DANIELA BERGSCHNEIDER

Beginning, Becoming

7 August - 14 September 2025

What separates the world from itself? What makes it stand out, become different—matter that’s distinguishable from other matter? It is no coincidence that the skin is the largest organ. A surface stretched out and over, covering the pieces that constitute a form. Different tactile qualities follow shapes, providing an outside to an inside—a diplomatic action between what lies within and what lies without; a shelter and a shield.

In Daniela Bergschneider’s work, a solemn trace of negotiation can always be found: between movement and stillness, between expansion and contraction. Between shapes that feel familiar, yet somehow strange, like a vague memory of something once known, or a premonition of something yet to come. By making and repeating small, modular shapes in porcelain, Bergschneider covers them with hand-dyed, semi-transparent nylon, tying them into the fabric to construct larger forms. Sometimes the porcelain takes on shapes reminiscent of small bones—thin and elongated, like the skeletons of tiny birds, gathered and collected in nylon nests. Sometimes it assumes structures that hint at growth, at something unfolding, building, and attaching to itself; playing with our perception of what it means to be outside and inside. Experiencing Bergschneider’s work is an exercise in balance. Forms are repeated—but never excessively. One can see through the outer layer to the inner structure—but never fully. They are appealing to the touch—but would they crumble? Her works are fragile yet strong, the nylon acting both as a protective layer and as a tool of construction. But within this lies a duality: the nylon always runs the risk of being destroyed from within, perforated by the very shapes it helps to protect.

Somehow, Bergschneider‘s works always seem complete. At peace with themselves. Eerie and unsettling? Perhaps. But always elegantly resolved, resting within their own skin. Colors balance on the edge of the familiar, never too insistent in their interpretation, always allowing other materials and shapes to shine through, enhancing rather than dominating. The nylon surface that holds the structures together is often pushed to an extreme, but never so far as to break. The world, separated from itself, is also held together; given the opportunity to grow into itself, to become comfortable in its own skin.

Daniela Bergschneider (b. 1986, Germany) is based in Bergen, where she completed her master’s degree in Fine Art at UiB’s Faculty of Art, Music and Design in 2020. She also studied at the University of Paderborn and the University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg. Bergschneider has participated in group exhibitions both nationally and internationally, including the Årsutstillingen of Norske Kunsthåndverkere (2020/21/22/23), Cosmic, Bodily, Seeded at Open M Art Fair in Hangzhou, China (2025), Pieces by Hint Project in Aarhus (2024), Fiskars Village Art & Design Biennale in Fiskars, Finland (2024), Himmelen ovenfra at Oplandia Senter for Samtidskunst in Lillehammer (2024), Remnants of the Future at Officinet in Copenhagen (2022), and Hybridia at SOFT Galleri in Oslo (2021). Her works are included in the collections of the National Museum in Oslo, KODE Museum in Bergen, Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum in Trondheim, the Equinor Art Collection, as well as the collection of the City of Gothenburg.

Beginning, Becoming is kindly supported by Arts Council Norway and the Arts Centres in Norway.