BIOGRAPHY
Nele Kugler lives and works today in Otterndorf near Cuxhaven on the North Sea, Germany.
Natural forces, the Wadden Sea, the UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the tides of the North Sea create an emotional connection to the art in her paintings. Her art is also a space for reflection on ecological issues, sustainability, and the beauty of nature. Nele Kugler is an artist who uniquely combines abstract and maritime worlds with a special sensitivity.
In her maritime works, she processes original materials such as sailcloth, nautical charts, and driftwood – finds with a history that she collects in her chosen home on the North Sea.
In her abstract works, another facet of Nele Kugler becomes visible: powerful, color-intensive, and full of energy and emotion. These paintings sparkle with expression and vitality – a contrast and at the same time a complement to her maritime side.
The art of Nele Kugler is multifaceted, authentic and deeply connected with their surroundings and their emotions.
CV
The color blue
19.09.2025 – 05.10.2025 – Cuxhaven
Collective exhibition / Cuxhavener Kunstverein
Session 06
12.09.2025 – 10.10.2025 – Berlin
Galeria Azur Berlin
Hamburg shows art
13.7.2025 – Hamburg
The open-air event will take place in the summer garden of Landhaus Walter near the city park on July 13, 2025. Admission is free for visitors.
Hope beyond the horizon
18.5.2025 – 9.6.2025 – Cuxhaven
“Hope beyond the horizon” Art in the sign of change, the Wadden Sea and confidence A short journey through the times to hope and confidence
10th International Painting Biennale Hamburg
02.12.2024 – 31.1.2025 – Hamburg
X. INTERNATIONAL PAINTING BIENNALE HAMBURG Joint exhibition “Environment in the Ecological Discourse: Logistics Lives the Future” Under the patronage of Senator Dr. Melanie Leonhard, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Innovation of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, in cooperation with the embassies in Berlin
Being human
28.4.2024 – 20.5.2024 – Cuxhaven
A joint exhibition on the topic of being human, its complexity, transience, but also change, sustainability, and responsibility. A multifaceted exhibition on the topic of being human, its complexity, inclusion, as well as transience, change, sustainability, and responsibility will be presented in the old fishing port/old net halls in Cuxhaven.
ART-WORK/WORK-ART
August 1, 2023 – September 6, 2023 – Bremerhaven
My works are exhibited there in the studio community. Together with four other artists, we work in the “Alten Bürger 153” studio community ART-WORK/WORK-ART
Go sailing
21.4.2024 – 22.4.2024 – Cuxhaven
On the day of the flower market in 2024, I will be showing my maritime works in a small exhibition at the City Center Cuxhaven.
CUX ART
19.5.2023 – 21.5.2023 – Cuxhaven
Fine art fair in the North Sea spa town of Cuxhaven – exhibition of my maritime collages and abstract artworks together with other artists of various art forms
Maritime Collagen
1.12.2022 – 31.12.2024 – Maritime collages
Exhibition “Hotel am MedemUfer”, Otterndorf
Soil! Education
Aug. – Okt. 2015 – Ihlienworth
Exhibition project for the United Nations International Year of Soils
Art Mile Hamburg 2014
10.5.2014 – Hamburg
Art Mile 2014 – Gallery FASZINATION ART (Hamburg)
Arte Suste MOBILE
02.08.2013 – 28.10.2013 – Hamburg
Following Bad Urach, Ihlienworth near Cuxhaven, the Menzer Villa Neckargemünd, the Gelsenkirchen Art Museum, the SAP International Training Center, the Church of the Holy Spirit in Heidelberg, the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania State Center for Renewable Energy in Neustrelitz, the Federal Environment Agency, and the Bundeskunsthalle, this unusual educational project is coming to Hamburg for the first time. Our Sustainable Arts Project brings the concept of sustainability to life.
Re Art t(W)oo Ihlienworth
Aug. – Okt. 2013 – Ihlienworth
Curator Samuel J. Fleiner conceived an international art and design exhibition called “Arte Sustenibile UNO – Art and Design of Sustainability.” This exhibition concept brought the concept of sustainability to life: protecting natural resources, reducing greenhouse gases, promoting tolerance and development cooperation, eliminating social discrimination, and respecting human dignity.
Art piece Berlin
02/2013 – Berlin
Cotton candy or the lightness of being
Sustainable Art “Art meets Sustainability”
22.9.2012 – 28.2.2013 – Neustrelitz
This very worthwhile exhibition with over 70 artists from 17 countries makes the concept of sustainability tangible first-hand: The exhibition has already been awarded several times as an official project in the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development and was part of the accompanying program of a UNESCO
SUSTAINABLE ARTS
01.4.2012 – 30.5.2012 – Heidelberg
ARTE SUSTINIBILE Holy Spirit Church Heidelberg ARTandVIELFALT is the fourth exhibition of RE-ART: The first art exhibition in the New UN Decade for Biodiversity and a completely new project that deals with the interaction between art and biological diversity.
Type and diversity
Aug. – Okt. 2011 – Ihlienworth
Art Meets Biodiversity ART and DIVERSITY – RE ART in Ihlienworth. Works of art that address biological and natural processes, as well as the topic of nature and species conservation and biodiversity. An exhibition of contemporary artists as a continuation of the three UNESCO World Decade projects RE-ART ONe.
Open Studio Day
19.09.2011 – Cuxhaven / Cuxland
Hanse ART Bremen
Sept 2009 – Bremen
STATEMENT
Sustainability is a daily responsibility for me.
Our planet – especially the Wadden Sea as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site – embodies the beauty and vulnerability of nature. Its protection symbolizes respectful interaction with all habitats.I connect tradition and innovation to create spaces for mindfulness, responsibility, and creativity. My goal is a world where nature and humanity coexist harmoniously, and every action makes a positive difference.
In my art, maritime and abstract worlds merge: found objects from the North Sea like sailcloth, nautical maps, and driftwood meet powerful, color-intensive compositions. This results in works that unite natural forces, emotion, and reflection on ecological themes.
This vision drives me – with passion, hope, and the belief that change begins today.
