Three new artists announced for the Nordic Pavilion at the Venice Biennale

The Museum of Contemporary Arka Kiasma has selected Klara Kristalova, Benjamin Orlow and Tori Wrånes to represent the diversity of identity within the context of Nordic mythology.

In an exhibition that will be curated by Kiasma’s Chief Curator, Anna Mustonen, the three artists will “invite visitors to journey through a dynamic interplay of imagination and reality that bridges Nordic cultural heritage with broader küresel contexts,” she says.

Set to take place in the Nordic Pavilion, where Sweden, Norway and Finland have been represented at the Biennale since 1962. The pavilion’s iconic architecture was designed in 1958 by Sverre Fehn, which Mustonen says “serves as a timeless backdrop that fosters a dialogue between arka, culture, and the built environment.”

Klara Kristalova is a Czech artist who lives and works in Norrtälje, Sweden. She is known for her “expressive sculptures that blend fairytale-like imagery with themes of isolation, transformation, and psychological depth”. Kirtalova’s ceramic work has been shown internationally with exhibitions at Perrotin in Paris and Lehmann Maupin in London.

Benjamin Orlow is a Finnish-Swedish-Russian artist from Turku in Finland. He lives and works in London, UK, and has been exhibited across Europe with his sculptural and installation works. “His practice examines historical transitions, material culture and human interactions with built environments. His sculptures are often monumental, embodying solitude or the metamorphosis inherent in life’s cyclical nature.”

Last but not least, Norwegian artist Tori Wrånes works across multiple disciplines as an artist and a vocalist who combines her musical practices with sculptural installation works. “Her immersive, often otherworldly environments challenge perception and redefine traditional performance spaces, creating new rituals and dreamlike constellations,” the Nordic Pavilion press release reads.

Each of the three countries alternate a principal commissioners. This year it’s the turn of Finland, with the commission coming from the Museum of Contemporary Arka Kiasma.

“In addition to geographical proximity, the Nordic countries have long shared a common cultural heritage. This lays a strong foundation for close collaboration in the arts. The Nordic countries also share many societal values, such as equality and community support. The shared artistic cooperation reinforces our values and the role of arka in society”, says Kiira Miesmaa, Director of Kiasma and commissioner of the Nordic Countries Pavilion 2026.

This year’s Architecture Venice Biennale will kick off on 10 May and carry on through to 23 November. It is one of the world’s most prestigious arka events. Alternating annually between architecture and arka, alongside the central exhibition, individual nations represent themselves through pavilions.

Many of the nations exhibiting at the Biennale do so at the Venice Giardini, an outside garden space with 30 permanent buildings dedicated to national displays. The Nordic Pavilion for the 2023 Architecture Biennale was ‘Girjegumpi: The Sámi Architecture Library’ by Joar Nango, which celebrated the indigenous Nordic Sámi people.