Angela Glajcar

Angela Glajcar (born 1970 in Mainz, Germany) is a German sculptor best known for her monumental layered paper installations (Terforations).

Biography

From 1991 to 1998, Glajcar studied sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Nuremberg under Tim Scott and became a master student in 1996. Between 1998 and 2004 she taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Nuremberg, Mainz University of Applied Sciences, the University of Giessen and University of Dortmund. She also served as a visiting professor at the University of Giessen in 2007 and 2008.

Catalogue Raisonné

The first catalogue raisonné of Angela Glajcar's work, edited by Sasa Hanten, was published in 2013 and documented all works created up to early 2013. A revised second edition was published by Spector Books in October 2024, covering works from 1997 to 2024 and including essays by Elisabeth von Samsonow and Margareta Sandhofer.

Artistic Development

During her studies, Glajcar worked primarily with wood and metal. In the late 1990s, paper models originally intended as studies for heavy sculptures developed into independent works (Contrarius series). Winning the Emy Roeder Prize in 2005 led her to explore the spatial qualities of layered paper, ultimately resulting in her signature Terforations.

The term “Terforation” combines the words “perforation” and the Latin “terra” (earth). These large-scale, site-specific installations engage directly with their surroundings, changing in appearance depending on light and the viewer's perspective. Although certain formal aspects recall artists such as Donald Judd, Eva Hesse, and Fred Sandback, Glajcar's work represents an independent position within contemporary installation art.

Exhibitions

Angela Glajcar has exhibited internationally in museums and galleries across Europe, the United States, Asia, and the Middle East. Highlights include the National Museum of Women in the Arts (Washington, D.C.), the Powerlong Museum (Shanghai), and Museum Wiesbaden, where a walk-through Terforation has been permanently installed since 2017. In addition, her art has been exhibited at the Albertina (Vienna) and at the Galerie Stihl in Waiblingen.

Collections

Her works are represented in numerous public and private collections, including the State Collection of Rhineland-Palatinate (Mainz), Museum Wiesbaden, Kunstmuseum Bochum, MOCA Jacksonville, the National Museum of Women in the Arts (Washington, D.C.), and many private collections worldwide.

Awards and Grants

Among her distinctions are the Erich Hauser Workshop Prize (1998), the Asterstein Scholarship (1999–2000), the Zonta Art Prize (2002), the Vordemberge-Gildewart Scholarship (2004), the Emy Roeder Prize (2005), the ZVAB Phoenix Art Prize (2006), the Regional Audience Award (2010), the Mainz City Printmaker Award (2014), and the Paper Art Award (Berlin, 2021).

Selected Solo Exhibitions

From 2010 onward, Glajcar has presented solo exhibitions in Milan, Frankfurt, Worcester (USA), Münsterland, Miami, London, Bolzano, Ibiza, Kiel, Jacksonville, Mainz, Coburg, Wiesbaden, Châteaugiron, Dortmund, Hamburg, Taipei, Krems and Vienna.

Selected Group Exhibitions

Her work has also been featured in major international group exhibitions, including Paper Routes (Washington, D.C.), the Cheongju Craft Biennale (South Korea), Powerlong Museum (Shanghai), Sharjah Art Museum (UAE), Karin Weber Gallery (Hong Kong), Hollis Taggart Galleries (New York), and Museion Bolzano.