Eva Renée Nele was born in Berlin on March 15, 1932. Her father, Arnold Bode, was the founder of Documenta, in Kassel, Germany, the city where Nele spent her childhood and early adulthood. From 1950 to 1955, she studied at the Fine Art Academy in Berlin under Hans Uhlmann, then at the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London, and finally at the Studio Lacourière in Paris. In 1956 she held a solo exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, followed by exhibitions at the Gallery Van de Loo in Munich and the Molton Gallery in London in 1960. She took part in group shows including the Sculpture Biennial of Antwerp, the Biennale d’arte triveneta of Padua (1959), and several editions of Documenta, Kassel (1959, 1964, 1982).

Until 1962 Nele was part of Situationist International. Formed in Cosio d’Arroscia, Italy, in 1957, it was an international, political, and artistic movement based on the merging of such divergent artistic tendencies as the Internazionale Lettrista, the International Movement for an Imaginist Bauhaus, and the CoBrA group. Its aim was to bridge the gap between art and life. Nele’s work reflects her own political convictions and shows her awareness of and response to social issues. Fear, existential crisis, and death are some of the central themes of her sculpture, which is not concerned with portraying beauty as much as it is about exploring human interiority.

In addition to her own artistic production, Nele has taught sculpture at the l’Internationalen Sommerakademie für Bildende Kunst of Salzburg from 1985 to 1990, then at the J.W. Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main, and the Justus Liebig University in Giessen, where she has been teaching since 1993. Her sculptures can be seen at the Neue Pinakothek and at the Städtische Galerie, Munich, and in several other museums, private collections, and public spaces. The artist is also famous for her jewelry designs, for which she was nominated an honorary member of the Goldsmithall, London. Nele lives and works in Frankfurt am Main.


Artworks