On 24/6, Vandalorum inaugurates a new permanent sculpture by artists Nina Canell and Robin Watkins, created specifically for Vandalorum. The sculpture takes place in the courtyard directly adjacent to Piet Oudolf's new garden. The artwork will be inaugurated at the same time as Piet Oudolf's new garden. We offer grilled sausages and refreshments. Free entry, but register your participation no later than 21/6. First come first served!
Quote Nina Canell and Robin Watkins:
“The sculpture is on the borderland between play, art, improvisation and botany. The idea is that the work invites a collective process of colouring, a common act that is in constant motion and that shifts with the passage of time. The work is a celebration of change — an open invitation to activate, experiment and fantasize. We are interested in form that enables diversity and that creates alternatives to categorization and classification.”
Enablers:
Vandalorum Art Fund
Royal Academy of Free Arts, Hjalmar Wicander Fund
Barbro Osher Pro Sweden Foundation
Helge AX:Son Johnson Foundation
Thanks also to:
Länsförsäkringar Jönköping
Nina Canell (b 1979 in Växjö, active in Berlin). Canell's art has attracted international attention for its wayward approach to time, space and materials. Her sculptures strive towards an openness in favor of processes, situations and events. Canell studied at the Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology in Dublin, Ireland. In 2025, Canell received the Barbro and Holger Bäckström Scholarship, one of Sweden's largest art grants, and is currently Professor of Sculpture at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. Canell has participated in the biennials of Venice, Sydney, Gwangju, Lyon, Liverpool, Cuenca and Manifesta, as well as in major exhibitions at MoMA in New York, the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, the Museo Tamayo in Mexico City, and the Guggenheim in Bilbao. Canell has had solo exhibitions at Simian in Copenhagen, OGR in Turin, The Artist's Institute in New York, Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin, Camden Arts Centre in London, Mumok in Vienna, Arko Art Center in Seoul, S.M.A.K. in Ghent and Kunstmuseum St. Gallen. Canell frequently collaborates with her partner Robin Watkins on installations and artist books.
Robin Watkins (b 1980 in Nacka, active in Berlin). Watkins is an Irish-Swedish artist whose free-form practice includes sound, books and installations. Watkins often works in collaboration with others, encouraging cross-fertilization between disciplines to challenge prevailing conventions. Watkins has authored, co-authored, and edited several cross-age publications, and his print projects often take the form of artists' books and editions (published by Sternberg Press, Bom Dia Boa Tarde Boa Noite, Atlas Projectos, K Verlag, Rhombus Press, and Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, among others). Watkins uses sound as a sculptural supporting element, both in field recordings of atmospheric electricity and in material assemblage. He has presented sound works at La Casa Encendida in Madrid, Witte de With in Rotterdam, Mount Analogue in Stockholm, Kunsthaus Glarus, Project Arts Centre in Dublin and ICA in London. Watkins frequently collaborates with his partner Nina Canell on installations and artist books. Their joint installations have been exhibited at institutions and biennials around the world.
Photo: Andrea Rossetti
