Biography
Made up of films, sculpture, installations, performances and publications, Rosa Barba’s practice examines mechanisms of perception and memory. Her films include both experimental documentaries and fictional narratives, through which Barba explores relationships between historical records, literature and individual experience.
Barba’s work has been shown in solo exhibitions at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Palacio de Cristal, Madrid (2017); Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan (2017); Malmö Konsthall, Sweden (2017); CAPC musée d'art contemporain de Bordeaux, France (2016); Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt (2016); MIT Visual Arts Center, Cambridge, US (2015); Albertinum, Dresden, Germany (2015); Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius, Lithuania (2014); MAXXI, Rome (2014); Turner Contemporary, Margate, UK (2013); Bergen Kunsthall, Norway (2013); MUSAC, Castilla y Leon, Spain (2013); Kunsthaus Zürich (2012); Jeu de Paume, Paris (2012); Contemporary Art Museum St Louis, US (2012); Fondazione Galleria Civica, Trento, Italy (2011); MART, Rovereto, Italy (2011); Kunstverein Braunschweig, Germany (2011); and Tate Modern, London (2010), among others. Her work has also been exhibited at the 52nd, 53rd and 56th Venice Biennales (2007, 2009, 2015, respectively); Liverpool Biennial (2010); 2nd Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art, Greece (2009); and a number of other biennials. At the 56th Venice Biennale, All the World's Futures, which was curated by Okwui Enwezor, Barba presented her work Bending to Earth (2015).
Among her numerous awards are the Calder Prize from the Calder Foundation, New York (2019); Prix International d’Art Contemporain, Fondation Prince Pierre de Monaco (2016); and Nam June Paik Award, Internationaler Medienkunstpreis der Kunststiftung (with Ali Kazma) (2010). She was nominated for the Premio Italia Arte Contemporanea, MAXXI, Rome (2010).
Barba was educated in theatre and film in Germany, first in Erlangen and then at the Academy of Media Arts, Cologne. She completed a doctorate at the Malmö Art Academy, Sweden.
Born in 1972 in Agrigento, Italy, she currently lives and works in Berlin.
