Studied literature and linguisticsin Leipzig, Vienna, and Budapest and received his PhD in 1992 with a thesis on the WienerGruppe. In parallel he received a diploma from the Fachschule für Angewandte Kunst inSchneeberg in 1988. Numerous international solo exhibitions: in 1998, Watari-Um MuseumTokyo; in 2001, migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zurich; in 2004, Kunstmuseum Thun; in2006, Kunstraum Dornbirn; in 2007, Leonhardi Museum Dresden. Group exhibitions: in 1997, documenta X, Kassel; in 2001 and 2005, Venice Biennale; in 2002, 4th Gwangju Biennale, Korea, and the Biennale of Sydney; in 2008, Manifesta 7; as well as at institutions such as MoMA, New York; MIT in Cambridge, Mass.; and Moderna Museet, Stockholm. In addition to prizes such as that of the City of Wolfsburg (2002), Nicolai has received several scholarships: in 1997/98, Villa Massimo; in 1998, PS1, New York; in 2000, IASPIS, Stockholm; in 2008, Villa Aurora, Los Angeles.