Donatella, Tartu Art Museum, Tartu, Estonia

Kris Lemsalu’s solo exhibition DONATELLA. Spiral of Life at the Tartu Art Museum from 16 March.

DONATELLA. Spiral of Life by Kris Lemsalu is the first solo exhibition in Tartu by one of the brightest international stars of Estonian art.

In addition to Lemsalu’s interpretation of one of Tartu’s landmarks, the fountain frozen in an eternal kiss, the exhibition will premiere Lemsalu’s biopic Old Piano, produced in collaboration with Johanna Ulfsak, a selection of new drawings and some familiar installations.

Known for the striking costumes she herself and her works’ wear, Kris Lemsalu combines porcelain, fur, wool, textiles, silicone, found objects, sounds and other materials in her works with original humour to create surrealistic scenes that are both dizzyingly symbolic and playful.

“DONATELLA. Spiral of Life” takes place within the framework of the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024 main program. It is part of a larger series of exhibitions dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the surrealist manifesto, which also includes “Initiative from Below. Estonian Caricature is the 1980s” and “The Glow of Eternity”, an exhibition dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Estonian surrealist painter Ilmar Malin. Along with the exhibitions at the Tartu Art Museum, the exhibition “Surrealism 100. Prague, Tartu and other stories …” is on display at the Estonian National Museum from 4 April.