Heather Sheehan

1961 born in Mt. Vernon, New York, USA.

1979 - 1981 studies in aesthetics, creative writing, art history at The New School, New York, New York USA.

1979 - 1981 studies in foundations of art and fashion design at Parsons School of Design, New York, New York USA.

1981 - 1983 studies in textile science and women's tailoring at Fashion Institute of Technology, NYC, USA.

since 1994 lives and works in Cologne, Germany.

solo / 2 person exhibitions + performances / video installations

2024 Sylta, the Whaling Widow Who Wails, die Walfängerwitwe, die weint, Sölring - Sylt Museum & Old Frisian House, Keitum, the island of Sylt, Germany. (+ book)

2023 One Woman, One Stone, Galerija-Galleria Rigo, Muzej-Museo Lapidarium, Novigrad / Cittanova, HR. (photography, object + book)

2023 R(h)einblättern #04, Galerie Floss & Schultz and Schreibraum Köln, Cologne, Germany, curated by Dr. Maria Linsmann-Dege.

2021 Sharpless, Margaret, installation, Milton Art Bank, Milton, PA, USA. (book + reading)

2020 Presence in Absence Pt.1, Galerie Gisela Clement- digital exhibition, Bonn, Germany.
2019 a Weighing/eine Wägung, Galerie Susanne Neuerburg, Hennef, Germany. curated by Ewa Knitter and Pathmini Neuner-Ukwattage. (performance)
2018 I shot myself in Augsburg: self-portrait photography and performance, Claudia Weil Galerie II, Augsburg, Germany.
2017 institutional, Paul-Clemen-Museum, Bonn University, Bonn, Germany.
2015 alighting, Kunstverein Augsburg, Hohlbeinhaus, Augsburg, Germany. performances: alighting and waterline/receding.
2015 barking the willow, Neue Galerie Landshut, Landshut, Germany, performance: in muddier years.
2014 - 2015 (w)hole, selected art models, Cologne, Germany, curated by Prof. Dr. Anne-Marie Bonnet.

2012 visitors, the tall and the small, Kunstverein Oerlinghausen, Oerlinghausen, Germany, curated by Dr. Gisela Burkamp.
2012 visitors, Sylvia Wald & Po Kim Gallery/Non Profit Foundation, New York, New York, USA.
2011 visitors and other beings, Stadtmuseum Beckum, Beckum, Germany. (catalog)
2011 show it again..., Neuer Kunstverein Aschaffenburg, Aschaffenburg, Germany.
2011 visitors and other beings, Stadtmuseum Siegburg, Siegburg, Germany. (poster)
2011 Wesen, Galerie Ulf Larsson, Cologne, Germany
2009 Das Fremde im Anderen, MultiArt International, Bonn, Germany.
2009 beings, Neue Galerie Landshut, Landshut, Germany.
2008 the joy ahead, Jones & Trübenbach Galerie, Cologne, Germany.
2007 Nike & Co., Art Galerie Scheel, Morsum, Sylt, Germany.
2006 visitors and colormirrors, Galerie Lutz Rohs, Düren, Germany, with Regine Schumann.
2005 each and every, Trinitatiskirche, Cologne, Germany. (video)
2005 Nike & Co., Galerie Martin Kudlek, Cologne, Germany.
2004 2 Chicks from NYC, Projektraum 150 Kubicmeter Largus, Cologne, Germany, with Michelle Jaffé.
2003 soulfood, Kunstraum Fuhrwerkswaage, Cologne, Germany. (catalog)
2002 grace, Galerie Martin Kudlek, Cologne, Germany
2000 single opening, arthothek des Stadtmuseum Köln, Cologne, Germany. (video) (catalog)
2000 father, Pavillon Schloss Molsberg, Westerwald, Germany.
2000 single opening, Galerie Martin Kudlek, Cologne, Germany.
1999 Zwei Amerikaner in Aschaffenburg, Neuer Kunstverein Aschaffenburg, Aschaffenburg, Germany. (installation, video)
1998 Schmiererei, Second Sunday, Cologne, Germany. (installation, performance)
1998 Janine Mautsch Galerie, Cologne, Germany.
1997 Universal Mother: Made for Arolsen, Museum Bad Arolsen, Bad Arolsen, Germany (catalog), with Ulrike Rosenbach.
1997 Universal Mother, Galerie Barbara Cramer, Bonn, Germany.
1995 on pink, Hering Raum Bonn, Germany. (performance) (Video Collection of the Kunstmuseum Bonn)
1994 Galerie Barbara Cramer, Bonn, Germany, with Ludwig Wertenbruch.

selected group exhibitions + video installations + performances

2025 EDITOON #4, Galerie r8m, Cologne, Germany.

2025 30 Years Kunstgruppe, Kunstgruppe, Cologne, Germany.

2025 MuseuMusa, Muzej-Museo Lapidarium, Novigrad / Cittanova, HR.

2025 A Room of One's Own / Ein Zimmer Für Mich Allein, Neuer Kunstverein Aschaffenburg, Aschaffenburg, Germany. (video, photography, performative book reading) curated by Elisabeth Claus.

