Carsten Nicolai, also known as Alva Noto (1965 Karl-Marx-Stadt, Germany), lives and works in Berlin and Chemnitz.
His practice takes place at the intersection of visual art, music, and science. As the founder of the Noton label, Nicolai has redefined the boundaries of digital aesthetics, exploring the marginal zones between sensory perception and logical-mathematical systems.
Through multimedia installations and sound performances, the artist transforms frequencies, electronic signals, and complex patterns into physical experiences, with an aesthetic that favors rigorous minimalism, a strong geometric component, and a constant interest in error and the “glitch” as generative elements. Under the pseudonym Alva Noto, Nicolai has become a central figure in experimental electronics, distinguishing himself through the use of hypnotic loops and processed digital textures. With Noton, the artist curates projects that combine avant-garde design and sonic research.
Carsten Nicolai’s works have been exhibited in numerous international institutions, including the Guggenheim Museum in New York (2000), Tate Modern in London (2006, 2012), and the Venice Biennale (2001, 2003, 2015, 2019). Twenty-six years after his first performance for Pinksummer (2000), the artist returned to the gallery with the solo exhibition “Atlas Borealis” (2026).
Carsten Nicolai (Alva Noto), HYbr:ID, MACRO, Rome, 2024. Exhibition view. Photo © Melania Dalle Grave.
Carsten Nicolai (Alva Noto), HYbr:ID, MACRO, Rome, 2024. Exhibition view. Photo © Melania Dalle Grave.
Carsten Nicolai, Strahlen / Raggi, FMAV, Modena, 2023. Exhibition view. Photo © Rolando Paolo Guerzoni.
Carsten Nicolai, Strahlen / Raggi, FMAV, Modena, 2023. Exhibition view. Photo © Rolando Paolo Guerzoni.
Carsten Nicolai, Strahlen / Raggi, FMAV, Modena, 2023. Exhibition view. Photo © Rolando Paolo Guerzoni.
Carsten Nicolai, Transmitter / Receiver – the machine and the gardener, Marsèll Paradise, 2023. Exhibition view. Photo © Lorenzo Capelli.
Carsten Nicolai, Transmitter / Receiver – the machine and the gardener, Marsèll Paradise, 2023. Exhibition view. Photo © Lorenzo Capelli.
Carsten Nicolai, Transmitter / Receiver – the machine and the gardener, Haus Der Kunst, Munich, 2022. Exhibition view. Photo © Max Geuter.
Carsten Nicolai, Transmitter / Receiver – the machine and the gardener, Haus Der Kunst, Munich, 2022. Exhibition view. Photo © Max Geuter.
Carsten Nicolai, Grau, with Alber Oehlen, Galerie EIGEN + ART, Berlin, 2022. Exhibition view.
Carsten Nicolai, Grau, with Alber Oehlen, Galerie EIGEN + ART, Berlin, 2022. Exhibition view.
Carsten Nicolai, Rota, Lehmbruck Museum, 2019. Exhibition view. Photo Uwe Walter © Galerie EIGEN + ART Leipzig/Berlin und PaceWildenstein, VG Bild-Kunst Bonn 2009.
Carsten Nicolai, Parallax symmetry, Kunstsammlung NRW, Düsseldorf, 2019. Exhibition view. Photo © Achim Kukulies.
Carsten Nicolai, Tele, Berlinische Galerie, 2018. Exhibition view. Photo © Julija Stankeviciene.
Carsten Nicolai, Tele, Berlinische Galerie, 2018. Exhibition view. Photo © Julija Stankeviciene.
Carsten Nicolai, Organ, St. Anne Chapel, Weira, 2017. Installation view. Photo © Thomas Müller.
Carsten Nicolai, Organ, St. Anne Chapel, Weira, 2017. Installation view. Photo © Thomas Müller.
Carsten Nicolai, Parallax, Ichihara Lakeside Museum, 2017. Exhibition view. Photo © Hideto Nagatsuka.
Carsten Nicolai, Unidisplay, HangarBicocca, Milan, 2012. Exhibition view. Photo © Agostino Osio.
Carsten Nicolai, Unidisplay, HangarBicocca, Milan, 2012. Exhibition view. Photo © Agostino Osio.
Carsten Nicolai, Unidisplay, HangarBicocca, Milan, 2012. Exhibition view. Photo © Agostino Osio.
Carsten Nicolai, also known as Alva Noto (1965 Karl-Marx-Stadt, Germania), lives and works in Berlin and Chemnitz.
