Nicola L., Exhibition Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna

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Nicola L.

From 27 June to 14 September 2025

Kunsthalle Wien

Museumsplatz 1 , Vienna

Open now from 10:00 to 18:00

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The Kunsthalle Wien hosts a retrospective of the celebrated French artist Nicola L. (b. 1932, El Jadida, as Nicole Jeannine Suzanne Leuthe; d. 2018, Los Angeles). Encompassing sculpture, performance, painting, collage, and film produced between 1964 and 2014, the exhibition brings together works on loan from public and private collections in Europe and the US. Presented in collaboration with Camden Art Centre, London; Frac Bretagne, Rennes, and Museion – Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Bolzano/Bozen; it is the first survey of Nicola L.’s work in Europe and will also be the first monographic exhibition devoted to her work in Austria. Variously celebrated in relation to Pop Art, Nouveau Réalisme, Feminism, or applied arts and design, Nicola L.’s expansive practice also addresses diverse subjects including cosmology, environmental concerns, spirituality, sexuality, activism, and political resistance. Her work frequently collapses boundaries between the body and space. It is characterized by wit, playfulness, and subversion, while resolutely defying categorization and spanning multiple disciplines. The exhibition includes a series of Pénétrables sculptures. These textile sculptures were originally intended as participatory works with apertures that people could insert limbs or heads into, occasionally with several performers creating a single organism. Also presented is a reconstruction of a large-scale installation, entitled Chambre en Fourrure, or Fur Room, originally made in 1969. The approximately 3m × 5m × 4m structure combined purple faux fur, zippers, and a metal armature to create a freestanding room that could be entered, inviting the audience to become performers. A number of functional objects such as lamps, sofas, and commodes are also included. A series of painted wooden cabinets take the form of a silhouetted female torso. Floor and wall-based lamps take the shape of an eye; a coffee table describes the outline of a woman’s body, and a sofa is shaped like a head seen in profile. Soft, pliable sculpture takes the form of feet and fragmented bodies. Scaled up and upholstered with colored vinyl and fur, these tactile objects are imbued with a political message that emphasizes equality, collectivity, and the place of women within the home and society. The exhibition is accompanied by a new book published by the four institutions together with Lenz Press.

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	opens - closes	last entry
monday	Closed now
tuesday	10:00 - 18:00
wednesday	10:00 - 18:00
thursday	10:00 - 20:00
friday	10:00 - 18:00
saturday	10:00 - 18:00
sunday	10:00 - 18:00

Nicola L.

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