Rose Nestler (b. 1983, Spokane, WA) lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. In her artistic practice, Nestler explores the intersections between gender, history and consumable objects. Her sculptures often take the form of garments, flowers, tools and toys, subverting traditional gender roles and imbuing them with an assertive feminine energy and melancholy humor. Rose Nestler’s work invites viewers to examine and question societal norms, offering fresh perspectives on gender, power and identity through her innovative and intellectually stimulating artistic practice.
Nestler holds an MFA from Brooklyn College and BA in Art History from Mount Holyoke College. Rose Nestler has exhibited in the United States and internationally, she is represented by Mrs Gallery in the United States. Including exhibitions at Mrs, New York, USA; Public Gallery, London, UK; König Galerie, Berlin, Germany; Projet Pangée, Montreal, QC, Canada; BRIC, Brooklyn, NY; Hesse Flatow and Perrotin, New York, NY. She was an artist in residence at the Joan Mitchell Center in New Orleans in 2022. Nestler has also conducted residencies at The Fores Project, London, UK, and The Lighthouse Works, Fishers Island, NY, among others. Her work has been featured in the Brooklyn Rail, BOMB magazine, Hyperallergic, The Art Newspaper, Artnet, New York Magazine and on Art21.

Curriculum Vitae
Education
  • 2017

    MFA, Cuny Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, New York, United States

  • 2005

    BA in Art History and Studio Art, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachussetts

Solo and Two-Person Exhibitions
  • 2023

    Solo Show (forthcoming), Pangeé, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

  • 2022

    Nada Art Fair, Mrs., Miami, Florida, United States

  • 2022

    “Slippery Yoke”, Carvalho Park, Brooklyn, New York, United States

  • 2022

    “Too bad for heaven, too good for hell”, Mrs., Maspeth, NY (solo)

  • 2021

    “Flex Point”, PUBLIC Gallery, London, United Kingdom

  • 2021

    “Allegory for the Muse”, NADA House presentation with Projet Pangeé, Governors Island, New York, United States

  • 2019

    “Power Walking”, PUBLIC Gallery, London, United Kingdom

  • 2019

    “Grey Matter”, SPRING/BREAK Art Show, New York, United States

  • 2018

    “Gymnasia”, BRIC Project Room, Brooklyn, New York, United States

  • 2018

    “Strange Business”, Ortega y Gasset Projects, Brooklyn, New York, United States

  • 2012

    “Lithic Habitats”, CUCHIFRITOS Gallery, New York, United States

Group Exhibitions
  • 2023

    “Stuffed” (Forthcoming), Boston University, Boston, Massachussetts, United States

  • 2023

    “Spring”, Primary, Miami, Florida, United States

  • 2023

    Felix Art Fair, Mrs., Los Angeles, California, United States

  • 2023

    “Milk Tongue”, SUNY Oneonta Art Galleries, Oneonta, New York, United States

  • 2022

    “A Few Small Nips”, Mrs., Maspeth, New York, United States

  • 2022

    “The Shape of Things”, Swivel, Saugerties, New York, United States

  • 2022

    “Symbiosis”, Berkshire Botanical Garden, curated by Beth R. DeWoody, Stockbridge, Massachusetts, United States

  • 2022

    Felix Art Fair, Mrs., Los Angeles, California, United States

  • 2022

    “Late Night Enterprise”, Perrotin, New York, United States

  • 2022

    “3 Going Through 9 To Get To 27”, Galveston Art Residency, Galveston, Texas, United States

  • 2021

    “Anniversary”, Mrs., Maspeth, New York, United States

  • 2021

    “Recent Acquisitions in Contemporary Art”, Frye Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, United States

  • 2021

    “Boy Box”, Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, New York, United States

  • 2021

    “Glyphadelphia”, Hesse Flatow, New York, United States

  • 2021

    “The Artist is Online”, König Galerie, Berlin, Germany

  • 2021

    “PRECISION” - Illustration Technique in Art and Science, Eastern Connecticut State University, Willimantic, Connecticut, United States