EDUCATION
1984
He works as a gardener
1985-90
He studies Landscape Design in Dresden, Germany
1992
Co-founder of di Voxxx.kultur und Kommunikationszentrum, Chemnitz, Germany
1994
Founder of Noton – Archiv für Ton und Nichtton
1999
Founder of Raster-Noton
2015
Professorship in art with focus on digital and time-based media, Dresden Academy of Fine Arts
PRIZES
2014
17th Japan Media Arts Festival, Grand Prize (art division), (Crt Mgn), Japan
2012
Giga-Hertz-Award, Zkm Karlsruhe (Cyclo. Id publication with Ryoji Ikeda), Germany
2007
Villa Massimo, Rome, Italy
Zurich Prize, Zurich, Switzerland
2003
Villa Aurora, Los Angeles, USA
2001
Prize Ars Electronica, Golden Nica, Linz (Polar installation with Marko Peljhan), Austria
2000
F6-Philip Morris, Graphic Prize, Dresden, Germany
Prize Ars Electronica, Golden Nica, Linz (20’ to 2000 project), Austria
1990
Jürgen Ponto Prize, Frankfurt, Germany
ARTWORKS IN PUBLIC SPACES
2018
Tristela, Daikin Ales Aoya Expansion, Tottori, Japan
2017
Chroma ora, The MixC, Shenzhen, China
2015
Chroma actor, Seibu Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
2011
lfo spectrum, Olympic Park, London, UK
2010
Monitor, Siobhan Davies Studios, London, UK
Autor, Temporäre Kunsthalle (temporary), Berlin, Germany
2009
Poly stella, Kasumigaseki Building Plaza, Tokyo, Japan
Pionier II, Piazza Plebiscito (temporary), Neaples, Italy
2006
Polylit, Kleiner Schlossplatz, Kunstmuseum Stuttgart, Germany
2005
Frequenz (milch), Tramhaltestelle, Hauptbahnhof Leipzig, Germany
SOLO SHOWS
2024
HYbr:ID, MACRO – Museo di Arte Contemporanea di Roma, Rome, Italy
2023
Strahlen / Raggi, FMAV – Palazzina dei Giardini, Modena, Italy
Transmitter / Receiver — the machine and the gardener, Marsèll Paradise, Milan, Italy
2022
Grau, con Albert Oehlen, Galerie EIGEN + ART, Berlin, Germany
Transmitter / Receiver — The machine and the gardener, Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany
2019
Parallax symmetry, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, Germany
Rota, Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg, Germany
2018
Formula, Galerie EIGEN + ART, Berlin, Germany
Tele, Berlinische Galerie, Berlin, Germany
2017
Organ, St. Anne Chapel in Krobitz, Weira, Germany
Parallax, Ichihara Lakeside Museum, Ichihara, Japan
Unicolor, Galerie EIGEN + ART, Leipzig, Germany
Autonomo, ibid Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
2016
Bausatz noto ∞, Shibuya Hikarie, Tokyo, Japan
2015
Bausatz noto ∞, Art Front Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2013
Empty garden, The hole gallery, Prague, Czcech Republic
Crt Mgn, Galerie Eigen + Art Berlin, Germany
Observatory, Ibid projects, London, UK
Unidisplay/uni(psycho)acoustic, Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt, Germany
2012
Unidisplay, Musée d’art Contemporain, Montréal, Canada / Hangarbicocca, Milan, Italy
Schatten loop, cos store (in collaboration with cos), Berlin, Germany
2011
Pionier, Cac, Vilnius / Galerie Eigen + art, Leipzig, Germany / The Pace Gallery, New York, USA
Filter, House of Art, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
Unitxt mirrored, Galleria lorcan o’neill, Rome, Italy
2010
Polar m [mirrored] with Marko Peljhan, Ycam, Yamaguchi, Japan
Scaler, Hendrik Christian Andersen Museum, Rome, Italy
Maga, Museo Arte Gallarate, Italy
Autor, Temporäre Kunsthalle, Berlin, Germany
Moiré, The Pace Gallery, New York, USA
Anti Reflex, La casa encendida, Madrid, Spain
Rota, Museum der bildenden Künste, Leipzig, Germany
2009
Aoyama Space, Kunstraum Innsbruck, Germany
Rota, Schering Stiftung, Berlin, Germany
Unitxt, sketch, London, UK
2008
Anti Reflex, Kunsthalle Hamburg, Germany
Tired light, Galerie Eigen + art, Berlin, Germany
2007
Static Fades, Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich / Pacewildenstein, New York, USA
2006
Inver, Frieze art fair, London, UK
Inver, Galerie eigen + art, Leipzig, Germany
2005
Audio Sisual Spaces, Stedelijk Museum voor actuele kunst (smak), Gent, Belgium
Anti reflex, Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, Germany
Syn Chron, Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany / Bern, Switzerland / Yamaguchi, Japan
2003
Funken, Galerie eigen + art, Berlin, Germany
Modular re.struct, Poalo Curti/Annamaria Gambuzzi & co, Milan, Italy
2002
Parallel Lines Cross at Infinity, Watari-um, Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
2001
Milch, London, UK
2000
Performance, Pinksummer, Genoa, Italy
Ystad Kunsthalle, Ystad, Sweden
Polar, Canon Artlab 10 (con Marko Peljan), Tokyo, Japan
1999
1% space, Copenhagen, Denmark
1998
Polyfoto, Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst, Leipzig, Germany
1996
Leonhardi-museum, Dresden, Germany
The New York Kunsthalle, New York, USA
1995
Galerie Margrit Gass, Basel, Switzerland
Kunstverein Konstanz, Constance, Germany
1994
Espace des Arts, Chalon-sur-Saône, France
2000
Kunstverein Ulm, Germany
Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany
1993
Städtische Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz, Germany
1992
Galerie Springer, Berlin, Germany
1991
Magica ll, Lichtinstallation, Kunst-werke, Berlin, Germany
1986
Der keller, Galerie eigen + art, Leipzig, Germany
GROUP SHOWS
2024
Poetics of Encryption, KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany
2023
Tribute to RYUICHI SAKAMOTO: Music / Art / Media, ICC, Tokyo, Japan
Shangai Biennale: Cosmos Cinema, Shanghai, China
LUX: Poetic Resolution, Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul, South Korea
Oku-Noto Triennale, Suzu, Japan
Synesthetic Immersion, 0xCollection, Prague, Czech Republic
Glitch. Die Kunst der Störung, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany
Art in Motion, Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning (MOCAUP), China
2022
Broken Music Extended, Hamburger Bahnhof — Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, Berlin, Germany
Art and Industry, Ulsan Art Museum, South Korea
Homosphäre”, Kunsthalle Mainz, Mainz, Germany
“Freezing Point — Kunst unter Null Grad Celsius”, Villa Merkel, Esslingen, Germany
2021
Oku-Noto Triennale, Ishikawa, Japan
Artists’ Breath, Ichihara Lakeside Museum, Chiba, Japan
2017
Art Stage Singapore 2017, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore
2015
Listening to the Line, Ginza Maison Hermes, Tokyo, Japan
Simple Forms: Contemplating Beauty, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
2013
Soundings: a contemporary score, MoMA, New York, USA
Arctic, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Copenhagen, Denmark
Noise, De Arte Associazione, Venice, Italy
Fragile?, Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Venice, Italy
System und sinnlichkeit, Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin, Germany
2012
A house full of music, Mathildenhöhe, Darmstadt, Germany
Rasterfahndung, Kunstmuseum Stuttgart, Germany
Sound art. Sound as a medium of art, Zkm, Karlsruhe, Germany
Echigo Tsumari Triennial 2012, Echigo-Tsumari Art Center, Tokamachi, Japan
Art & music. Search for a new synestesia, MOT, Toyko, Japan
2011
Our magic hour, Yokohama Triennale, Yokohama, Japan
2010
Seconde nature, Fondation Vasarely, Aix en Provence, France
Rudolf steiner und die kunst der gegenwart, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Germany
Biennale für Internationale Lichtkunst, Unna, Germany
2009
Barock, Madre, Neaples, Italy
See this sound, Kunstmuseum Linz, Germany
4th Taipei Digital Art Festival, Digital Arts Centre, Taipei, Taiwan
The Kaleidoscopic eye, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Giappone
2008
Leben, Kunsthaus Graz, Germany
Open space, NTT Intercommunication Center [ICC], Tokyo, Japan
Art on air, Weserburg – Museum für Moderne Kunst, Bremen, Germany
2007
2nd Moscow Biennale, Moscow, Russia
Konstellationen ll, Städel Museum, Frankfurt, Germany
Marta Schweigt, Marta Herford, Germany
Space for your Future, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
2006
Biennale di Singapore, Singapore
Still points of the turning world, 6th International Santa Fe Biennale, New Mexico, USA
Sonambiente 2006, Tesla, Berlin, Germany
2005
Künstler.archiv, Akademie der Künste, Berlin, Germany
2004
Densité ±0”, école nationale des beaux arts, Paris, France / Freiburg, Switzerland
2003
50th Venice Biennale, Italy
Berlin-Moskau / moskau-berlin 1950-2000, Martin Gropius-bau, Berlin, Germany / Moscow, Russia
Echigo Tsumari Triennale, Echigo Tsumari, Niigata Prefecture, Japan
The 10th New York Digital Saloon, New York, USA
2002
Frequenzen (hz)”, Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, Germany
2001
Wild zone, Witte de with, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Perspectives, Micamoca, Milan, Italy
49th Venice Biennale, Italy
Quobo, art in Berlin 89-99, Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, Germany
Istanbul Biennale, Istanbul, Turkey
Audible images, The Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, USA
2000
Sound art, NTT Intercommunication Center [ICC], Gallery A, Tokyo, Japan
Volume, ps 1, New York, USA
Taktlos, Bern, Switzerland
1999
Examining pictures: exhibiting paintings, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, UK / Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, USA
Empty garden, Watari-um, Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
Liverpool Biennale
1997
dOCUMENTA, Kassel, Germany
p.s.1 reopening, New York, USA
1996
Projektor (with Olaf Nicolai), Städtisches Kunstmuseum Reutlingen, Germany
All+tag, (with Mika Vainio), Industriemuseum Chemnitz, Germany
1994
Welt-moral, Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland
Metropole und peripherie, Museum de arte Moderna Mam, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
1993
Ein Jahrhundert des Holzschnitts”, Kunsthalle Hamburg, Germany
Cadavre exquis, Drawing Center, New York, USA