Born under sea level and the son of pump mechanic, water has been a dinner table topic since childhood and has become a central theme in my artistic practice. In my work I investigate how coexistence with water is imagined, often focussing on riverscapes in more or less urbanized contexts.
To feed my practice, I take excursions along rivers and docklands, I join scientists in the field, or scavenge riverbanks for washed-up materials. I bring these elements together—adding, repainting, reorienting, giving them function—to create assemblage-like objects that I call ‘narrative devices.’ These are often functional objects that synthesize found materials, storytelling, and personal memory. I use various techniques to create these devices, including woodworking, ceramics, soldering, drawing, and watercolor.
I see water as a ‘common good,’ and so I often work in spaces commonly shared by organizing gatherings or staging interventions that bring watery topic to the table. The narrative devices I construct frequently play a role in these encounters, guiding the attention of those who engage with my work. Given the transient nature of these interventions, I employ registration techniques such as photography, audio recordings, and drawing to create an archive that feeds into my practice. With my work I aim to inject liquid topics into the public domain, and in this process I view myself as a tinkering organizer, an amateur naturalist, a riverside bricoleur.
My practice is supported by Cultuurfonds, CBK Rotterdam and
In Situ Network.
e: nieldevries94@gmail.com
Exhibitions
2025 Fringe Festival - Cas-co - Leuven, BE
2025 Kunst en Zwalm (with MyVillages collective) - Zwalm, BE
2025 Open Studios Borgerstraat - Rotterdam, NL
2025 Verborgene Wirklichkeiten - Spreepark Artspace, Berlin, DE
2025 Hydrofoor - Van Gogh Galerie, Zundert, NL (solo)
2024 Liquid Becomings Exhibition - Lisbon, PT
2024 Offcourse - Art route through Antwerp, BE
2024 Thinking with the river: Shapes, Myths and Ecology (lecture) -
Center for European Philosophy, University of Antwerp, BE
2024 Full House - Kleine Goddaard artspace, Antwerp, BE
2023 /kom.po’zi.ci.o:/ - Kunstenfestival Watou - Watou, BE
2023 Academy 360 - Academy of Fine Art Antwerp, BE
2022 Still life, Landscape, Ecosystem - Academy of Fine Art Antwerp, BE
2021 Historie, Heesters en Meesters - Academy of Fine Art Antwerp, BE
2019 Nocturne - BAEK, Rotterdam, NL
2019 Linear Experiments - Dit is uit de Kunst, Rotterdam, NL
2019 Lost in Transition - Kaapse Maria, Rotterdam, NL
Residencies
2025 IN SITU Platform - Immersive Lab @ Sardegna Teatro - Cagliari, IT
2025 Van Gogh Huis - Zundert, NL
2024 Spreepark Artspace - Berlin, DE
2024 European Pavilion: Liquid Becomings - Danube
2024 Volle Leegte - Buitenplaats Brienenoord, Rotterdam, NL
2022 Lazaretto Volontario - Sint-Truiden, BE
2022 Patchwork - Watou, BE
2022 Knockvologan Studio - Isle of Mull, Scotland
2019 Vermont Studio Center - Johnson, Vermont, USA
Grants & Prizes
2024 Nomination Engage Biennial
2025 CBK Rotterdam Impuls & Verdieping Grant
2024 Van Gogh AiR Prize
2024 Nomination Horlait-Dapsens Prize
2023 Cultuurfonds Grant
2019 Vermont Studio Center Artist’s Grant
2019 CBK Rotterdam International Project Grant
Education
2024 MFA (In Situ) - Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, BE
2020 BFA (In Situ) - Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, BE
2012 BBA - Rotterdam University of Applied Science, NL
Press
2025 Berliner Morgenpost - Wie die Welt aussähe, wenn Tiere sie gestaltet hätten
2024 Metropolis M - graduation special
2023 Kunstmanen Podcast - Kunstenfestival Watou
2022 Gazet van Antwerpen - Academy Open Air