D.M. Nagu is a collage artist working and living in Berlin. He started to exhibit his collages in 2014 and occasionally curates and writes about collage art.
Collage is a way for me to transform the discarded into something aesthetically pleasing and intellectually stimulating. I prefer to work in series, exploring the breadth of an idea, and the potential of the material being used. With an academic background in linguistics and literature, creating collages opens up different ways of expression: thoughts without language, stories without words. Stylistically I choose different approaches: from the abstract to the concrete, from the personal to the political.
D.M. Nagu’s work has been published in the magazines Glueheads, Prophet Zine, Nancy, Oltre and Excavations, the book “Von Kopf bis Fuss. Bausteine zu einer Kulturgeschichte der Kleidung”, Berlin 2015, and the exhibition catalogue “Fenster zum Klo, Hommage an den Klappensex”, Schwules Museum, Berlin 2017. In 2017, together with Patrick Fürli, he created the zine “Im Stadtpark”, and in 2021 a mail art project resulted in the publication of the zine “20/21”. D.M. Nagu has repeatedly contributed to the cover art of music projects by Philip Marshall and Pete Hope. The Leibniz-Zentrum für Literatur- und Kulturforschung regularly uses his collages and photographs for print and online projects.
“Almost anything can catch my attention, the quality of the paper, the way the page has been laid out, striking colour combinations, saturated blacks, faded or gilded colors, ordinary people trying to look model-like, everyday drama and destruction, the emptiness of all kinds (landscapes, backgrounds, faces), seriously anything. And in general terms, I prefer some gritty old pornography to glossy fashion photography.” (in an interview by Toombes)
“D.M. Nagu is known for his provocative approach to collage, highlighted by his exceptional ability to manipulate perspectives in a style reminiscent of the Cubist movement. Through his architectural collages and surrealistic reimaginings, Nagu deconstructs found structures to create a dynamic interplay of compositions. His unique perspective challenges notions of space, disrupting the traditional relationship between form and function.” (Revue Colle, n°98)
Solo exhibitions
2018 Ich sehe was, was Du nicht siehst/I spy with my little eye, Bohei, Berlin
2017 Im Stadtpark (with Patrick Fürli), Ludwig, Berlin
2017 Der große Schrei nach Freiheit. Kinolektüren, The Oval Room at Babylon Mitte, Berlin
2016 Home Decorations, Crye Space, London
2015 “Im Banne des großen Motivs”, Vino divino, Berlin
Group exhibitions
2023
GlueHeads – A Berlin odyssey into the unreal, HOK Gallery, Den Haag, Netherlands
Summer Exhibition, Collage Museum, Verbeke Foundation, Kemzeke, Belgium
Heimspiel, Foness Designwerk, Funkhaus Nalepastraße, Berlin
2022
3 Tage für die Katz, KHB Studios Wedding, Berlin
Copyshop, organized by AG Minimales Reisen, Lydia Mojzis and D.M. Nagu, KHB Studios Wedding, Berlin
2020
collAGE, Semjon Contemporary, Berlin, 3-D tour
2019
Vor und Zurück, curated by Lydia Mojzis and Dirk Naguschewski, 48 Stunden Neukölln, Bohei, Berlin
2018
Sticky Fingers, ATM Gallery, Berlin
CollaTeral. De-Collagen, Supalife Kiosk, Berlin
2017
State of Mind, curated by Jorge Chamorro, Stillpoint Spaces Berlin
Cutting Edge, CoGalleries, Berlin
Fruit, invited by Niels Kalk, Premarts Gallery, Berlin
Bardo, curated by Sarah Wölker, Aquabit Art Gallery, Berlin
2016
Edging, curated by Dirk Naguschewski, Ludwig, Berlin (Deutschlandfunk Kultur)
100 years after Dada, Raum für Drastische Maßnahmen, Berlin
Glueheads3, Hochparterre, Berlin
2015
Black, Ethnik Gallery, Berlin
Minimal Collagen, Alternativ Gallery, Berlin
Schnipseljagd und Fette Beute, Studio 74, 48 Stunden Neukölln, Berlin
Glueheads1, Alternativ Gallery, Berlin
For current projects please go to instagram, an uncensored scrapbook version can be found on tumblr.