Mariana Pende Debuts in Croatia with 'Loops, Threads and Loose Ends' at APOTEKA
On September 19, 2026, APOTEKA – Space for Contemporary Art in Zagreb will unveil 'Loops, threads and loose ends,' marking Mariana Pende's inaugural exhibition in Croatia. This showcase will present her latest textile works and hand weaving techniques. Pende's series, 'Forms in Making,' delves into the relationships between materials, technology, the body, and sound, blending textile art with drawing, video, and installation. Curator Branka Benčić emphasizes the connection between the history of technology and women's crafts. Influenced by constructivism and minimalist music, Pende examines visual and auditory motifs. She collaborates with the Faculty of Textile Technology in Zagreb and Trgovišće Textile Factory on sustainable weaving initiatives. A Croatian native, Pende graduated from Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice in 2008 and has shown her work globally while residing in Zagreb.
Key facts
- Exhibition 'Loops, threads and loose ends' by Mariana Pende opens on 19 September 2026 at 19:00 at APOTEKA – Space for Contemporary Art.
- It is Pende's first presentation in Croatia, featuring new textile-based works and hand weaving.
- The 'Forms in Making' series explores how materials, technologies, body, and sound open alternative understandings of work, production, and imagination.
- Curator Branka Benčić contributed a text based on correspondence with the artist from January 2025.
- Pende collaborates with the Faculty of Textile Technology in Zagreb on ecological weaving projects.
- The Trgovišće Textile Factory enables her work on a Jacquard loom, merging hand and industrial weaving.
- Pende graduated from Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice in 2008 and participated in the 51st Venice Biennale (2005).
- She presented 'Dance De Luxe' with Olaf Nicolai at Gallery Bačva, HDLU, Zagreb in 2023.
Entities
Artists
- Mariana Pende
- Branka Benčić
- Olaf Nicolai
Institutions
- APOTEKA – Space for Contemporary Art
- Faculty of Textile Technology in Zagreb
- Trgovišće Textile Factory
- Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice
- Venice Biennale
- Croatian Pavilion
- Gallery Bačva
- HDLU
- Kunsthaus Dahlem
- BienalSur
- Museum of Contemporary Art of Oaxaca
- Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rijeka
- Museum of Contemporary Art of Istria in Pula
- Glyptotheque of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts
- NEWEAST
Locations
- Zagreb
- Croatia
- Venice
- Italy
- Berlin
- Germany
- Oaxaca
- Mexico
- Rijeka
- Pula
- Trgovišće