Germany and Netherlands-based artist Léonie von Saldern investigates the ways in which human intervention reshapes and redefines the natural world. Her practice stands at the intersection of art and science, grounded in the belief that ecological realities are inseparable from the historical and ideological frames that narrate them. Working closely with scientists and researchers, she transforms data and knowledge, often obscured or manipulated for political purposes, into material narratives that shed insights into their complexity.
Von Saldern’s work focuses on the systems of control that underlie ecological destruction, from deforestation to uranium extraction. Her industrial aesthetic runs like an undercurrent through these works, echoing the machinery of human mechanisation and commodification of nature, while amplifying the fragile tension between landscape and industry. In this way, her installations deploy material and form to interrogate the politics of perception.
LÉONIE VON SALDERN
born 1996 in Rotenburg/Wümme, Germany
lives and works in Leipzig and Berlin, Germany
EDUCATION
2025 – ongoing
MA of Arts; Geo-Design
Design Academy Eindhoven, NL
2024
Guest Semester in Media Art, class of Christin Lahr
HGB Academy of Fine Arts, Leipzig, DE
2019 – 2023
BA of Arts
KABK Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, NL
UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS
August 2025, Flock Art Leipzig, Leipzig, DE
EXHIBITIONS
2025
Tour de Franz, Glasfabrik, Leipzig, DE
Maschine, group show, Galerie Gruppe Motto, Hamburg, DE
NORDWESTKUNST, Kunsthalle Wilhelmshaven, DE
When Air Becomes Dust, group show, Frappant Galerie, Hamburg, DE
2024
BCASFD x Something, van Schellens Fabriek, Eindhoven, NL,
Crash Landing, group show, Dutch Design Week, Eindhoven, NL,
a.time.line, public sculpture, GEDOK, Leipzig, DE
Klima Biennale, Vienna, AT
We Were Here, group show, Milan Desig Week, Milan, IT
Barbed-wire Ghost, PK Leipzig, DE
Collectible Design Fair, Brussels, BE
Order Connection Order, AHS Leipzig, DE
2023
Dutch Design Week, Eindhoven, NL,
Graduation show, KABK, The Hague, NL
Forest Moderna, Grey Space in the Middle, The Hague, NL
Derby group show, Haagse Bos, The Hague, NL
PUBLICATION & PRESS
Zwischen Mensch, Natur und Fluchterfahrung, Wilhelmshavener Zeitung (2025)
Interview: Beetle Convicted After Spruce Found Dead, Tique Art Publication (2024)
A.Time.Line, Leipziger Zeitung (2024)
Interview: Environmental Artivism, Pilotenkueche, International Art Program (2024)
Veelzijdig tapijt tegen vervuiling, Down To Earth Magazine (2023)
Lost in the gallery: Ips typographus in contemporary art, Deep Histories Fragile Memories (2023)
Beetle Convicted After Spruce Found Dead, bachelor thesis, publication (2023)
RESIDENCIES
PILOTENKUECHE, Leipzig, DE (2024)
AWARDS & NOMINATIONS
NORDWESTKUNST 2025, Kunsthalle Wilhemshaven
GEDOK Kunstsymposium 2024, a.time.line
Germany and Netherlands-based artist Léonie von Saldern investigates the ways in which human intervention reshapes and redefines the natural world. Her practice stands at the intersection of art and science, grounded in the belief that ecological realities are inseparable from the historical and ideological frames that narrate them. Working closely with scientists and researchers, she transforms data and knowledge, often obscured or manipulated for political purposes, into material narratives that shed insights into their complexity.
Von Saldern’s work focuses on the systems of control that underlie ecological destruction, from deforestation to uranium extraction. Her industrial aesthetic runs like an undercurrent through these works, echoing the machinery of human mechanisation and commodification of nature, while amplifying the fragile tension between landscape and industry. In this way, her installations deploy material and form to interrogate the politics of perception.
LÉONIE VON SALDERN
born 1996 in Hamburg, Germany
lives and works in Leipzig and Berlin, Germany
EDUCATION
2025 – ongoing
MA of Arts; Geo-Design
Design Academy Eindhoven, NL
2024
Guest Semester in Media Art, class of Christin Lahr
HGB Academy of Fine Arts, Leipzig, DE
2019 – 2023
BA of Arts
KABK Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, NL
UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS
August 2025, Flock Art Leipzig, Leipzig, DE
EXHIBITIONS
2025
Maschine, group show, Galerie Gruppe Motto, Hamburg, DE
NORDWESTKUNST, Kunsthalle Wilhelmshaven, DE
When Air Becomes Dust, group show, Frappant Galerie, Hamburg, DE
2024
BCASFD x Something, van Schellens Fabriek, Eindhoven, NL,
Crash Landing, group show, Dutch Design Week, Eindhoven, NL,
a.time.line, public sculpture, GEDOK, Leipzig, DE
Klima Biennale, Vienna, AT
We Were Here, group show, Milan Desig Week, Milan, IT
Barbed-wire Ghost, PK Leipzig, DE
Collectible Design Fair, Brussels, BE
Order Connection Order, AHS Leipzig, DE
2023
Dutch Design Week, Eindhoven, NL,
Graduation show, KABK, The Hague, NL
Forest Moderna, Grey Space in the Middle, The Hague, NL
Derby group show, Haagse Bos, The Hague, NL
PUBLICATION & PRESS
Zwischen Mensch, Natur und Fluchterfahrung, Wilhelmshavener Zeitung (2025)
Interview: Beetle Convicted After Spruce Found Dead, Tique Art Publication (2024)
A.Time.Line, Leipziger Zeitung (2024)
Interview: Environmental Artivism, Pilotenkueche, International Art Program (2024)
Veelzijdig tapijt tegen vervuiling, Down To Earth Magazine (2023)
Lost in the gallery: Ips typographus in contemporary art, Deep Histories Fragile Memories (2023)
Beetle Convicted After Spruce Found Dead, bachelor thesis, publication (2023)
RESIDENCIES
PILOTENKUECHE, Leipzig, DE (2024)
AWARDS & NOMINATIONS
NORDWESTKUNST 2025, Kunsthalle Wilhemshaven
GEDOK Kunstsymposium 2024, a.time.line