  • 2020

    “Fantasy Body”, Projet Pangée, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

  • 2020

    “All Out/All In”, Wassaic Project, Wassaic, New York, United States

  • 2020

    “Reality Flex”, Paradice Palase, Brooklyn, New York, United States

  • 2020

    “Domestic Brutes”, Pelham Art Center, Pelham, New York, United States

  • 2020

    “The Essential Goods Show”, Fisher Parrish, Brooklyn, New York, United States

  • 2020

    “No Time Like the Present”, PUBLIC Gallery, London, United Kingdom

  • 2020

    “Applied Forces”, Arlington Art Center, Arlington, Virginia, United States

  • 2020

    “King Dogs Never Grow Old”, Diane Rosenstein Gallery, Los Angeles, California, United States

  • 2019

    “Macho”, Established Gallery, Brooklyn, New York, United States

  • 2019

    “Body Horror”, Bomb Pop-Up, Pete’s Candy Store, Brooklyn, New York, United States

  • 2019

    “Put on Your Face and Hand Me Down”, Greenwich Arts Council, Greenwich, Connecticut, United States

  • 2019

    “Field Projects Presents: Pool Party”, C24, New York, United States

  • 2019

    “Buddy System II”, Deanna Evans Projects, New York, United States

  • 2019

    “Arena”, SPACE, Portland, Maine, United States

  • 2019

    “Ceremonial Exhibition”, American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, New York, United States

  • 2019

    “Every Woman Biennial”, New York, United States

  • 2019

    “Invitational Exhibition of Visual Arts”, American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, New York, United States

  • 2019

    “Soft Grit”, Lobo Gallery, Brooklyn, New York, United States

  • 2018

    “Another History”, Thierry Goldberg Gallery, New York, United States

  • 2018

    “Going Beyond”, Kunstraum, Brooklyn, New York, United States

  • 2018

    “Civil Discourse”, Kibbee Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia, United States

  • 2018

    “Hand in Glove”, Public Address, Brooklyn, New York, United States

  • 2018

    “Art in Odd Places: BODY”, Westbeth Gallery and 14th Street, New York, United States

  • 2018

    “Let the Fancy”, University of Illinois Art Gallery, Springfield, Illinois, United States

  • 2018

    “Wendy Let Me In”, Beverly’s, New York, United States

  • 2017

    “The Giving Body”, Underdonk, Brooklyn, New York, United States

  • 2017

    “Salt Lick”, L.O.G. (Low Occupancy Gallery), Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States

  • 2017

    “Borrowed”, Spaceworks, Brooklyn, New York, United States

  • 2017

    “Commencement”, Smack Mellon, Brooklyn, New York, United States

  • 2017

    “Fantastic Plastic”, CRUSH Curatorial, New York, United States

  • 2017

    “Dead Horse Bay: The Glass Graveyard of Brooklyn”, Urban Glass, Brooklyn, New York, United States

  • 2016

    “The Weight We Hold”, Causey Contemporary, New York, United States

  • 2011

    “Mining Between: Works by Joan Mitchell Foundation Artist-Teachers”, Arts@Renaissance, Brooklyn, New York, United States

  • 2011

    “Fenced and Stitched”, ISCP, Brooklyn, New York, United States

  • 2010

    “Ready Set Create”, NARS Foundation, Brooklyn, New York, United States

  • 2010

    “For Johnson”, The Northern Gallery, Olympia, Washington, United States

  • 2010

    “Brucennial”, Bruce High Quality Foundation, New York, United States

  • 2009

    “The Yield: Harold Residency Exhibition”, Chicago, Illinois, United States

  • 2009

    “The Joan Mitchell Foundation Artist-Teacher Exhibition”, Brooklyn, New York, United States

