre for Contemporary Art, Prague, CZ
- ‘Post-Capital: Art and the Economics of the Digital Age’, Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, DK, Copenhagen
- ‘Landscapes of Labour’, KAI10 Arthena Foundation, Düsseldorf, DE, Düsseldorf
- ‘Conversation Pit’, Winona, Brussels, BE
- ‘Creation Stories’, Gus Fisher Gallery, Aukland, NZ, Auckland
- ‘Virtual Property, Art Basel Miami’, Petzel Gallery, New York, US, New York
- ‘What a Wonderful World’, MAXXI – National Museum of 21st Century Art, Rome, IT, Rome
- ‘World out of Joint’, Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Winterthur, CH
- ‘Among the Machines’, Zabludowicz Collection, London, UK, London
- ‘Worlds of Networks’, Centre Pompidou, Paris, FR, Paris
- ‘something new, something old, something desired’, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, DE
- ‘INFORMATION (Today)’, Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo, NO, Oslo
- ‘Beneath the Skin, Between the Machines’, How Art Museum, Shanghai, CN, Shanghai
- ‘Chateau Royal’, Chateau Royal, Berlin, DE
- 2021
- ‘Futura Proxima’, Galerie Gismondi, Paris, FR, Paris
- ‘Feeling the Stones’, Diriyah Biennale, Diriyah, SA, Diriyah
- ‘Jahresgaben 2021’, Hamburg Kunstverein, Hamburg, DE, Hamburg
- ‘Simon Denny et al.’, Michael Lett, Auckland, NZ, Auckland
- ‘The Ethereal Aether. An Exhibition of Digital Art’, The State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, RU, The Virtual Space of The Stock Exchange Building
- ‘A Time to Embrace and to Refrain from Embracing’, 6th Ural Biennial, Jekaterinburg, RU
- ‘Post-Capital: Art and the Economics of the Digital Age’, MUDAM, Luxembourg City, LU, Luxembourg
- ‘Eclipse’, 7th Athens Biennale, Athens, GR
- ‘Iskra Delta’, 34th Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana, SI
- ‘Institution Building’, CIVA, Brussels, BE, Brussels
- ‘Don’t Be Evil’, The University of Queensland Art Museum, Queensland, AU, Brisbane
- ‘Activist Neuroaesthetics: Part 3: Telepathy and New Labor’, Kunstverein am Rosa–Luxemburg–Platz, Berlin, DE, Berlin
- ‘State and Nature’, Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, Baden Baden, DE
- ‘Hiding in Plain Sight’, Pace Gallery, New York, US, New York
- ‘Fair Use: What’s Mine is Yours’, Altman Siegel, San Francisco, US, San Francisco
- ‘footnotes and headlines’, Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York, US, New York
- ‘INFORMATION (Today)’, Kunsthalle Basel, Basel, CH
- ‘The Dreamers’, Belgrade Biennale, Belgrade, RS
- ‘Burning Speech’, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin, IT, Turin
- ‘Proof of Art’, Francisco Carolinum, Linz, AT, Linz
- ‘Natively Digital: A Curated NFT Sale’, Sotheby’s, New York, US, London, New York
- ‘Baroque Topologies’, Kunstverein Leipzig, Leipzig, DE
- ‘A Post-Internet Quarantine’, Sof:Art, Bolognia, IT, Bologna
- ‘The Future of the State of Upcoming Exhibition #3’, Sharjah Art Foundation, Dubai, UAE, Sharjah
- ‘Opening the Space. Works from the Collection in Light of Current Issues’, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen K20, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, DE, Düsseldorf
- ‘Aquaria. Or the Illusion of a Boxed Sea’, Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology, Lisbon, PT, Lisbon
- ‘Beyond States: The Boundaries of Statehood’, Zeppelin Museum, Friedrichshafen, DE, Friedrichshafen
- 2020
- ‘100 Drawings from Now’, The Drawing Center, New York, US, New York
- ‘We Never Sleep’, Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, Frankfurt, DE, Frankfurt
- ‘Studio Berlin’, Berghain, Berlin, DE, Berlin
- ‘Abducting Europe’, IMPAKT – Centre for Mediaculture, Utrecht, NL, Utrecht
- ‘crypto_manifold’, Chronus Art Center, Shanghai, CN, Shanghai
