On Facade of Meštrović Pavilion: The Largest Artwork by Nora Turato in European Public Space
On the façade of the Meštrović pavilion, which is one of the key achievements in modern Croatian architecture, in her native Zagreb, artist Nora Turato displays her largest art piece in the public space of Europe.
From 11 October until the end of January 2026, the first individual exhibition of artist Nora Turato in Zagreb, which is her birthplace, will be on display on the 1200 square metre façade of the Croatian Association of Fine Artists, also known as the Meštrović Pavilion.
One of the most noted modern Croatian artists of younger generation will present a site-specific intervention as part of the 60th Zagreb Salon of Visual Arts. It is one of her largest works realised in public space in Europe, with which she explores and questions the limits of communication and expression. It is the most recent art piece from her monumental international series pool7 which she started a year ago. The first art piece was a mural pool7 at the Kunsthalle Wien in Vienna and the exhibition I Hear You, I Hear You at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. The series focuses on the physical forms of expression – voice, gestures and nonverbal communication which goes beyond language.
On the construction tarp that covers the Meštrović Pavilion, currently undergoing renovation, with a series of recordings Turato interprets a wide range of emotions – from joy and amazement to rage and fear. The installation relies on the circular form of the pavilion, creating a series of various visual and audio experiences. The sound is periodically activated and the voice becomes present in space, by which Turato symbolically inaugurates the future renovated artistic and exhibition space of the Croatian Association of Fine Artists as an area of play, risk and openness while additionally engaging visitors and random passersby.
Artist Nora Turato, who was born in 1991 in Zagreb but today is Amsterdam-based, has had solo exhibitions in leading cultural institutions including the ICA in London, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Kunsthalle Wien u Vienna, the Museum of Modern Arts (MOMA) in New York, the Vienna Secession, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the International Centre of Graphic Arts in Ljubljana, the Museum of Contemporary Art Serralves in Porto and the Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein. Turato also participated in the Performa Biennale, Post-Capital and INFORMATION (Today).
The Meštrović Pavilion is one of the crucial achievements of modern Croatian architecture and a recognisable symbol of the city of Zagreb. The author of the building design is a great of Croatian art, world-renowned sculptor Ivan Meštrović.
Photo credit:
Nora Turato, installation view
‘Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!’, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, 2024
Photography: Iris Ranzinger