Dubravka Lošić's Site-Specific Installation for Croatia Pavilion at Venice Biennale

At the 61st Venice Biennale, Croatia will present a site-specific installation by Dubravka Lošić (born 1964 in Dubrovnik) at Palazzo Zorzi, curated by Branko Franceschi. Titled 'Compelled by Fright and Beauty,' the exhibition reinterprets the artist's four-decade practice as a dynamic reworking of open systems, not a retrospective. Works have been reimagined for the Venetian space, engaging with its architecture and memory. Lošić's practice spans oil painting, gestural abstraction, Art Informel, collage, metal fusion, and industrial materials, blending modernist and postmodern paradigms with local traditions. Her 'object-paintings' expand painting into volume, tactile surface, and mental space. The exhibition begins in the courtyard with cycles 'Libertas Bells' (2014–2026), 'Rosary' (2026), and 'Tondo' (2020–2025), featuring corroded iron and bronze sculptures alongside colored wood and fabric. On the piano nobile, in Sala Codussi, additional cycles include 'Rains Paris' (2018), 'Alba Albula' (2019), 'Imago Anima' (2012–2013), 'Rosary' (1987–2026), and 'Sharks' (1986–2026). Lošić's work promotes indigenous culture as a response to dominant cultural production, valuing local heritage and family textile tradition. The opening is Friday, May 8, 2026, at 5:00 PM.