CURRICULUM VITAE

VERONIKA MERKLEIN, *1982 in Schwäbisch Hall (DE), based in Vienna (AT)

EDUCATION / STAYS ABROAD

• 2007 – 2012 Fine Art studies at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (AT)
• 2004 – 2007 Fine Art studies at the School of Art and Design Kassel (DE)
  
• 2025 Artist in Residence in Cité internationale des arts, Paris (FR), funded by Austrian Federal Cultural Ministry (AT)
• 2023 Artist in Residence in Popp’s Packing, Detroit (US)
• 2022 Artist in Residence in Artscape Gibraltar Point, Toronto (CA)
• 2014 – 2015 Artist in Residence in Chicago (US), funded by Austrian Federal Cultural Ministry (AT)
• 2012 Traineeship, archiv performativ, Zurich University of the Arts (CH)
  

GRANTS / COLLECTIONS (selection)

• 2025 Project fund – Otto Mauer Fund (AT), Project fund – Bildrecht (AT)
• 2024 Project fund – Austrian Federal Cultural Ministry (AT)
• 2023 Federal Annual Scholarship for Fine Arts – Austrian Federal Cultural Ministry (AT)
• 2022 Travel fund – Austrian Cultural Forum Ottawa (CA), Project fund – Austrian Federal Cultural Ministry (AT), 1. Price – presentation – Weight Stigma Conference, Humboldt University Berlin (DE), Project fund – Bildrecht (AT)
• 2021 Project fund – Bildrecht (AT), Project fund – City of Vienna, Austrian Federal Cultural Ministry (AT), Project fund – District Josefstadt, Vienna (AT)
• 2019 Travel fund Dublin (IE) – Vienna (AT) – Austrian Federal Cultural Ministry (AT), Project fund – Austrian Federal Cultural Ministry (AT)
• 2017 1. Price – presentation – Weight Stigma Conference, Prague (CZ)
• 2015 Project fund – Austrian Federal Cultural Ministry (AT), Project fund – Austrian Cultural Forum New York City (US)
• 2014 Project fund – Austrian Federal Cultural Ministry (AT), Abundia Empowerment Fund scholarship (US)
• 2012 Funding for the final thesis, Austrian Federal Ministry for Science and Research (AT)

Represented in private collections in Germany, Austria and in the US, in public collections of the City of Vienna and the State of Austria.

ARTISTIC PROJECTS (selection)

S = solo show, G = group show, P = performance, D = performative dinner, F = film screening