2024 LOW BUDGET, HIGH PANTS, Kunstgruppe, Cologne, Germany.

2024 BECOMING: THE FEMINIST IMAGE, Columbia, South Carolina, USA.

curated by Elizabeth Avedon. (photography)

2024 EDITOON #3, Galerie r8m, Cologne, Germany.

2024 Remember Picelj. Remember Knifer. Muzej-Museo Lapidarium, Novigrad / Cittanova, HR.

2023 EDITOON #2, Galerie r8m, Cologne, Germany.

2023 Arteria Unplugged, Muzej-Museo Lapidarium, Novigrad / Cittanova, HR.

2022 EDITOON #1, Galerie r8m, Cologne, Germany.

2022 Purple Rain / 2022, Kunstgruppe, Cologne, Germany.

2022 The Schuh Show, Van der Grinten Galerie, Cologne, Germany.

2021 Bescherungsauflagen 20-21, Neue Galerie Landshut, Landshut, Germany.

2020-2021 25 Jahre Kunstgruppe, Kunstgruppe, Cologne, Germany.
2020 Cherchez la femme II-– Alle Kleider einer Frau, Galerie Susanne Neuerburg, Hennef, Germany.
2020 Present Perfect Continuous
30 Jahre Mecklenburgisches Künstlerhaus Schloss Plüschow, Updahl, Germany.
2019 Cherchez la femme I: Mythos, Pathos, Eros, Galerie Susanne Neuerburg, Hennef, Germany.
2019 Schönheit !? / Beauty !?, Galerie Gisela Clement, Bonn, Germany, curated by Anne-Marie Bonnet.
2019 WER KANN, DER SOLL, Kunstgruppe, Cologne, Germany.
2018 YOUTOO, Kunstgruppe, Cologne, Germany.
2018 Structures Exhibition & Residency at Newlyn Art Gallery, Newlyn, Cornwall, UK.
2017 SeamStress Performance at Ressource Kunst, Mecklenburgisches Künstlerhaus Schloss Plüschow, Updahl, Germany.
2017 permafrost, Paul-Clemen-Museum, Bonn University, Bonn, Germany.
2017 Kunstwerk Leben, Center for Persecuted Arts, Kunstmuseum Solingen, Germany.
2016 The Pattern Reveals Itself, Claudia Weil Galerie, Friedberg-Rinnenthal, Germany.
2016 Re:Structures, The Exchange, Penzance, UK.
2016 Medicine in Art, MOCAK: Museum of Contemporary Art Krakow, Poland, with M. Abramović, Tadeusz Kantor, Jürgen Klauke, Zoe Leonard, Man Ray, Meret Oppenheim, ORLAN, Kiki Smith, D. Spoerri, VALIE EXPORT, a.o. (catalog)
2016 the snoring princess, Kunstgruppe, Cologne, Germany.
2015 25 Jahre Kunst im Stadtmuseum, Stadtmuseum Siegburg, Siegburg, Germany.
2015 Jahresgaben 2015, Kunstverein Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany.
2015 Zartheit, Floss & Schultz, Cologne, Germany.
2014 ON & ON & ON, Kunstgruppe, Cologne, Germany.
2013 Von Anfang an Hiergeblieben, Museum Schloss Arolsen, Bad Arolsen, Germany.
2013 17/13, Kunstgruppe, Cologne, Germany.

2012 Full House, Kunstgruppe, Cologne, Germany.

2011 Für Sie, Kunstverein Passau, Passau, Germany.
2011 Für Sie, Neue Galerie Landshut, Landshut, Germany.
2007 WaterColours, Galerie König, Hanau, Germany with Hans Peter Adamski, C. Anderson, Joe Barnes, M. Damkröger, Ruppert Eder, Jon Groom, E. Micus, Ivo Ringe, Jerry Zeniuk.
2007 Familybonds, Stiftung Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg, Germany with Henry Moore, R. Dijkstra, K. Kollwitz, W. Lehmbruck, Niki de St. Phalle, J. Tinguely, C. Thümler, E. Weible.
2006 Diagnosis (Art)/Diagnose(Kunst), Kunst-Museum Ahlen, Ahlen, Germany and Museum im Kulturspeicher, Würzburg, Germany (catalog) with Joseph Beuys, Wim Delvoye, Mona Hatoum, Damian Hirst, P. Piccinini, Marc Quinn, Andreas Serrano, Katharina Sieverding, Rosemarie Trockel, Luc Tuymans, Timm Ulrichs
2005 Kölnkunst in Kleinsassen, Kunststation Kleinsassen, Kleinsassen, Germany. (catalog)

2005 Kunstbad, Keitum, Sylt, Germany (installation, video) curated by Brigitte Scheel, artists include: Jan van Munster, Ivo Ringe, Regine Schumann, Achim Zeman.

