Marek Chlanda in Helsinki – exhibition “Goodnight and Other Works” at Kunsthalle Kohta

Marek Chlanda returns to Finland after more than three decades with an exhibition at Helsinki’s Kunsthalle Kohta. The exhibition “Marek Chlanda: Goodnight and Other Works” presents both iconic sculptures from the 1990s and the artist’s most recent works. It tells a story of memory, matter, and spirituality, rooted in the experience of post-communist Europe. The exhibition will be on view from 16 October to 21 December 2025.

Polish artist Marek Chlanda’s art in Finland – art between dream and matter

The exhibition “Marek Chlanda: Goodnight and Other Works” is dedicated to the outstanding Polish artist Marek Chlanda (b. 1954), who has lived and worked in Kraków for many years. His oeuvre – encompassing drawing, sculpture, installations, and works on paper – has been present on the Polish and international art scene since the mid-1970s. The artist has exhibited at the Paris Biennale and the first Gwangju Biennale in South Korea, among others. The Finnish public first had the opportunity to see his work in 1994 at the Rauma Biennale. After more than three decades, the artist returns to Finland with a new presentation of his works.

The idea for the exhibition was conceived by Anders Kreuger, director of Kunsthalle Kohta, who first encountered Chlanda’s work 30 years ago and has followed it with interest ever since. Over time, he found it distinctive enough to present to the Finnish public. Thus was born the idea of “Marek Chlanda: Goodnight and Other Works” – an exhibition that forms a bridge between past and present.

Cult sculptures and new collages in Helsinki – Marek Chlanda at Kunsthalle Kohta

For the exhibition, Chlanda recovered and restored two sculptures from the series “Goodnight” (1996), inspired by the oneiric atmosphere of Goya’s “Los Caprichos” prints. The monumental waxed-cardboard silhouettes, supported by metal hoops and fitted with masks, will be presented to the public for the first time in years – an attempt to engage in a dialogue with the 1990s, an era of greater freedom and creative optimism.

The exhibition will also include other sculptures from the 1990s, such as “Nameless Sculpture No. 14” (1991) and “Hasta la muerte” (1996). Their character – at once physical and theatrical – reflects the spiritual quest of the post-conceptual era, avoiding literalism while remaining intensely material. The exhibition is complemented by Chlanda’s latest works, created from nautical charts and fragments of cardboard packaging. Cut up and arranged into organic structures, they form part of the series “Environment (Fury)”, developed since 2024, which addresses contemporary themes of humanity’s relationship with the environment, movement, and time.

“Marek Chlanda: Goodnight and Other Works” in Finland - practical information:

• Dates: 16 October – 21 December 2025

• Location: Kunsthalle Kohta, Työpajankatu 2 B, building 7, third floor, Helsinki

• Admission: Free

• Exhibition co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage

• Partners: Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Helsinki

• More information: www.kohta.fi