Nicola L. | Biography
Nicola L.

 

Biography

 

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Nicola is a conceptual artist who does film, performances, and functional art. In 1969, living in Paris and Ibiza, she performs "The Red Coat for Eleven People" at the Festival of the Isle of Wight, with Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, and continues to perform "The Red Coat" or "Same Skin for Everybody" in the streets of London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Cologne, Paris, Barcelona, Ibiza, and New York. In the same year, 1969, her first personal shows of functional art at Daniel Templon, Paris and Galerie Veranneman in Brussels, followed by numerous expositions in Europe and in America.

In the 1970s, Nicola begins to work with her friends Copi, Victor Garcia and Jerome Savari, with whom she develops various experimental pieces in Ibiza and Paris.From 1975 to 1986 she concentrates on film projects. The first of which is titled,"The Heads are Still in the Island," shot in 35 mm on Ibiza with Terry Thomas, Lola Gaos, and Norman Brinsky. In 1976, she directs a film about a Spanish Woman sentenced to death during the years of Franco, "Eva Forest"

1979: She moves to New York where she films "Bad Brains at CBGB;" in 1980, and in 1981, a documentary portrait of "Abbie Hoffman" which is shown on PBS. (it is because of this film on Abbie that Nicola is invited to the Havana Festival de Cine, and discovered and liked Cuba in 1997). From 1982 to 1985 she is writing "The Movement" based on interviews with Noam Chomsky, Bill Kunstler, Dave Dillenger, Kate Millet, Stokley Carmichael, Angela Davis and others.

1986: She goes back to her roots of conceptual and functional art, and is exhibiting at Florida International University, Mukha Museum Antwerp, Vrej Baghoomian Gallery -NYC, Peder Bonnier NYC, Thread Waxing Space NYC, Galerie Lara Vincy Paris, Nice Museum of Contemporary Art, and The Center of Contemporary Art, Le Magazin, in Grenoble.

1992: Nicola performs "Same Skin for Everybody" with Fernando Arrabal in the streets of New York for Antenne 2.

1995: she writes and directs "Sand Sea Sky" a 20 min. film shot in 16 mm.

1996: Nicola writes and performs "Nine Femmes Fatales in Their Own Words" at the Theater La Mama in New York and at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Nice, France.

1997: she is invited by "The Centre d'Art Contemporain de Grenoble" to participate at the show "Vraiment Feministe et Art" curated by Laura Cottingham.

1998 & 1999: she writes and performs "The Banquet of the Beheaded" with the Lab Theater at La Mama and a reading at the Public Theater in New York.

February 2000: Nicola films 5 hours in the streets of Havana, "Quien es?" A version of the 12 minute film is shown at The Tisch school of NYU, Loule Festival, and Cuban Art Center NYC.
In 2000 also, she is a part of the exposition "Vivement 2002" at the Musee d'art Contemporain Geneva where her piece "The Rug for 5" is acquired by la Frac.

November 2001: She has one Person Exhibition at Wooster Projects New York.
Since 2001, Nicola is working on a new project "The Blue Cape" a performance that she plans to film around the world, starting in Havana, Cuba .

July 2002: A retrospective of her conceptual work, curated by Luis Miret, begins at the Gallery La Casona, Havana - Cuba.
She performs The Blue Cape for the first time with DANZA CONTEMPORANEA DE CUBA The film of the performance and a documentary is produced by the Ludwig Foundation, Havana, First One and Stephan Film, Paris.

June 2003: She curates a show "9 Women in the Same Coat" with Mrta Minujin, Carolee Schneemann, Phoebe Legere, Dominique Nabokov, Orlan, Rita Barros etc...Briggs Robinson Gallery NYC.

August 2003: She is in Venise, Italy for 'Arte Communications Open 2003 Arte & Cinema' opens the exposition with the performance of The Blue Cape being this time an 'Ephemeral Monument for the Cinema' Installation with The Red Coat for 11 people.

September 2003: Nicola has 2 retrospective expositions in Paris. Galerie Nec, Paris with functional art & Galerie Patricia Dorfmann, Paris (she also is at the FIAC with the same gallery).

June 8th: Nicola does a Performance with The Blue Cape of Cinema at the MAMCO in Geneve on the theme "Aimer, travailler, exister" (Living, working, existing) Community Proposition after 1968 , featuring James Lee Byars, Judy Chicago, Lygia Clark, Jšrg Immendorff, Gordon Matta-Clark, Nicola L., Lygia Pape. At the same time Nicola is showing an installation with the Red Coat for 11 or "Same skin for everybody".

October 13, 2004: Performance with The Blue Cape at The Robert Berman Gallery -Santa Monica CA

October 14, 2004: She has a show of her Functional Art at the Gallery Twentieth Los Angeles.
Also in October she is showing at the FIAC in Paris with Patricia Dorfmann.

2005:

January: Nicola goes to Beijing, China invited for a show by The Gallery Imagine.
She gives a lecture at The French Cultural Center of Beijing.
Several days after, she does a performance on The Great Wall of China with 20 Chinese artists, where this time The Blue Cape becomes a naturalistic monument dedicated to the inhabitants of Beijing. During her stay in Beijing, She continues filming in the streets of Beijing her documentary "Who is It / Quien es / Qui est ce" that she started in Cuba in 2000.

