Rose Nestler’s sculptural works blend humour, feminism and craftsmanship to reimagine iconic objects and forms. Her fabric-based practice transforms everyday symbols – including flowers, domestic objects, toys and accessories – into powerful critiques of gendered stereotypes and cultural conventions. By subverting scale and materiality, Nestler reclaims and redefines these objects within a contemporary feminist context. In her sculpture Memento Mori, Nestler presents a bouquet of calla lilies and fried eggs, meticulously crafted from leather and fabric. The calla lilies, with their vibrant yellow stamens, evoke themes of life, death and sexuality, while the fried eggs introduce the absurd and abject. Humour and poignancy coexist in Nestler’s work, a playful yet profound memento mori bringing forth ideas of aging and fertility. Nestler’s practice embodies a deep materiality, weaving cultural critique with tactile, intuitive artistry.
 

Rose Nestler (b. 1983, Spokane; lives and works in Brooklyn) Recent solo and two-person exhibitions include ‘Exoskeleton’, Public Gallery, London (2024); ‘À mon seul désir’, Pangée, Montreal (2023); ‘too bad for heaven, too good for hell’, Mrs., New York (2022); ‘SLIPPERY YOKE’, Carvalho Park, New York (2022); and ‘Flex Point’, Public Gallery, London (2021). Nestler has also exhibited at Plains Art Museum, Fargo (2024); The University of Leeds’ Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery (2023); UTA Artist Space, Los Angeles (2023); Boston University (2023); Rugby Art Gallery and Museum (2022); Perrotin, New York (2022); Frye Art Museum, Seattle (2021); and Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, New York (2022). Nestler was an artist in residence at the Joan Mitchell Center in New Orleans (2022) and has conducted residencies at The Fores Project, London, and The Lighthouse Works, Fishers Island, New York, among others. Her work is part of the permanent collection of the Frye Art Museum, Seattle.