Explore the Interdisciplinary Art and Retrospective of Nicola L. at Kunsthalle Wien
This major survey highlights Nicola L.'s diverse interdisciplinary practice, spanning sculpture, performance, and film from 1964 to 2014.
Kunsthalle Wien hosts a major retrospective of French artist Nicola L., exploring her interdisciplinary practice from 1964 to 2014. The exhibition features groundbreaking sculptures, performance art, paintings, and films. Visitors can explore her unique perspectives on cosmology, environmental concerns, and activism, discovering how her work blurs the boundaries between body and space and resists categorization.
Read curatorial context and practical visitor information for Nicola L. at Kunsthalle Wien in Vienna
Exhibition summary
Kunsthalle Wien presents a major retrospective of the celebrated French artist Nicola L. (1932-2018), showcasing her interdisciplinary practice from 1964 to 2014. The exhibition features sculptures, performance works, paintings, collages, and films that explore themes of cosmology, environmental concerns, sexuality, and activism, often blurring boundaries between body and space.
Curatorial context
This exhibition at Kunsthalle Wien is a survey of the celebrated French artist Nicola L. (b. 1932, El Jadida; d. 2018, Los Angeles), featuring works produced between 1964 and 2014. Presented in collaboration with Camden Art Centre, London; Frac Bretagne, Rennes; and Museion – Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Bolzano/Bozen, it marks the first survey of Nicola L.’s work in Europe and the first monographic exhibition devoted to her in Austria. Variously associated with pop art and nouveau réalisme, Nicola L.’s expansive practice addresses subjects including cosmology, environmental concerns, spirituality, sexuality, activism, and political resistance, frequently collapsing boundaries between the body and space. Her work is characterized by wit, playfulness, and subversion, resisting easy categorization across multiple disciplines.
The exhibition showcases a series of _Pénétrables_ textile sculptures, intended as participatory works inviting viewers to insert limbs or heads. A reconstruction of her large-scale installation _Chambre en Fourrure_ (Fur Room) from 1969, a freestanding structure of faux fur, zippers, and metal armature, is also presented. Functional objects like lamps, sofas, and commodes are featured, with painted wooden cabinets shaped like female torsos, eye-shaped lamps, and body-outline coffee tables. Upholstered soft, pliable sculptures of feet and fragmented bodies are imbued with a political message emphasizing equality, collectivity, and the role of women in the home and society.
Admission and ticket notes
Information regarding ticketing and admission is not explicitly detailed on this page. Visitors are directed to the museum's press section for related downloads, and event-specific details are provided for guided tours and lectures occurring during the exhibition period.
Nicola L. key exhibition facts
Review exhibition status, schedule, venue context, and attribution details for Nicola L. at Kunsthalle Wien in Vienna
Venue
Kunsthalle Wien
Current status
Open now
Exhibition schedule
From Jun 26, 2025
Artist line / attribution
Nicola L. (b. 1932, El Jadida; d. 2018, Los Angeles) was a celebrated French artist whose practice spanned sculpture, performance, painting, collage, and film.
Vienna
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