First details and title of Nordic Countries Pavilion exhibition announced for the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia

The Nordic Countries Pavilion will present How Many Angels Can Dance on the Head of a Pin? at the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, running from 9 May to 22 November 2026. Curated by Anna Mustonen (Chief Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma), this collaborative exhibition by Klara Kristalova, Benjamin Orlow and Tori Wrånes will transform the Pavilion into a sculptural, mythical landscape that transcends cultural and national boundaries. The exhibition is commissioned by Kiasma and co-commissioned by Moderna Museet, Sweden, and OCA – Office for Contemporary Art Norway.
The exhibition unfolds through a series of interconnected installations inspired by Nordic folklore, fairytales and stories such as the Kalevala - the 19th-century creation epic of Finland and Karelia - but resonating beyond. Across hybrid works that merge plant, animal and human forms, the artists harness the language of myth as a universal point of reference to explore cycles of decay, renewal and transformation, and the deep interconnectedness of all things. In an era marked by environmental disconnection, geopolitical instability and the disruption of borders and identities, myth becomes a lens through which to reflect on our shared human condition and to navigate contemporary global challenges.

Each artist contributes a distinct yet complementary practice. Klara Kristalova (b. 1967, Prague, Czech Republic; lives and works in Norrtälje, Sweden) creates ceramic figures that combine fairytale imagery with the human body and the natural world, infused with uncanny details to suggest moments of vulnerability and transition. Benjamin Orlow (b. 1984, Turku, Finland; lives and works in London, UK) produces monumental sculptures that give physical form to cycles of transformation, drawing on historic motifs and material culture. Tori Wrånes (b. 1978, Kristiansand, Norway; lives and works in Oslo and Kristiansand, Norway) works across music, performance and sculpture to construct dreamlike, otherworldly environments that alter our perceptions and shift how space is experienced.
Together, their works span sculpture, sound, performance and spatial intervention, ranging from the monumental to the intimate. The installations extend across the interior and exterior of Sverre Fehn’s iconic 1962 Pavilion, a building defined by its porous relationship with the surrounding landscape and activated as an integral part of the exhibition. The result is a shared, evolving ecology where art, architecture and nature intersect, and the exploration of transformation becomes an ongoing, embodied experience.

The exhibition’s title, How Many Angels Can Dance on the Head of a Pin?, refers to a famous philosophical thought experiment, symbolic of unanswerable questions and contested limits. Here, it becomes a way of asking how many bodies, beliefs and ways of being can coexist within a shared space. Through myth, material and spatial encounter, the exhibition opens a space for reflection on coexistence in an increasingly polarised world, collectively inviting visitors to consider their relationships to one another, to the natural world, and to time itself.

Anna Mustonen, Chief Curator at Kiasma, commented: “This exhibition begins with a question about limits - how much can a space, a body, or a system sustain. In a time marked by such pressures and uncertainty, I wanted to create a situation where coexistence is not idealised, but tested. The artworks ask visitors to experience tension, proximity, and vulnerability as shared conditions, shaped as much by architecture as by myth, history and memory.”

Kiira Miesmaa, Director of Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma and commissioner of the Nordic Countries Pavilion 2026, commented: “The Nordic countries share a cultural heritage that goes beyond geography, creating fertile ground for meaningful artistic collaboration. United by values such as social equality and community support, our cooperation not only reflects these principles but also reinforces the vital role of art in society.” The co-commissioners are Ruben Steinum, Director of OCA – Office for Contemporary Art Norway, and Gitte Ørskou, Director of Moderna Museet.

The exhibition is supported by Finnish Cultural Foundation, Galleri Magnus Karlsson, Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation, Kiasma Support Foundation, Ministry of Education and Culture, Nelimarkka-Foundation, Niemistö Art Foundation Ars Fennica, Saastamoinen Foundation, and Tiftö Foundation.

Header photo: Tori Wrånes, NAAM YAI / BIG WATER, 2022, still from video. Photo: Kornkaew Nokkaew.