Klára Hosnedlová: Embrace

Klára Hosnedlová presents her most ambitious installation to date with “Embrace”, the latest Chanel Commission at Hamburger Bahnhof. Filling the museum’s vast historic hall, the work explores ideas of home, utopia, and everyday life under various political systems.

The monumental installation features tapestries up to nine metres tall, large-scale embroideries, sculptural objects, and organic reliefs. Many of the embroidery motifs are based on filmed performances staged by the artist in Berlin and draw from the cultural memory of the Czech border regions—referencing architecture, literature, and cinema.

Set within the industrial space of the former train station, Hosnedlová creates a utopian environment using materials such as flax, cast glass, sandstone, clay, iron, and concrete. The use of concrete slabs and iron walls recalls the architecture of the communist era, anchoring the installation in a layered historical context.

Born in 1990, Hosnedlová is one of the most innovative young artists working in sculpture today. “Embrace” is her largest institutional solo exhibition and a bold reimagining of the museum’s 2,500-square-metre hall.

The Chanel Commission is an annual initiative empowering artists to create ambitious, site-specific works that challenge and transform public museum spaces.