Chris Bierl
Preparator, Instructor of the Arts
Affiliation: NYU Abu Dhabi
Education: Photo Design, University of Applied Sciences in Munich; Postgraduate in Media Arts at the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig
Research Areas: Human-Animal and Human-Nature Studies, Anthropocene
Chris Bierl is a visual artist and educator based in Abu Dhabi, where he serves within the Division of Arts and Humanities at New York University Abu Dhabi and the NYUAD Art Gallery.
Working across photography, video, and installation art, Bierl investigates the complex relationship between humanity and the natural world, documenting the overt and subtle marks of the Anthropocene. He holds a degree in photography from the University of Applied Sciences in Munich and completed postgraduate studies in Media Arts at the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig. His distinct artistic methodology was central to his 2022 institutional solo exhibition Mutual Adaption at the Kallmann Museum (Munich) and his site-specific installation Planimal at the ]Kasseler Kunstverein for the exhibition Artificial Ecologies, both of which notably integrated living praying mantids into the environment.
Bierl’s practice has been recognized internationally through prestigious residencies including Villa Kamogawa (Kyoto), Villa Arson (Nice), and the Land Art Biennial (Mongolia), alongside honors such as the JungArtPrize Berlin (2011) and the UNESCO-supported Walk of Water Photo Prize (2023). As a curator, he organized the multi-venue exhibition Denn alles was den Gesetzen des Verstandes und der Vernunft widerstreitet, ist freilich unmöglich (Berlin, 2013) and spearheaded the NYU Abu Dhabi MFA 2 graduation exhibition at the RIZQ Art Initiative (2026).
His work is documented in his photo book A One Storied Country (The Velvet Cell, 2022) and the catalog Mutual Adaptation (Kallmann Museum, 2022). Beyond his studio work, he has extensive experience in professional art production for major international institutions, including dOCUMENTA (13), the Berlin Biennale, the National Historical Museum of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Ethnological Museum Berlin, and others