• 2025 FAT Life, OK Linz (AT) _P, Women at work, Kunstverein Amrum (DE) _G, A fat person goes to the doctor, Cinema Talks Graz _F
• 2024 A fat person goes to the doctor, Diagonale Graz _F, Textures of Time: Rocks & Dust, gallery michaela stock (AT) _G, Fett in der Medizin – Gesundheit vor Gewicht?, Brick 15 (AT) _P
• 2023 Salon Parcours, Vienna (AT) _P, konform-NON-konform / Antlitz der neuen Zeit, Städtische Galerie Nordhorn (D) _G, P, Par/cours, Mönchengladbach (DE) _G, Meal, Dom Museum, Vienna (AT) _G
• 2022 FAT Life, Vienna Art Week (AT) _P, Meal, Dom Museum, Vienna (AT) _G, Artscape Gibraltar Point, Toronto Island (CA) _G,P, A fat person goes to the doctor, Weight Stigma Conference, Humboldt University Berlin (DE), The Fatter The Better, SPARK-Fair, gallery michaela stock, Wien (AT) _S, Garden Eden  (with Mika A. Sattler) in the framework of Pickle Bar, Wiener Festwochen, Vienna (AT) _P
• 2021 Der wunde Punkt (The sore spot), Salon Real / Virtual, gallery michaela stock, Wien (AT) _S, Circus Salto Morale, public space, Vienna (AT) with Barbara Ungepflegt _P, Chocolate Weighing Machine in the framework of the festival Banal Complexities, Philomena+, Vienna (AT) _P
• 2020 No Pity!, gallery michaela stock, Vienna AT) _G, FAT Life, Every Body In-Festival, Reaktor, Vienna (AT) _P, Deep States, Nun’s Island Theatre, Galway (IE) _G
• 2019 Equilibrium in the framework of the EMBODIMENT / capture performance focus: IRELAND, gallery michaela stock, Vienna (AT) _P
• 2018 Pin me up – turn me around,  gallery michaela stock, Vienna (AT) _G, Emotional Journey, Bildraum Bregenz (AT) _G
• 2017 DIE HARD, gallery michaela stock, Wien (AT) _S, P, Liebevolle Schimpfwörter (Affectionate Terms of Abuse), gallery michaela stock, Wien (AT) _G, 23. Gabrovo Biennial of Humour and Satire in Art, Museum House of Humour and Satire, Gabrovo (BG) _G, Frau_Mann_Transgender photographs: Feminism, Museum of Perception, Graz (AT) _G
• 2016 Fat Positive Summer Festival, film screening Fat Positive Shorts, Berceley Public Library, San Fransisco (US) _F, The Body of Work: Resisting Strategies as part of The Inefficient Body – Anti-Capitalist Strategy, a symposium, WUK Performing Arts, Vienna (AT)
• 2015 Fat Pig, Defibrillator Gallery, Chicago (US)  _S, P, APPROPRIATION | PERFORMANCE | PART 1, performance festival, gallery michaela stock, Vienna (AT) _G, P, erdbeermilch (strawberry milk) as part of Hotel Obscura, Magda’s Hotel, Vienna (AT)
• 2014 dinnertime (2014-2016), artist dinners, my apartment, Chicago (US) & Vienna (AT) _D, KOMPROMISSQUALITÄT DEUTSCHLAND- fundamental gescheiterte Künstler & die Ästhetik der Maßlosigkeit, Gallery AA collections, Vienna (AT) _G, EIGHT, Atelierhaus Salzamt, Linz (AT) _G, Tête-à-tête (with Julia Kujat), Die NÄHMASCHINE, Mönchengladbach (D) _G, Daddy‘s little girl invites for dinner (Woman laughing alone with salad), Das YIX, Vienna (AT) _D
• 2013 Life-Long Weight-Gaining, Neuer Kunstverein Wien (AT) _S, P, The Art of Encounters – Life-Art festival, Tabakfabrik, Linz (AT) _P, Life-Long Weight-Gaining – Try to beat the record, bb15 – Space for Contemporary Art, Linz (AT)
• 2012 Posen in the framework of Xposit, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (AT) _S, Du hast den Farbfilm vergessen, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (AT) _S, Don‘t worry, be ha-ha-ha, Garage X, Vienna (AT) _P, Performing Documentation, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (AT), Kaskadenkondensator, Basel (CH), JENNYFAIR, Vienna (AT) _P, Ich hab‘ größere Brüste als deine Mutter (I‘ve got bigger boobs than your mother), public space as part of AktionsTheaterKassel, Kassel (D) _P, You can be my double if I can be yours  with William Knaack and Michaela Schweighofer, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (AT) _D, F
• 2011 DIE STILLE NACHBARIN (The silent neighbour), my apartment Gschwandnergasse 59, in the framework of the festival Tatort Hernals, Vienna (AT) _P, Documentary Intervention, Kunstraum Niederoesterreich, Vienna (AT) _P, Ich habe nichts gesagt. (I didn’t say nothing), Ida Nowhere, Berlin (D) _P
• 2010 The Hands That Feed You with Bernadette Anzengruber and Teresa Novotny, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (AT) _D, essen, lesen, essen. lesung, festessen. festessen. (eating, reading, eating, reading, feast.), Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (AT) _D
• 2009 hasen/blasen/enten/hähne/eisenbahn  (rabbits/bubbles/ducks/roosters/railway), series with Toni Schmale, Secession Vienna, sound- and project gallery „A und V“, Leipzig and Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, Wien (AT/D) _P, „…und dann war ich an Fasching als Fliegenpilz verkleidet“ (“… and then I was dressed up as a fly agaric for carnival”) with Bernadette Anzengruber, Fridericianum, Kassel (D) _P, Kalter brauner Kaffee (Cold brown coffee), Semperdepot, Vienna (AT) _P
• 2007 Bestandsabnahme Murhardstrasse 14 / Zeig das Dokumentationsfoto (d)eines Kunstwerks (Murhardstrasse 14, amount decreased, Show the documentation photo of your art work), my apartment Murhardstrasse 14, Kassel (D) _S, G, P
• 2006 Tischlein, deck dich! (The wishing table) with Katarina Corbet, School of Art and Design Kassel (D)

PROJECTS / WORKSHOPS / LECTURES / TEXTS (selection)

