Klára Hosnedlová’s GROWTH at Kunsthalle Basel

April 8, 2024 Razvan Chiorean

Explore GROWTH, the inaugural solo exhibition by Klára Hosnedlová at Kunsthalle Basel. From February to May 2024, witness the culmination of the artist's work in her debut showcase in Switzerland.

Contemporary art

Kunsthalle Basel presents GROWTH, the first solo exhibition in Switzerland by Czech artist Klára Hosnedlová. The exhibition, which runs from 9 February to 20 May 2024, features a new series of monumental sandstone sculptures, tapestries woven from natural fibres and intricate embroidery works that continue the artist’s speculative explorations of a post-anthropocentric future.

Hosnedlová’s work is inspired by the historical sentiments of collective ideologies as they have crystallised in modern and contemporary design and architecture. Her site-specific installations combine sculpture, performance, photography and textile to create immersive environments that address utopian visions and imagine our future, post-nature selves. Through a complex and continuous process, the artist seeks out as well as constructs unique environments and creates interwoven narratives within them.

The exhibition title, GROWTH, refers to both the organic and the artificial aspects of Hosnedlová’s work. On the one hand, it evokes the natural materials and processes that the artist employs, such as sandstone, wool, silk, cotton and dyeing. On the other hand, it suggests the technological and cultural influences that shape her aesthetic and conceptual choices, such as digital photography, pixelation, brutalist architecture and sci-fi literature.

Untitled, 2023

The sandstone sculptures, which dominate the main hall of the Kunsthalle, are inspired by the Ještěd Tower, a futuristic hotel and television transmitter located in Liberec, Czech Republic. The tower, designed by architect Karel Hubáček and completed in 1973, is a symbol of modernity and progress in the former socialist country. Hosnedlová reinterprets the tower’s iconic shape and texture in her sculptures, which resemble giant mushrooms or corals emerging from the floor. The sculptures are also embedded with LED lights that create a subtle glow and contrast with the roughness of the stone.

The tapestries, which hang from the walls and the ceiling, are woven from wool, silk and cotton dyed with natural pigments. The tapestries depict abstract landscapes and patterns that are derived from the artist’s digital photographs of various architectural sites, such as the Adolf Loos apartments in Pilsen or the Fondation Cartier in Paris. The photographs are then manually reduced to pixels and rendered in silk thread on canvas, creating a soft and colourful effect. The tapestries also serve as backdrops for the artist’s performances, which often take place in private spaces and involve costumes and props made by the artist.

The embroidery works, which are displayed in vitrines, are the most intimate and delicate part of the exhibition. The embroidery works are based on the artist’s personal photographs of herself, her friends and her family, as well as images of plants and animals. The embroidery works are made with silk thread on linen and embellished with beads, sequins and crystals. The embroidery works reflect the artist’s interest in fashion and textile design, as well as her fascination with the human body and its relation to nature.

GROWTH is a captivating and multifaceted exhibition that showcases Hosnedlová’s diverse and innovative practice. The exhibition invites the viewers to enter the artist’s imaginative world and to question their own assumptions and expectations about the past, the present and the future.

On view until 20 May 2024

Basel, Switzerland‌

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