Klara Kristalova | Lust for Life | Nordic Countries Pavilion | La Biennale di Venezia
Vi har glädjen att informera om Klara Kristalovas medverkan i den Nordiska paviljongen på den 61:a Venedigbiennalen i Italien. På utställningen visar Klara Kristalova installationen Lust for Life.
– PRESS RELEASE –
The Nordic Countries Pavilion will present How Many Angels Can Dance on the Head of a Pin? at the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, running from 9 May to 22 November 2026. Curated by Anna Mustonen (Chief Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma), this collaborative exhibition by Klara Kristalova, Benjamin Orlow and Tori Wrånes will transform the Pavilion into a sculptural, mythical landscape that transcends cultural and national boundaries. The exhibition is commissioned by Kiasma and co-commissioned by Moderna Museet, Sweden, and OCA – Office for Contemporary Art Norway.
The exhibition unfolds through a series of interconnected installations inspired by Nordic folklore, fairytales and stories such as the Kalevala – the 19th-century creation epic of Finland and Karelia – but resonating beyond. Across hybrid works that merge plant, animal and human forms, the artists harness the language of myth as a universal point of reference to explore cycles of decay, renewal and transformation, and the deep interconnectedness of all things. In an era marked by environmental disconnection, geopolitical instability and the disruption of borders and identities, myth becomes a lens through which to reflect on our shared human condition and to navigate contemporary global challenges.
Läs hela presstexten:
Kristalova’s contribution centres on a large fallen tree. In Lust for Life, creatures inhabit the trunk, emerge from its surface, and cling to it. Positioned along the length of the tree, the figures are made from a range of materials—ceramic, bronze, wood, and other composites—their surfaces catching and holding light, set in delicate tension with the tree’s weight and roughness. Often associated with the domestic and the decorative, these materials carry a different register of labour and value. The creatures appear both sheltered by the tree and exposed upon it, held in a state of careful imbalance. Rather than functioning as symbols or narrative subjects, they register as conditions—watchfulness, endurance, quiet dependency—marking the tree not as a mere support, but as a shared ground they inhabit. Perched outside, Bird Disguise, an enigmatic owl-like figure casts its gaze toward nearby pavilions, as if caught in transit, its point of origin and destination unclear, subtly dissolving notions of national belonging.
– Anna Mustonen
(från en text i utställningskatalogen)
Utställningen stöds av Finnish Cultural Foundation, Galleri Magnus Karlsson, Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation, Kiasma Support Foundation, Ministry of Education and Culture, Nelimarkka-Foundation, Niemistö Art Foundation Ars Fennica, Saastamoinen Foundation, Tiftö Foundation, Svenska Kulturfonden, Perrotin och Nazarian / Curcio.
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We are delighted to inform you about Klara Kristalova’s participation in the Nordic Countries Pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, Italy. Klara Kristalova has made the installation Lust for Life for the exhibition.
– PRESS RELEASE –
The Nordic Countries Pavilion will present How Many Angels Can Dance on the Head of a Pin? at the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, running from 9 May to 22 November 2026. Curated by Anna Mustonen (Chief Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma), this collaborative exhibition by Klara Kristalova, Benjamin Orlow and Tori Wrånes will transform the Pavilion into a sculptural, mythical landscape that transcends cultural and national boundaries. The exhibition is commissioned by Kiasma and co-commissioned by Moderna Museet, Sweden, and OCA – Office for Contemporary Art Norway.
The exhibition unfolds through a series of interconnected installations inspired by Nordic folklore, fairytales and stories such as the Kalevala – the 19th-century creation epic of Finland and Karelia – but resonating beyond. Across hybrid works that merge plant, animal and human forms, the artists harness the language of myth as a universal point of reference to explore cycles of decay, renewal and transformation, and the deep interconnectedness of all things. In an era marked by environmental disconnection, geopolitical instability and the disruption of borders and identities, myth becomes a lens through which to reflect on our shared human condition and to navigate contemporary global challenges.
Read the full press release:
Kristalova’s contribution centres on a large fallen tree. In Lust for Life, creatures inhabit the trunk, emerge from its surface, and cling to it. Positioned along the length of the tree, the figures are made from a range of materials—ceramic, bronze, wood, and other composites—their surfaces catching and holding light, set in delicate tension with the tree’s weight and roughness. Often associated with the domestic and the decorative, these materials carry a different register of labour and value. The creatures appear both sheltered by the tree and exposed upon it, held in a state of careful imbalance. Rather than functioning as symbols or narrative subjects, they register as conditions—watchfulness, endurance, quiet dependency—marking the tree not as a mere support, but as a shared ground they inhabit. Perched outside, Bird Disguise, an enigmatic owl-like figure casts its gaze toward nearby pavilions, as if caught in transit, its point of origin and destination unclear, subtly dissolving notions of national belonging.
– Anna Mustonen (from the catalogue text)
The exhibition is supported by Finnish Cultural Foundation, Galleri Magnus Karlsson, Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation, Kiasma Support Foundation, Ministry of Education and Culture, Nelimarkka-Foundation, Niemistö Art Foundation Ars Fennica, Saastamoinen Foundation, Tiftö Foundation, Svenska Kulturfonden, Perrotin and Nazarian / Curcio.
