Nicholas Maniu (Germany) is an art historian, curator, and writer whose practice engages with the representation of gender, sexuality, and national or cultural identity in visual culture from the nineteenth century to the present. Through research, writing, and curatorial work, he investigates how artistic practices challenge normative conceptions of the body, desire, and belonging, while negotiating questions of nationality, borders, and cultural hybridity. His work is particularly interested in tracing genealogies of artistic solidarity across historical contexts and exploring how artists navigate multiple, overlapping identities.
During his residency, Nicholas will explore the theme Ecology of Migrating Identities by examining how artistic practices negotiate shifting forms of identity and belonging. Drawing on Gloria Anzaldúa’s concept of the borderlands, he considers how gender, cultural hybridity, and national identity intersect within processes of migration and cultural exchange. The project also engages Rosi Braidotti’s notion of nomadic subjectivity as a framework for understanding identity as dynamic, non-unitary, and resistant to fixed territorial and cultural definitions. In parallel, he is interested in the migration stories of artworks themselves, using provenance research to trace their journeys across different cultural and historical contexts.
Recent curatorial projects include Turner. Three Horizons at the Lenbachhaus, Munich (2023–24); The Blue Rider. A New Language at the Lenbachhaus, Munich (2024); Remembering Paul at Forum Queeres Archiv / Manifold Books, Amsterdam (2024); and 5 Friends. John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly at Museum Brandhorst, Munich (2025). His publications include Queer! Bilderwelten männlich-männlichen Begehrens und queerer Geschlechtlichkeit (transcript Verlag, 2023) and Turner. Ein Lesebuch / A Reader (co-editor, Edition Lenbachhaus, 2023), alongside numerous essays on queer art histories, gender, and identity in visual culture.
Nicholas was born in Germany and is currently based in Munich.
With support from:
The Brooks International Fellowship Programme
In partnership with:
Tate
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Please note all artist-in-residence biographies are accurate at the time of their residency. For up-to-date bios please visit the artist’s website.