Veronika Merklein

Veronika Merklein (*1982, DE) is a visual artist and political activist. She lives and works in Vienna, Austria.

Veronika Merklein's artistic gaze focuses on social injustices in (Western) societies, silent pain and soundless scratching on the ground of nightmarish life events, depressive depths of feeling, and silent conversations between people. Merklein's works are always personal, but not necessarily autobiographical. While her body-political works are mostly loud, garish, and brash, her quieter works often reveal a delicate and poetic (written) language. Her artistic strategy consists in capturing inexpressible personal, social or political problems and events humorously to painfully - in image and text.

Veronika Merklein enjoyed her artistic education at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (AT) and the Kunsthochschule Kassel (DE). She has presented her work at the Wiener Festwochen (AT), Dom Museum Wien (AT), Defibrillator Gallery, Chicago (US), Neuer Kunstverein Wien (AT), Kaskadenkondensator, Basel (CH), Fridericianum, Kassel (D), Secession, Vienna (AT), Kiasma, Helsinki (FI) and repeatedly at home. Veronika Merklein has received grants & fellowships from among others the Austrian Cultural Forum New York City (US) & Ottawa (CA), from Austrian federal grants, the City of Vienna and the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (AT). In 2023 she received the Federal Scholarship for Fine Arts of the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Civil Service and Sport.

The artist is represented by gallery michaela stock in Vienna (AT).