2004 Haus Arbeit, Ulrich Mueller Galerie, Cologne, Germany.
2004 Es geht uns gut und danke für den Fisch, Projektraum 150 Kubikmeter Largus, Cologne, Germany.
2002 8 x Pavillon Schloss Molsberg, Emmanuel Walderdorff Galerie, Cologne, Germany (catalog) with Curtis Anderson, Philipp Schönborn, Franz Stähler, Roland Schappert, Julia Schrader, Tobias Gerber, Johannes Schlichting.

2002 3 Jahre, Galerie Martin Kudlek, Cologne, Germany.

2001 Under the Skin - Biological Transformations in Contemporary Art, Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum - International Center for Sculpture, Duisburg, Germany, Unter der Haut - Transformationen des Biologischen in der zeitgenössischen Kunst (bilingual catalog Hatje Cantz) with Cindy Sherman, T. Florschuetz, Tony Oursler, Lim Young Sun, K.Feingold, H. Fuchs, Via Lewandowsky, K. Clarke, G. Schneider, Oleg Kulik, Jake & Dinos Chapman, T. Grünfeld, Eduardo Kac.

1999 Power and Care - the Image of the Mother in Contemporary Art and Science / Macht und Fürsorge - Das Bild der Mutter in zeitgenössischer Kunst und Wissenschaft, Trinitatiskirche, Cologne, Germany , head curator: Matthias Winzen, artists include: Joseph Beuys, L. Bourgeois, R. Dijkstra, M. Dumas, Valie Export, Ann Hamilton, Georg Herold, M. Kippenberger, K. Klapheck, D. Krieg, Tracy Moffat, Pipilotti Rist, C. Sherman, W. Tillmans. (catalog Oktagon)

1998 Kölnkunst 5, Joseph-Haubrich-Kunsthalle, Cologne, Germany. (catalog)
1997 Video Flash, Hohenthal und Bergen Galerie, Cologne, Germany. (video)

1994 Die verlassenen Schuhe, Deutsches Leder- und Schuhmuseum, Offenbach am Main, Germany.

1993 Die verlassenen Schuhe, Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn, Bonn, Germany, curated by Klaus Honnef, artists include: Jim Dine, Allen Jones, Konrad Klapheck, Jürgen Klauke, Yayoi Kusama, Helmut Newton, Meret Oppenheim, C. O. Paeffgen, Daniel Spoerri, Norbert Tadeusz, Antoni Tapies, Günther Uecker, a. o.(catalog)
1991 Second Thoughts, Russell Sage College, New York, USA.
1989 Paper Works of Contemporary Art, 9th Annual International, Imadate Echizen, Japan.
1988 Not Out of Fashion, New York Public Theater, New York, New York, USA. (performance)

collections

Kunstmuseum Bonn, Germany.

MOCAK- Museum of Contemporary Art Krakow, Poland.

Muzej-Museo Lapidarium, Novigrad / Cittanova, HR.

Schloss Plüschow, Germany.
Stadtmuseum Siegburg, Germany.

Sölring Museen, Germany.

libraries

James Baldwin Library

Yale Library

Art and Museum Library of the City of Cologne at Museum Ludwig

fellowships

2016 John Hargraves and Nancy Newcomb Fellow
2015-2016 MacDowell Fellowship.

lectures + readings

2025 Sharpless, Margaret, The Ledger of, during the exhibition installation in A Room of One's Own / Ein Zimmer Für Mich Allein, Neuer Kunstverein Aschaffenburg, Aschaffenburg, Germany. (performative book reading from German translation)

2024 Sylta, the Whaling Widow Who Wails, die Walfängerwitwe, die weint, Galerie r8m, Cologne, Germany. ( 4 readings from German translation

2024 Sylta, the Whaling Widow Who Wails, die Walfängerwitwe, die weint, Sölring - Sylt Museum & Old Frisian House, Keitum, the island of Sylt, Germany. ( four excerpt readings from German translation + artist talk)

2023 One Woman, One Stone - A Love Story at Galerija-Galleria Rigo, Muzej-Museo Lapidarium, Novigrad / Cittanova, HR. (bilingual poetry reading + book)

2021 Sharpless, Margaret, The Ledger of, at Milton Art Bank, Milton, PA, USA. (book launch & reading)

2021 Heather Sheehan: a Performative Reading, Galerie Gisela Clement, Bonn, Germany.

2012 Heimat und Identität / Künstlerinnen heute - Migranten und Heimatlose? Podium discussion at the Mecklenburgisches Künstlerhaus Schloss Plüschow, Germany.

2004 Role of the HISK in International Contemporary Art World, Higher Institute for Fine Art, Antwerp, Belgium.

2001 single opening, Tag der Medizin, RWTH Universitätsklinikum, Aachen, Germany.
1999 Universal Mother, Freie Kunstakademie Basel, Basel, Switzerland. (lecture)

1997 Universal Mother, Galerie Barbara Cramer, Bonn, Germany. (poetry reading)

1996 "M" costumed performative reading from unique artist book, private audience in a barn, Starnberg, Germany. photo: Michelle Adamski.

1995 on pink costumed performative reading from unique artist book at Hering Raum Bonn, Bonn, Germany.