PJ = project, W = workshop, L = lecture, T = text, TA = teaching activity

• Ongoing Publications in BILDPUNKT, Vienna (AT) _T
• 2025 Performance Theory 2 (Co-teaching Evamaria Schaller), University of Music and Performing Arts Graz (AT) _TA
• 2024 Performance Theory 1 (Co-teaching Evamaria Schaller), University of Music and Performing Arts Graz (AT) _TA, Sorry, I am fat I am late for work, WU Gender and Diversity Conference 2024, University of Economics Vienna  (AT) _L
• 2022 Von A wie Adipositas bis Z wie Zucker – Fat Studies – Glossary, Transkript (DE) _T
• 2021 Casual Encounters—Catalyst: Cindy Baker, Catalyst Book Series (US) _T, Von A wie Adipositas bis Z wie Zucker – Apostils of Fat Studies, Transkript (DE) _T
• 2020 FAT ART, DFG network Fat Studies – Doing, Becoming and Being Fat (DE) _L, Fat acceptance and antidiscrimination, Ästhetikreferat Uni Wuppertal (DE) _L
• 2018 Workshop Performance, Essen, Körperbilder (Performance, food, body images), Workshops at Stellwerk Weimar and in the framework of the festival Sommerfrische Böhlen (DE) _W, Riots Not Diets, documentary, Director: Julia Fuhr Mann _PJ
• 2016 CurVienna – Plus-size fashion market & talk with Virgie Tovar, organisation with Bobby Hermann-Thurner and Rhea Krcmàrovà, Vienna (AT) _PJ
• 2011 Die kleinen Tode vor dem ERROR (The little deaths before the ERROR), story in „Verhältnisse“, Band II „Zusammenbruch“, Turia + Kant, Vienna (AT) _T, PANik3 – Performance as documentation, Performance evening with discussion – organisation and moderation with Thomas Geiger, Performance Art Network Vienna, depot, Vienna (AT) _PJ, Tatsachenbericht (factual report), Article in the catalogue “Performing Memory”, Kunstraum Niederoesterreich, Vienna,(AT) _T
• 2010 PHLEGMA-LOOP, scenic reading of Katharina Vana, Schauspielhaus Vienna (AT) _PJ, T, Performance 2, „                “, “This Sentence is Now Being Performed”, die bildende 06, 2010, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna Magazine (AT) _T

PRESS

O = online, PR = Print, R = Radio, TV = Television,

• konkret, Austrian TV ORF 2, October 2023, Author: Onka Takats _TV
• Grafschafter Nachrichten, German newspaper, September 2023, Author: Elisabeth Kemper _O, PR
• Querformat, Austrian magazine, October 2022, Author: Bernhard Fleischanderl _O, PR
• religion.ORF.at, Austrian television broadcast, September 2022, Author: Johanna Grillmayer _TV
• Ö1 Mittagsjournal, Austria radio broadcast, September 2022 _R
• Berliner Zeitung, German newspaper _ O, PR
• BILD, German newspaper, September 2022, Author: Anja Opitz _O
• Artfood, Austrian blog, July 2022, Author: Alice Schmatzberger _O
• Falter, Austrian newspaper, May 2022, Author: Martin Pesl _O, PR
• Falter, Austrian newspaper, July 2021 _O
• Wiener Zeitung, Austrian newspaper, March 2021, Author: Claudia Aigner _O, PR
• Jutarnji list, Croatian newspaper, January 2019, Author: Patricia Kis _PR
• NEUE – Vorarlberger Zeitung, Austrian newspaper, March 2018, Author: Lisa Kammann _PR
• Vorarlberger Nachrichten, Austrian newspaper, March 2018, Author: Veronika Fehle _PR
• Wiener Zeitung, Viennese newspaper, printSeptember 2017, Author: Claudia Aigner _PR
• Einfach mit Stil, Austrian Life-Style-Blog, March 2017, Author: Paulina Gabara _O
• The Heroine’s Journey, US-American blog, October 2016, Author: Peter de Kuster _O
• Standard, Austrian newspaper, November 2016, Author: Helmut Ploebst _PR
• Ö1, Austrian national radio station, August 2016, Guest at Kristin Gruber’s Nachtquartier _R
• Insejin, Austrian Zine, June 2016, Authors: Insejin _PR
• Ravishly, US-American online magazine, May 2016, Author: Virgie Tovar _O
• Missy Magazine, German Queer Feminist magazine, May 2016, Author: Magda Albrecht _O
• FM4, Austrian national radio station, April 2016, Author: Nermin Ismail _R
• Curvect, Austrian blogazine, April 2016, Author: Martina “Bobby” Hermann-Thurner _O
• WTF is Live Art, interview series, November 2015,Authors: Die Fabrikanten _O
• Presse, Austrian newspaper, October 2015, Author: Heide Rampetzreiter, _PR
• Chicagoist, cultural magazine, February 2015, Author: Carry McGath _O
• European Cultural News, cultural magazine, December 2014, Author: Michaela Preiner _O
• Louise & Maurice, American art & philosophy blog, December 2014, Author: Erinn M. Cox _O
• Die Wienerin, Austrian magazine, September 2014, Author: Ruth Weismann _PR
• Die Presse, Austrian newspaper, May 2013, Author: Almuth Spiegler _PR
• Plus Size Beauty, German plus-size blog, June 2014, Author: Denise Frank _O
• Der Standard, Austrian newspaper, January 2012, Author: Andrea Heinz _PR