Nils-Udo is a pioneering German environmental artist. He is renowned for his ephemeral, site-specific installations that merge art with the natural world. Internationally celebrated within the art world, his collaboration with Peter Gabriel in the late 1990s and early 2000s—most notably the iconic nest installation for the OVO album cover—brought his poetic vision to a wider audience, blending visual art with music and environmental activism.
BORN IN BARVARIA, GERMANY IN 1937
Nils-Udo grew up surrounded by the Bavarian landscape which would later become central to his artistic vision.
Having initially trained as a painter in Nuremberg and Paris, he transitioned in the 1960s from studio work to a more direct engagement with nature, using organic materials like leaves, stones, and branches.
FROM THE 1970s
Udo began to use tree plantings as sculptural elements in the Bavarian landscape, with early works like Birkenpflanzung (1975) Fichtenpflanzung (1976). He went on to develop a unique practice of site-specific installations using natural materials: branches, leaves, stones, flowers; often ephemeral and documented through photography.
His work gained international recognition, with installations across Europe, North America, India, and Japan.
The Nest at Noon, Germany 1978, courtesy Galerie Claire Gastaud
While his works are not typically held in permanent collections due to their ephemeral nature, many notable institutions have played a key role in documenting and exhibiting his practice, notably Musée d’Art et d’Histoire de Saint-Lô (Normandy, France), Fondation EDF (Paris, France), Fondation Carmignac (Île de Porquerolles, France), and Centre d’art Contemporain de la Matmut (Saint-Pierre-de-Varengeville, France).
Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire (France) is a frequent venue for his large-scale outdoor installations and the Maison Ruinart (Reims, France) has commissioned several installations blending art and nature.
IN 1996
Peter Gabriel and Nils-Udo collaborated for the first time, near Tofino, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada. Udo created floating installations as part of a symbolic rebirth ritual, which were set ablaze in a poetic gesture reflecting both destruction and renewal.
This project was part of a broader environmental protest and awareness campaign, aligning with both artists’ ecological concerns
Peter Gabriel later commissioned Nils-Udo to create the cover art for his album OVO, released in 2000.
Udo constructed a massive nest-like structure supported by tree trunks. Inside the nest lay a baby - Josh, the son of a Real World Studios employee.
The installation was photographed for the album cover, then moved to Gabriel’s garden, and eventually burned; a fate consistent with Udo’s philosophy of transience and impermanence in art.
Nils-Udo continues to produce monumental works like Rock-Time-Man (2001, Germany) and Radeau d’Automne (2013–2014, France). His installations remained deeply rooted in ecological awareness, often created in remote or rural settings to highlight the fragility and beauty of nature.
