BERLIN-BASED WOODWORKER & DESIGNER
Nicolene van der Walt combines her backgrounds in contemporary art and classical woodworking to create functional, sculptural design objects and free-standing furniture. Making use of carefully selected solid wood sourced from sustainably managed forests in Germany, she produces every piece by hand in her workshop in Berlin-Neukölln. She focuses on handcrafted, one-off pieces and limited editions as well as small-batch productions in which each piece is assigned a batch and edition number upon completion. Her minimalistic style is characterised by the repetition of geometric forms, often accompanied by an element of surprise.
Born in 1988, Nicolene van der Walt grew up on her family’s farm in Limpopo, South Africa. She graduated from the University of Pretoria in 2013 with a B.A. Fine Arts with a focus on sculpture. In 2015, she moved from Cape Town to Berlin, where she completed her traditional German Carpenter Apprenticeship in 2019. In 2021 she co-founded MATTER of COURSE — a Berlin-based collective of eleven independent female designers. At the GERMAN DESIGN AWARDS, she was awarded Special Mention in the category Excellent Product Design - Furniture in 2023 and Excellent Product Design - Tabletop in 2024.
Read more about Nicolene van der Walt’s practice on IGNANT
A NOD TO NATURE, MADE TO LAST
Maintaining an eye for details, Nicolene van der Walt handpicks each tree at the lumberyard. Back at the workbench, she carefully considers the pieces of solid wood individually — her final objects do not contain any sapwood or knots. She uses a distinctive sanding technique to ensure her functional objects will remain smooth after being used and washed regularly over time. As wood is a natural material and the individual pieces are handcrafted, each object is unique.
Nicolene van der Walt’s work is made to last and promises to age beautifully with use.
COMMISSIONS & COLLABORATIONS
Using only high-quality, environmentally-friendly materials — with a strong preference for solid wood — Nicolene van der Walt designs and builds bespoke, free-standing furniture upon request. In addition to producing her own design objects, she helps bring other designers' ideas to life by building prototypes and implementing small-batch productions on their behalf in her wood workshop. Nicolene van der Walt is also always open to embarking on new collaborative journeys.
PART OF THE SLOW MOVEMENT
“It is a cultural revolution against the notion that faster is always better. Slow Philosophy is not about doing everything at a snail’s pace. It’s about seeking to do everything at the right speed. Savouring the hours and minutes rather than just counting them. Doing everything as well as possible, instead of as fast as possible. It’s about quality over quantity in everything from work to food…”
– Carl Honoré, In Praise of Slow (2004)
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 Cape Town Furniture Week, Cape Town, South Africa
2023 Celebrating Berlin Craftsmanship, VooSpace by VooStore, Berlin, Germany
2023 MODERN NOW, SETAREH Contemporary Art Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2023 Landespreis für Gestaltendes Handwerk, Kunstgewerbemuseum, Berlin, Germany
2022 MATTER of COURSE, KantGaragen, Berlin, Germany
2022 ICH und DU – MATTER of COURSE, Milan Design Week, 5VIE District, Milan, Italy
2021 Balancing Acts – MATTER of COURSE, Friends Space by FvF, Berlin, Germany
2020 Landespreis für Gestaltendes Handwerk, Kunstgewerbemuseum, Berlin, Germany
2016 Supermarket Art Fair, Galleri CC, Stockholm, Sweden
2015 Loop, Galleri CC, Malmö, Sweden
2015 NMAG Rotterdam, No Man's Art Gallery, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
2015 THAT Art Fair, Cape Town, South Africa
2014 Play, Nirox Sculpture Park, The Cradle of Humankind, South Africa
2014 SA Art now now, No Man's Art Gallery, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2014 Fearless Renewal, No Man's Art Gallery, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2014 NMAG Cape Town, No Man's Art Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
2014 ABSA L'Atelier, ABSA Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
2014 ABSA L'Atelier Western Cape, Rust-en-Vrede, Cape Town, South Africa
2014 SASOL New Signatures, Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria, South Africa
2014 SASOL New Signatures Western Cape, Erdmann Contemporary, Cape Town, South Africa
2013 Autumn Art Fair, Fried Contemporary Gallery, Pretoria, South Africa
2013 SASOL New Signatures, Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria, South Africa
2013 PPC Young Concrete Sculptor Awards, Arts Association, Pretoria, South Africa
2011 SASOL New Signatures, Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria, South Africa
GALLERIES & DESIGN STORES
Represented by Bazar Noir
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Copywriting: Maia Frazier
Photography: Anne Deppe, Amir Farzad, Clemens Poloczek, Theresa van Staden, Mélanie Wehrli
STUDENTS
Internship, Spring Holiday 2024: Emily Lechaux, Universität der Künste Berlin, Berlin, DE
Internship, Summer Semester 2023: Paula Rocke, Kunsthochschule Weißensee, Berlin, DE
Internship, Winter Semester 2022/23: Noemi Mateus, Fachhochschule Potsdam, Potsdam, DE
Internship, Winter Semester 2021/22: Honey Birch, Kingston University, London, UK