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Artist Statement
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My work moves between permanence and impermanence. As a sculptor and digital artist, I merge traditional craftsmanship with digital transformation—marble meets mesh, bronze meets blockchain.
I don’t view sculpture as a static object, but as a process—something that oscillates between physical presence and virtual imagination. My pieces explore themes of transience, identity, and the influence of technological systems on the human condition. I’m drawn to states of tension and transition: the fragmented, the unfinished, the dissolving.
My artistic drive lies in creating new forms of expression that resonate both in public spaces and digital realms. Whether carved in stone or rendered in code, my works are meant to touch, disrupt, slow down, and invite reflection.
I stand for an art that crosses boundaries—between material and code, body and system, tradition and possibility.
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Nils W. Hansen
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b.1978 Düsseldorf, Germany
Lives and works in Berlin
Master Craftsman in Stone Sculpture, Düsseldorf 2003
B.A. Digital Film Design (3D Modeling), MediaDesign University, Berlin 2013
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Nils Hansen, born to a Norwegian father and a South African mother, is an award-winning sculptor and 3D artist whose work bridges traditional craftsmanship with cutting-edge digital technologies.
His multidisciplinary approach merges millennia-old sculptural practices with contemporary tools such as 3D modeling, XR, and immersive visualization. His work investigates the tension between material form and digital transformation—between physical craft, conceptual thinking, and augmented virtual layers.
Originally rooted in painting, Nils chose early on to combine artistry with craftsmanship and became a stone sculptor. He achieved his Master Craftsman title and received numerous awards and scholarships. From 2005 to 2007 he lived and worked in Carrara, Italy—renowned for more than 2,000 years for its marble—where he deepened his expertise in the language of stone.
His diverse cultural background, together with a decade of international experiences, shaped his artistic vocabulary. Since 2006 he has participated in nearly 25 international sculpture symposiums, including the renowned Biennial of Sculpture in Chaco.
In 2009, he received a scholarship to study Digital Film Design at the Babelsberg Film School in Berlin, focusing on digital modeling. Discovering software such as ZBrush and Maya opened entirely new directions in sculptural thinking and production.
In the years that followed, Nils worked in research and development with a focus on digital form-finding, AR/VR applications, lightweight design, and holistic visualization methods. Today, he integrates this expertise into his artistic practice, XR explorations, and teaching activities.
His sculptures have been exhibited in public spaces worldwide, and his digital works have been shown and collected internationally. While Crypto Art remains part of his broader practice, his primary focus lies in advancing contemporary sculpture at the intersection of physical material, digital creation, and immersive technology.
Nils has been awarded the A’Design Award in both Silver and Bronze.
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Modern electronic technology compared to the archaic of a handmade object. An antithesis, considering the current aspirations is not, Hansen's sculpture unites tradition, present and Outlook, modes of artistic work that can be experienced so far, exist side by side with equal rights.
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Modernste elektronische Technik gegenüber der Archaik eines handgefertigten Gegenstandes. Eine Gegensätzlichkeit, die bei Betrachtung der gegenwärtigen Bestrebungen keine ist, denn Hansens Plastik vereint darin Tradition, Gegenwart und Ausblick, Modi künstlerischer Arbeit, die soweit erfahrbar, gleichberechtigt nebeneinander bestehen.
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Anke Zeisler, Curator / Berlin
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Symposia
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2024, International Sculpture Symposium “Memory from Sculpture“, Civitella, Italy
2019, 29th International Sculpture Festival “Stone in the Galilee”,Maalot-Tarshiha/Israel
2019, 24th Aswan Sculpture Symposium, Aswan/Egypt
2018, 28th International Sculpture Festival “Stone in the Galilee”,Maalot-Tarshiha/Israel
2018, 3rd International Sculpture Symposium, Baku/Aserbaidschan
2018, 1st Public Art Symposium, Bhubaneswar/ India
2017, Simposio Internacional de Escultura Itinerante,Entre Ríos,Colón, /Argentina
2017, 4th International Sculpture Symposium, Puerto General San Martin/Argentina
2017, 11th International Sculpture Symposium, Roldan/Argentina
2017, 2nd International Symposium of Contemporary Art, Guarda/Portugal
2016, 26th International Sculpture Festival “Stone in the Galilee”, Maalot-Tarshiha/Israel
2016, Chaco Biennial of Sculpture, Resistencia/Argentina
2016, 4th International Sculpture Symposium, Castelli / Argentina
2015, 25th International Sculpture Festival “Stone in the Galilee”, Maalot-Tarshiha, Israel
2015, 4th International Sculpture Symposium, Participating Sculptor, Istanbul/Turkey
2015, 6th Gypsum Sculpture Symposium in Gypsum, Laragne Montéglin/France
2013, 1st International Sculpture Symposium "Spirit of Diversity", Puntarenas/Costa Rica
2011, 5th International Sculpture Symposium, Roldan /Argentina
2010, 5th International Wax Sculpture Symposium, Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand
2010, 1st International Sculpture Symposium "Big Art", Kirkcudbright/Scotland
2009 2nd International Sculpture Symposium in "Autumn Inspiration", Penza/ Russia
2008 3rd International Wax Sculpture Symposium, Ubon Ratchathani/Thailand
2007, 2nd International Stone Sculpture Symposium "Clach", Largs/ Scotland
2007, 1st International Sculpture Symposium "No Excuse", Antwerp/Belgium
2006, 1st International Stone Sculpture Symposium "Clach", Stirling/Scotland
Exhibitions (excerpt)
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​2024, Contemporary Art Gallery,Civitella in Val di Chiana/ Italy
2021, Crypto Art Fair, Beijing /China
NFT Art Week, Hangzhou /China
NFT Art Week, Shenzen /China
Wow Summit NFT-Expo, Dubai
ETH Summit, Denver /USA
2017, Mamilla Avenue, Jerusalem/ Israel
2016, “A sculpture for Pope Francesco", Chiesa San Giuseppe, Fanano/Italy
2016, Mamilla Avenue, Jerusalem/Israel
2015, Gallery F92, Berlin/Israel
2015, Amateras Paper Art Gallery, Sofia/Bulgaria,
2014, ”Eve and Adam?” at Marienkirche, Frankfurt/Germany
2012, Centro de Arte Alcobendas, Madrid/Spain
2011, Town Hall Gallery, Roldan/Argentina
2009, Infusion Gallery, Los Angeles/USA
20o9 Rim Suan Gallery, Bangkok/Thailand
2008, Gallery Am Zault, Düsseldorf /Germany
2008, "Garten der Lüste", Gallery Gecko, Solingen/Germany
2007, "Rheingold",Gallery Gecko, Solingen/Germany
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Awards & Residencies
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2019, A´Design Award Silver and Bronze
2015, Nominated for the Innovation Price Amateras Paper Art
2009 Artist in Residence at the Silpakorn University, Bangkok/Thailand
2000, 3rd Place Young Stone Sculptor Award, German Skilled Crafts Organisation, Berlin/Germany