Nicolai Howalt (b. 1970) is a Danish artist, whose photographic work spans across documentary, conceptual and installatory art. In his practice he works with dualities, connections and temporality as central aspects.

In Howalt’s earlier works mortality has been predominant, as part of an ongoing investigation of life and its fragility. The works are characterized by the absence of a decisive moment, focusing instead on the quiet aftermath in situations devoid of any narrative cues. His work is now distinguished by a unique materiality, initiated by chemical processes, where the temporal sense of both photography and existence is laid bare. Howalt’s work challenges the boundaries of the photographic medium, by reinventing traditional techniques. This encounter between chemistry, science and artistic investigation become reminiscent of alchemistic tradition as well as an exploration of fragility and the state of constant change.

Nicolai Howalt graduated from Denmark’s renowned photographic art school, Fatamorgana, in 1992. He is the recipient of honorary grants from a number of benefactors and institutions, such as the Hasselblad Foundation, the Danish Ministry of Culture, the Danish Arts Foundation and the Danish Arts Council.

2024 En rejse: Den Nære Fremtid, Tycho Brahe Planetarium, Cph, Dk.
2024 Boxes and Paper, Ex Nihilo, Cph, Dk.
2024 F.U.N.G.I. Storetårn, Christiansø, Dk.
2024 F.U.N.G.I. Umbrella, Nr. Nebel, Dk.
2022 A Journey: The Near Future, (with Mike Sheridan) Martin Asbæk Gallery, Cph, Dk.
2021 Pandemia – Cunning offerings from above, Medicine Museion, Copenhagen, Denmark.
2020 Old Tjikko, Nicolai Kunsthal, Copenhagen, Denmark.
2020 Samples of a Collages, Bruce Silverstein, NY, US.
2018 An Ode to Pareidolia, Martin Asbæk Gallery, Cph, Denmark.
2017 By looking down I see up. By looking up I see down, Bornholms Art Museum, Denmark.
2016 Element, Kunsthal Viborg, Viborg, Denmark.
2015 Light Break, Museum für Photographie, Braunschweig, Germany.
2015 Light Break, Martin Asbæk Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark.
2014 Light Break, Medicinsk Museion, Copenhagen, Denmark.
2013 Nicolai Howalt & Trine Søndergaard, Bruce Silverstein, New York, US.
2013 Light Break, Gallery Edel Assanti, London, UK.
2013 Birds – Trees and Hunting Scenes, Kunsthal NORD, Aalborg, Denmark.
2013 5 x Solo, Den Frie Centre of Contemporary Art, Copenhagen, Denmark.
2012 Landscapes, Maison du Danemark, Paris, France.
2011 Scandinavian Forest, Akershus Artcenter, Lillestrøm, Norway.
2011 Endings, Martin Asbæk Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark.
2011 Collisions, Esbjerg Art Museum, Esbjerg, Denmark.
2010 How to Hunt, ARoS, Århus, Denmark.
2010 Car Crash Studies, Bruce Silverstein Gallery, New York, US.

