Kris Lemsalu at Tartu Art Museum

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

Exhibition dates: March 16 - July 21, 2024

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.

Kris Lemsalu (b. 1985) lives and works in New York and Tallinn. She studied at the Estonian Academy of Arts, the Royal Danish Academy of Arts and the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Lemsalu was the artist of the Estonian pavilion at the 58th Venice Art Biennale (2019) shortly before which she received recognition in Estonia with the exhibition Beauty and the Beast, which she organised with the classic painter Tiit Pääsuke (curated by Tamara Luuk, Tallinn Art Hall). Lemsalu’s last major exhibition in Estonia was a collaboration with Kyp Malone at the Kai Art Center in Tallinn, Love Song Sing Along (Once Again With Feeling!) in 2020.

Curator: Indrek Grigor
Graphic design: Tuuli Aule
Coordinator: Kristlyn Liier
Translation: Peeter Talvistu
Language editing: Eva Lepik & Richard Adang