Kyiv Biennial at the Lentos in November
Das Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz ist im Rahmen der 6. Kyiv Biennale mit der Ausstellung „Vertical Horizon“ Gastgeberin eines internationalen Projekts, das sich auf künstlerisch-reflektierte Weise mit aktuellen geopolitischen Realitäten auseinandersetzt. Die Ausstellung wird vom 12. November 2025 bis 6. Januar 2026 im Lentos zu sehen sein und entsteht auf Initiative und in Kooperation mit tranzit.at.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2025, the Kyiv Biennial is an international project that connects artistic, political, and social issues. In the context of ongoing wars, colonial continuities, and global inequalities, the Biennial offers a space for reflection, solidarity, and critical engagement. Initiated by the association tranzit.at, which is dedicated to promoting contemporary, transdisciplinary, and internationally networked art projects, the exhibition “Vertical Horizon” is being presented at the Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz.
“The Lentos’ participation in the Kyiv Biennial is an expression of solidarity with artistic perspectives that critically engage with the realities of our present – and at the same time a strong commitment to the role of art in societal dialogue,” says Lentos Director Hemma Schmutz.
The exhibition “Vertical Horizon”, developed specifically for Linz and opening on 12 November at the Lentos Kunstmuseum, approaches land and landscape as both poetic and political agents. It investigates their technological perception and utilization, their entanglement in armed conflict, and their artistic and visual representation. The exhibition centers on a conceptual shift from horizontal geopolitical struggles on the Earth’s surface to a vertical perspective – into geological depths, where battles over raw materials and resources unfold. Through ecological perspectives, planetary thinking, artistic research, and collective imagination, the project seeks to reclaim the agency of the Earth. Particular emphasis is placed on emerging artistic voices that open up new perspectives on the Earth as an active subject, challenging hegemonic logics of violence and envisioning utopian alternatives to an extractivist future. Linz – once the site of the “Hermann Göring Werke” and thus deeply embedded in the Nazi regime’s arms industry – provides a historically charged backdrop for this exploration of vertical power structures, traces of violence, and their subversive artistic destabilization. “Vertical Horizon”, curated by Sarah Jonas and Serge Klymko, unfolds across two rooms within the permanent collection galleries of the Lentos, encompassing a total of approximately 300 m². The exhibition presents works by Ukrainian artists in dialogue with international positions. The exhibition is complemented by a presentation at Kunstraum memphis, located in close proximity to the Lentos.
The Kyiv Biennial 2025 includes several venues across Europe, including the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, M HKA in Antwerp, the Dnipro Center for Contemporary Culture, and the Dovzhenko Centre in Kyiv. The Linz exhibition is a cooperation with the association tranzit.at, supported by the Federal Ministry for Housing, Arts, Culture, Media and Sport and the ERSTE Foundation.