2024 La Nuet, le regard se tourne vers la lune, Centre d’Art Contemporain, Meynac Fr.
2023 Grønningen, Den Frie Udstillingsbygning, Cph, Dk.
2023 Truly Wild, Fuglsang Museum, Lolland, dk.
2023 Épreuves de la Matière, BnF Site Richelieu, Paris Fr.
2023 All The Whisperings of the World, Fotografihuset, Oslo, No.
2023 Disappearances, Fotografisk Center, Cph, Dk.
2023 Terra: Resonans, Skovhuset, Ballerup, Dk.
2022 Snowflakes, Landskrona Fotomuseum, Landskrona, Se,
2022 Jubilæum No3, Ringsted Galleri, Ringsted, Dk.
2021 Grønningen, Den Frie Udstillingsbygning, Cph, Dk. (cat)
2021 I Virkeligheden – 25 ÅR, Fotografisk Center, Cph, Dk. (cat)
2021 Art & Sport, Copenhagen Contemporary, Dk. (cat)
2020 Synliggørelser, Den Frie Udstillingsbygning, Dk. (cat)
2020 Grønningen, Den Frie Udstillingsbygning, Dk. (cat)
2019 Structures en Migration, Galerie Maria Lund, Paris, France.
2019 Grønningen på Gl. Strand, Kunsthal Gl. Strand, Denmark. (cat)
2018 Art on Paper, Bornholms Kunstmuseum, Denmark. (cat)
2018 Back to the Future, C/O Berlin, Berlin, Germany. (cat)
2018 Selvspejlinger 1, Esbjerg Art Museum, Esbjerg, Denmark.
2018 What The Camera Saw, Brandts Museum, Odense, Denmark.
2018 Back to the Future, Foam Museum, Amsterdam, Nederland. (cat)
2017 Grønningen at Den Frie, Copenhagen, Denmark. (cat)
2017 Room vs Wall (with Esben Klemann) Maria Lund Gallerie, Paris, France.
2017 Cool, calm and collected, ARoS, Aarhus, Denmark. (cat)
2017 Summer in the City, Martin Asbæk Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark.
2017 GRO, Huset i Asnæs, Denmark.
2016 The Limits of Control, Curated by Ilari Laamanen, The Station Project, NY, US. (cat)
2016 Who Shot Sports, Brooklyn Museum, NY US. (cat)
2016 Heliotropes, Geary Contemporary, NY, US.
2015 Camera Solved Photography, Fotografisk Center, Copenhagen, Denmark. (cat)
2015 Wilderness, New Shelter Plan, Copenhagen, Denmark. (cat)
2013 Zeigen, Nikolaj Kirke, Copenhagen, Denmark.
2013 Flora Danica, (with Trine Søndergaard), The Natural History Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark.
2013 Masculine, Capricious 88, New York, US.
2012 The Chosen Ones, Kunsten – Aalborg Museum of Modern Art, Ålborg, Denmark. (cat)
2012 Grønningen at the Dock, Grønningen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
2012 Made of Time, (with Trine Søndergaard), Danish National Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark.
2011 Places, HEART – Herning Art Museum, Herning, Denmark. (cat)
2010 I Love You, (with Trine Søndergaard), ARoS, Århus, Denmark. (cat)
2010 The Hunt for Something Else, (with Trine Søndergaard), J. Larsen Museet, Kerteminde, Denmark.
2010 Denmark In Transition, Museum of Art Photography, Odense, Denmark. (cat)
2010 Grønningen at the Dock, Grønningen, Copenhagen, Denmark. (cat)

Copenhagen Arts Counsel, Denmark.
Danish Arts Foundation, Denmark.
Palle Fogtdal’s Photography award, Denmark.
Danish Arts Foundation, Denmark.
Danish Arts Foundation, Denmark.
Niels Wessel Bagge Arts Foundation, 1998, Denmark, honoary grant
Ragnvald og Ida Blix Fond
Joop Swart World Press Master Class, 2000, The Netherlands

Art Foundation Mallorca, Spain. ARoS, Aarhus Art Museum, Denmark. Artphilein Foundation, Italy. Bornholms Art Museum, Denmark. Enigma Museum, Denmark. Esbjerg Art Museum, Denmark. The J. Paul Getty Museum, US. Hiscox Art Project, US. Kunsten, Museum of Modern Art, Aalborg, Denmark. Maison Europeenne de Photographie, Paris, France. Medical Museion, University of Cph, Denmark. The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Canada. MUSAC, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León, Spain. Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne, Schweiz. Museum of Fine Art Houston, Texas, US. Ny Carlsbergfondet, Copenhagen, Denmark. Ny Kredit, Copenhagen, Denmark. Skagens Museum, Skagen, Denmark. Danish Arts Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark. The Hermés Collection, France. Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel. The Brandts Collection, Odense, Denmark. The Royal Library, The National Museum of Photography, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Martin Asbæk Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
Galerie Maria Lund, Paris, France

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