- ‘Art in the Age of Anxiety’, Sharjah Art Foundation, Dubai, UAE, Sharjah
- ‘Jenny from the Block’, Fotopub Association for Contemporary Culture, Ljubljana, SVN, Ljubljana
- ‘Survival of the Fittest’, Kunstpalais Erlangen, Erlangen, DE, Erlangen
- ‘Uncanny Valley: Being Human in the Age of Ai’, de Young Museum, San Francisco, US, San Francisco
- ‘Algotaylorism’, La Kunsthalle Mulhouse, Mulhouse, FR, Mulhouse
- 2019
- ‘Circular Flow’, Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, CH, Basel
- ‘Kölnischer Kunstverein Jahresgaben 2019’, Kölnischer Kunstverein, Köln, DE, Köln
- ‘Future and the Arts: AI, Robotics, Cities, Life – How Humanity Will Live Tomorrow’, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, JPN, Tokio
- ‘City Flip-Flop’, Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab (C-LAB), Taipei, TW, Taipei
- ‘Quid est veritas?’, Annka Kultys Gallery, London, GB, London
- ‘The Invisible Hand’, 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Sydney, AU, Sydney
- ‘40,000 – A Museum of Curiosity’, 14th Fellbach Triennial for Small Sculpture, Stuttgart, DE, Alte Kelter Fellbach
- ‘Uncanny Values: Artificial Intelligence & You’, Museum für angewandte Kunst, Vienna, AT, Vienna
- ‘Signals – Algorithms of Disobedience’, Gallery SULUV, Novi Sad, SRB, Novi Sad
- ‘Art Contemporary Club’, 10th Festival Chromatic, Montreal, CA, Usine C, Montréal
- ‘Face with Tears of Joy’, Blitz, Valetta, MLT, Valetta
- ‘Digital Dilemma – The Architecture of Trust’, Bureau Europa, Maastricht, NL, Maastricht
- ‘Art Cologne 2019’, Art Cologne, Cologne, DE
- ‘Tomorrow is the Question’, ARoS Aarhus Art Museum, Aarhus, DK, Aarhus
- ‘Der Alt-Right-Komplex’, Dortmunder U, Dortmund, DE, Dortmund
- ‘Felix Art Fair 2019’, Fine Arts, Sydney, Paddington, AU
- 2018
- ‘As We May Think: Feedforward’, 6th Guangzhou Triennial, Guangzhou, CN, Guangdong Museum of Art
- ‘Dialogue’, Georg Kargl Gallery, Vienna, AT, Vienna
- ‘Construction of the World. Art and Economy – 1919-1939 and 2008-2018’, Kunsthalle Mannheim, Mannheim, DE, Mannheim
- ‘Imagined Borders’, 12th Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju, KR, Gwangju Biennale Exhibition Hall
- ‘Hybrids’, Lustwarande Platform for Contemporary Sculpture, Tilburg, NLD, Tilburg
- ‘I Was Raised on the Internet’, Museum Of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago, US, Chicago
- ‘The Mediated Image’, Altman Siegel, San Francisco, US, San Francisco
- ‘Your North is my South’, Museum für Neue Kunst, Freiburg im Breisgau, DE, Freiburg im Breisgau
- ‘This Is New Zealand’, City Gallery Wellington, NZ, Wellington
- 2017
- ‘Dark Clouds Silver Linings’, Hessel Museum of Art, New York, US, New York
- ‘Unfinished Conversations: New Work from the Collection’, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, US, New York
- ‘A Better Version of You’, Art Sonje Center for Contemporary Art, Seoul, KR, Seoul
- ‘Please come back’, MAXXI – National Museum of 21st Century Art, Rome, IT, Rome
- ‘Homo Mundus Minor’, T293, Rome, IT, Rome
- 2016
- ‘Hack Space Shanghai’, K11 Art Foundation, Hong Kong, CN, Shanghai
- ‘What People Do for Money’, Manifesta 11, Zürich, CH, Zurich
- ‘Blockchain Visionaries’, 9th Berlin Biennale, Berlin, DE, East German Staatsrat
- ‘Emotional Supply Chains’, Zabludowicz Collection, London, UK, London
- ‘Hack Space Hong Kong’, K11 Art Foundation, Hong Kong, CN, Hong Kong
- ‘The Black Chamber’, Aksioma, Ljubljana, SVN, Ljubljana
- ‘Mashup: The Birth of Modern Culture’, Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, CAN, Vancouver
- ‘Fluidity’, Hamburg Kunstverein, Hamburg, DE, Hamburg
- 2015
- 2014