May: Nicola is guest of honor in Meubles D' Artistes at the Musee de chateauroux, France.
June: She takes part in a group show "Le Corps est le paysage" Donation Mario Prassinos, Saint-Remy De Provence.
July: She is invited to the Brooklyn Art Museum (BAM) with three of her films made in the eighties in New York, "Bad Brains at CBGBs", "Rock For Light", and "Reignition".
October of the same year, FIAC in Paris with Galerie Patricia Dorfmann.
Nov. & Dec., A retrospective of her functional sculpture and conceptual art is shown at Ingrao Gallery, New York City.

May/June 2006: Nicola shows her functional art at Galerie NEC, Paris
Also she has a show of conceptual work, "Nine Historic Hysteric Women", at Galerie Patricia Dorfman in Paris.

February 2007: Her show "Moi Je Me Fais Du Cinema" opens at Galerie A. Rebours, in Paris
Also in February, NicolaŐs retrospective of her films begins at The MEP, in Paris (Maison De La Photo)
June 2007: Nicola does a performance of The Cape of Blues at A3/St. Sulpice in Paris.

April/May 2008: She has two solo shows in Paris.
"Functional Art 1989-2008", At Galerie Catberro, Paris in April.
"Planet Eye" at Galerie Pierre Alain Challier in May.
October: Inauguration of Favardin & de Verneuil for the exposition 'Hors-Jeux', where The Red Coat is exposed, and Nicola does a performance for Canal Plus+.
October 7th & 8th: She does a performance with the Blue Cape of Human Rights at the European Parliament in Brussels.
An 8 minute film is produced of the live performance.

July 2009 "The Death of the Audience." Secession Building, Vienna Austria
curated by Pierre Bal-Blanc
March 2011 Independent Art Fair, Gallery 1602 New York

2012
Frieze New York, Frieze London, FIAC
Gallery Broadway 1602 New York
Performance at the Biennale of Cuba for the 10th birthday of the Blue Cape
Shooting of the film Doors Ajar at the Chelsea Hotel


Selected Biographies, Essays and Press:

A LONG DAY'S JOURNEY TO THE END OF THE SKIN: Essay by Pierre Restany 1968
NICOLA, DES PIEDS ET DES MAINS QUI N'EN FAIT QU'A SA TETE: Alain Germoz, Special(no 10)1968
USING THE ANATOMY AS A DESIGN MOTIF: Rita Reif, New York Times 1973
NICOLA by Alain Jouffroy 1975
LES ANNEES 60 : Anne Bonny, edition du regard 1983
COLLECTORS AND ... 60TH FURNITURE: E.Louie New York Times 1985
INVITATION AU VOYAGE A PROFILE OF NICOLA AND HER ART; Alan Jones 1986
NICOLA AND THE NEW MILLENIUM : Essay by Pierre Restany 1986
THE HEAD, LA TETE, IL CAPO, DER KOPF: Essay by Ted Castle 1989
SNAIL SUITE OF NICOLA: Suzan Slesin, New York Times 1990
ART AS DESTINY: Pierre Restany, New York 1990
LE REGARD D'ALAIN: Catalog Binoche et Godeau 1991
SAND SEA SKY: Pierre Restany 1994
SAND SEA SKY: Gary Indiana 1994
MATIERE A RISQUE: Caroline Smulders, Art Press no18 1997
LE MOBILIER FRANCAIS 1960- 1998: Yvonne Brunhammer- M. L Perrin- Massin 1998
A RARE GROUP OF FURNITURE BY NICOLA: James Semaitis 1999.
NICOLA L, LE CORPS DE CETTE ARTISTE... Patrik Favardin, Citizen K 9/2003
LA LECON D'ANATOMIE DE NICOLA L: Laure Verchere, Elle decor 12/2003
NICOLA L. :Book published by Editions Norma, Paris 2003
PERFORMANCE DE NICOLA L AU MAMCO: Creativ TV net 11/ 2003
FUKTIONELLA SKUPTURER: Susannne Pagold Plaza no 02 2004
SUISSE EFFERVESCENCE POST-68: Amiel Greenberg, Beaux Arts Magazine 2005
PROFILE NICOLA L.: Written By Alan Jones, published by E-maprod 2005
FREUD SAID, L'HYSTERIE EST UNE CARRICATURE D'OEUVRE D'ART: Robert Morgan, 2006
A FORCE OF NATURE: Gary Indiana 2006
LA FEMME-OBJET: Christiane Germaine, Maison Francaise, 2003
THE BLUE CAPE IN BEIJING WITH 12 ARTISTS: Wang Nanfei, Beijing This Month 2005
L'ART CONSEPTUEL SEME LA CONFUSION SUR LA GRANDE MURAILLE: China Internet Information Center 2005
EX-FAN DES SIXTIES: Anne-Cecile Sanchez, Prestigium.com 2008
NICOLA L.: Patrick Favardin, May 2008
NICOLA L. 'EYE PLANET: Sophie De Santis, Figaroscope May 2008
NICOLA L OU LE CORPS ECLATE, VERSION MEUBLES: Veronique Cauhape, Le Monde May 2008
L MAJUSCULE: Loic Prigent, Vogue Paris, August 2008

 

 

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