Exhibition: Nicola L.

Exhibition: Nicola L.

27.06. to 14.09.

Opening: Thu 26.06., 19h

Kunsthalle Wien hosts a retrospective of 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 characterised by wit, playfulness and subversion, while resolutely defying categorisation 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 Also presented is a reconstruction of a large-scale installation, entitled "Chambre en Fourrure", or "Fur Room", originally made in 1969.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 which 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 coloured vinyl and fur, these tactile objects are imbued with a political message that emphasises 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.