- ‘looking forward’, La Biennale de Montréal, Montreal, CA, Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal
- ‘The Darknet – From Memes to Onionland. An Exploration’, Kunsthalle Sankt Gallen, Gallen, CH
- ‘Blue Times’, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, AT
- ‘Europe, Europe’, Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo, NO, Oslo
- ‘The Walters Prize 2014’, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland, NZ, Auckland
- ‘The History of Technology’, Jessica Silverman Gallery, San Francisco, USA, San Francisco
- ‘Smart New World’, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, DE, Düsseldorf
- ‘Art Post-Internet’, Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, CH, Beijingm CHN
- 2013
- ‘Speculations on Anonymous Materials’, Fridericianum, Kassel, DE, Kassel
- ‘National Gallery Prize for Young Art 2013’, Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin, DE, Berlin
- ‘Ars Viva 12/13. Systeme’, Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, Vaduz, LIE, Vaduz
- ‘The Encyclopedic Palace’, 55th Venice Biennale, Venice, IT
- ‘Image into Sculpture’, Centre Pompidou, Paris, FR, Paris
- ‘Ars Viva 12/13. Systeme’, Kunsthalle zu Kiel, Kiel, DE
- ‘Version Control’, Arnolfini, Bristol, GB, Bristol
- 2012
- 2011
- 2010
- 2008
Prizes and Awards
- 2015 New Generation Award, Arts Foundation of New Zealand
- 2013 ‘Young Alumnus of the Year’, University of Auckland, New Zealand
- 2012 ‘Baloise (Art Statements) Art-Prize’, Art 43 Basel
- ‘Ars Viva-Preis for Art’, Kulturkreis der deutschen Wirtschaft im BDI e. V.
Residencies
- 2012 ‘Kunstzeitraum’, PIN Freunde der Pinakothek der Moderne e.V. and Suedhausbau, Munich
- 2010 Artspace, Sydney
- 2009–2010 Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne
- 2007 Public Art Gallery, Dunedin
Public Collections
- 2021Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany
- 2021UQ Art Museum, Brisbane, Australia
- 2020Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Dusseldorf, Germany
- 2019Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- 2017Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
- 2017Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia
- 2016Kunsthaus Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
- 2016Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, United States
- 2015Museum of Modern Art MoMA, New York, United States
- 2015Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, France
- 2015Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand
- 2014Museum of Modern Art MoMA, New York, United States
- 2014University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Chicago, United States
- 2014Contemporary Art Collection of the Federal Republic of Germany, Germany
- 2013Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo, Norway
- 2013Museum of Modern Art, MUMOK, Vienna, Austria
- 2008Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
- 2007Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Dunedin, New Zealand
- 2006Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
- 2006Christchurch Art Gallery, Christchurch, New Zealand
Selected Public Speaking
- 2021 ‘The World Around in Focus: Land’, Guggenheim Museum
- ‘Extractor Game Night, “Eclipse”’, Athens Biennale 7th, Athens
- ‘Conversations | NFTs in the Art World: Beyond the Hype’, Art Basel
- ‘DISAPPEARING BERLIN x Reference Festival’, Bierpinsel, Berlin
- ‘Artists in Conversation: Simon Denny’, Eugenia Lim and Elisa Giardina Papa, UQ Art Museum, Brisbane
- ‘Symposium: Proof of Stake’, Kunstverein in Hamburg
- ‘The Long Present’, Architectural Association School of Architecture (Online)
- ‘Horasis Global Meeting: The Arts: Virtualizing Reality, Embracing Humanity’, horaris.org