  • 2009

    “Everyman’s An Angel”, NY Studio Gallery, New York, United States

  • 2008

    “Alchemy”, Gowanus Studio Space, Brooklyn, New York, United States

Publishing
  • 2023

    “Portal Glove“, bronze sculpture, Bomma, Paris, France

Works
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Sottobosco, Bouquet (After Rachel Ruysch), 2021, courtesy Rose Nestler and Public Gallery

Flex Point, 2021, basement install view, Rose Nestler, courtesy Rose Nestler and Public Gallery

Laws of Similarities (Roses), 2022, Leather, Fabric, Thread, Foam, Polyfil, Wire, Leather Cement, Epoxy, Wood, 25 x 16 x 11 inches, 63.5 x 40.6 x 27.9 cm,
courtesy Rose Nestler and Mrs., Maspeth, NY, photography by Olympia Shannon

See Her LIVE (Lucia), 2022, Velvet, Silk, Neoprene, Batting, Thread, Wood, Bolts, Aluminum, Silicone, Alabaster, Epoxy, Lightbulb and Spandex, 74 x 58 x 29 inches, 188 x 147.3 x 73.7 cm, courtesy the artist and Mrs., Maspeth, NY, photography by Olympia Shannon

Calla Lilies and Fried Eggs (church breakfast), 2022, Leather, Fabric, Thread, Wire, Polyfil, Leather Cement, Epoxy, Aluminum, White Bronze Birthday Candles
32 x 16 x 8 inches, 81.3 x 40.6 x 20.3 cm, courtesy Rose Nestler and Mrs., Maspeth, NY, photography by Olympia Shannon

Installation view, Rose Nestler at Mrs., NADA Miami, 2022, courtesy Rose Nestler and Mrs., Maspeth, NY, photography by Olympia Shannon

Stigma Glove #2, 2022, Leather, Thread, Silicone, Candle Wick, Polyfil, Wire, Epoxy, Wood, 10 x 16 x 6 inches, 25.4 x 40.6 x 15.2 cm, courtesy Rose Nestler and Mrs., Maspeth, NY, photography by Olympia Shannon

Reliquary Bust (Before and After), 2022, Velveteen, Fabric, Silk, Thread, Batting, Foam, MDF, Aluminum, Sand Blasted Mirror, Epoxy, Silicone, Candle Wicks, Wire, 29 x 26 x 8 inches, 73.7 x 66 x 20.3 cm, courtesy Rose Nestler and Mrs., Maspeth, NY, photography by Olympia Shannon

Installation view, Slippery Yoke, Carvahlo Park, Brooklyn, NY, courtesy Rose Nestler and Carvalho Park

Installation view, too bad for heaven, too good for hell, Mrs., Maspeth, NY, courtesy Rose Nestler and Mrs. Gallery

I long therefore I am, 2022, Leather, Fabric, Polyfil, Thread, Foam, Epoxy, Wood, 12 1/2 x 14 x 9 1/2 inches, 31.8 x 35.6 x 24.1 cm, courtesy the artist and Mrs., Maspeth, NY, photography by Olympia Shannon

I long therefore I am - details, 2022, Leather, Fabric, Polyfil, Thread, Foam, Epoxy, Wood, 12 1/2 x 14 x 9 1/2 inches, 31.8 x 35.6 x 24.1 cm, courtesy the artist and Mrs., Maspeth, NY, photography by Olympia Shannon

Interview

When thinking about my first bronze edition “Portal Glove”, I was thinking about the duality between the symbol, the form of the stigma, and the meaning of the word stigma, and how those two things are often at odds with each other. I also was thinking about the myth of Persephone, the reason she was trapped in the underworld is because she had stopped. She was distracted. She was looking out at a field of flowers. And that feeling of being trapped, her condition as a goddess is marked by the returning of spring every year. And so I think even though there’s pain represented through the stigma or the portal on my glove, the flowers sort of being trapped inside the portal represent a resilience and power of nature and beauty and really the fragility of the human condition.