- ‘Breaking Glass III – Virtual Space: Staging the Future’, breakingglass.staedelschule.de
- ‘In Conversation with Uncanny Valley Artist Simon Denny’, instagram.com/deyoungmuseum
- ‘A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding NFTs: Session 4’, Christie’s Education, online
- 2021 ‘Impakt TV: NFT: Non-Fungible Tokens’, Impakt, Utrecht
- ‘Big Tech’s Claims from Social Media to Crypto’, The European Graduate School, online
- 2020 ‘CPH: Conference, Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival’, Copenhagen
- ‘Global Art Forum 14: “Do you story”’, Art Dubai, Dubai
- ‘FOG Design + Art’, San Francisco
- 2019 ‘Innovative City Forum 2019’, Tokyo
- ‘Theme parks for extraction’, MAK Future Lab/Vienne Biennale Talk, Vienna
- ’States of Consciousness in cognitive Campitalism’, Saas-Fee Summer Institute of Art, Berlin
- ‘The Influence of Isa Genzken’, Nasher Prize Dialogues, Dallas
- ‘ConsenSys Lounge 2019’, Davos
- 2018 ‘Artificial Irony, Mass Surveillance and Global Security with Jörg Heiser’, Disputaziuns Susch, Susch
- ‘The Art of Blockchains’, Faena Forum, Miami
- ‘Digital Cultures: Knowledge, Culture, Technology’, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Lüneburg
- 2017 ‘Art, Science and Technology Collaborations in Europe’, BOZAR, Brussels
- ‘Next Generation Internet Summit’, European Parliament, Brussels
- ‘Ethereal Summit’, Blockchain Conference powered by Consensys, New York
- ‘Design Trust’, Hong Kong
- ‘DLD Conference: Digital-Life-Design’, Munich
- ‘The Influencers – A festival about unconventional art, guerrilla communication, radical entertainment’, Centre of Contemporary Culture, Barcelona
- ‘adidas x Vitra 2017’, UNCORPORATE Design Jam/ Workshop, Vitra Campus, Basel
- ‘Simon Denny Lecture’, Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Nürnberg
Selected Teaching
- Professor of Time-based Media at HFBK in Hamburg (Since October 2018)
- Co-Founder of BPA, Berlin Program for Artists, Mentoring program (Since 2016)
Initiated by artists Angela Bulloch, Simon Denny and Willem de Rooij, the Berlin Program for Artists (BPA) aims to bring young artists in contact with more established colleagues from the various contexts and networks that make up Berlin as a city of arts.
Lectures, Workshops & Studio Visits
- 2021 Lectures at University of Fine Arts Münster (Online)
- PhD Critique at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York (Online)
- Lectures at Power Station of Art, Shanghai (Online)
- 2018 Workshop at University of Turin for Master in Design for Arts and Cultural Innovation
- 2017 Guest workshop, Graphic Design Department, Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam
- Workshop, Class Yougjin Yoo, Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio
- Studio visits, Class Michael Stevenson, Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Nürnberg
- Workshop, class Britta Thie, Hochschule für Gestaltung, Offenbach
- Studio visits, UCLA, University of California, Los Angeles
- 2016 Seminar: Tech and Distributed Governance, ICA, Institute for Contemporary Art Miami
- Studio Visits, Royal College of Art, London
- Studio Visits, Goldsmiths College, London
- Studio Visits, Royal Danish Academy of Art, Copenhagen
- Exhibition Tour at 9th Berlin Biennale, Class Saim Demircan, Akademie der Bildenden Künste München
- Artist Talk and tour at 9th Berlin Biennale, Class Irene Calderoni, Campo, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin
- 2014 Studio Visits, MFA, Studio Arts, Concordia University, Montreal
- Studio Visits: Royal Academy of the Arts Stockholm, Stockholm
- 2010 Studio Visits, De Ateliers, Amsterdam
- Studio Visits, Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland, Auckland