Meštrović Pavilion – Centre for Croatian Contemporary Art, Even During Renovation

One of the most prominent younger-generation contemporary Croatian artists, Nora Turato, will present a site-specific intervention in Zagreb, Croatia, as part of the 60th Zagreb Salon of Visual Arts. This will be her largest work realised in a public space in Europe to date, through which she explores and challenges the boundaries of communication and expression. The latest piece from her international series, pool7, will be displayed on the rim of the Meštrović Pavilion, a prestigious exhibition venue in Zagreb, which has been closed since the start of 2025 for a two-year renovation. This intervention also marks Zagreb-born and Amsterdam-based Nora Turato's first solo exhibition in Zagreb, opening on Saturday, 11 October 2025, and running until the end of January 2026.

Nora Turato's work offers a powerful and consistent response to the concept of Choreographies for a Finish Line, the central theme of the jubilee Salon, and serves as a grandiose finale to the artist's pool7 series. This series began a year ago with a mural of the same name at Kunsthalle Wien in Vienna, followed by the exhibition I Hear You, I Hear You at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, which focused on bodily forms of expression – voice, gestures, and non-verbal communication that transcends language.

On the construction tarp enveloping the Meštrović Pavilion, Turato inscribes a raw vocal expression Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!. The installation is accompanied by a series of audio recordings in which the artist addresses the audience daily, at noon. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! is a universal, primal expression that evokes the origins of language, as well as a reflexive human reaction.

The installation spatially draws upon the pavilion's circular architecture, creating a range of diverse visual and auditory experiences. The sound is activated periodically, akin to a ritual, making the voice present in the space. With this gesture, Turato symbolically inaugurates the future renovated art and exhibition space of the Croatian Association of Fine Artists (HDLU) as a place for play, risk, and openness, further engaging both visitors and casual passers-by. The curators of the 60th Zagreb Salon, Choreographies for a Finish Line, are the Kućća collective.

About the Artist

Nora Turato (born 1991 in Zagreb; raised in Rijeka, Croatia, lives and works in Amsterdam) explores the instability of language and its performative nature. From a range of articles, conversations, subtitles, and advertising slogans encountered daily, she constructs visual-linguistic compositions through video works, installations, books, murals, and spoken-word performances. In her work, political discourse and pop culture coexist equally, reflecting synchronisations in social relations and consumer mentality. Turato's visual language is marked by bold typography and her expressive handwriting, which extends across surfaces like rehearsal notes or an artist's sketchbook. This personal trace evokes a disappearing intimacy in the era of digital communication. In her hands, language becomes a mirror of culture: fragmented, rootless, intense. Nora Turato has had solo exhibitions in leading cultural institutions worldwide, including the ICA in London, Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, Kunsthalle Wien in Vienna, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, Secession in Vienna, Centre Pompidou in Paris, Mudam in Luxemburg, International Centre of Graphic Arts in Ljubljana, Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art in Porto, and Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein. She has also participated in the Performa Biennale, Post-Capital, and INFORMATION (Today).

About the HDLU Building

The Home of the Croatian Visual Artists building, also known as the Meštrović Pavilion, is one of the key achievements of modern Croatian architecture. The conceptual design for the building was done by the prominent Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrović. This impressive, modern rotunda with colonnades and a spacious hall was designed for various exhibition purposes and is today considered a unique example of modern architecture. The building was inaugurated in 1938 with the exhibition Half a Century of Croatian Art. However, due to its central location and monumental appearance, its function quickly changed; by political decision during the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), it was converted into a mosque (1941–1944), and after World War II, the Museum of the Revolution (1945–1990). Each repurposing brought spatial interventions: from a concrete dome and minarets (architects Zvonimir Požgaj and Stjepan Planić) to the radical transformation of the interior carried out by Vjenceslav Richter. In the 1990s, the building was returned to artists, and in the 2000s, the first renovation began according to Andrija Mutnjaković's design, which started to restore the building to its original form. Today, as the Meštrović Pavilion, the building is a recognisable symbol of the city of Zagreb, and a space for numerous contemporary artistic programs and exhibitions. With Turato's intervention, the Croatian Association of Fine Artists particularly aims to emphasise that the building, despite its turbulent past and various uses, was built as and will remain in the future a space for exhibiting contemporary visual art.

At the beginning of 2025, the Croatian Association of Fine Artists (HDLU) commenced the long-awaited comprehensive and energy-efficient renovation of the Meštrović Pavilion, based on the project by architect Saša Randić. The aim is to restore the building's original state while incorporating improvements that will meet the needs and technical requirements of a contemporary gallery space. The completion of the works is expected by the end of 2026.

The exhibition is organised by the Croatian Association of Fine Artists with the support of the Zagreb Tourist Board, the City of Zagreb's Office for Culture and Civil Society, the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, Oris House of Architecture, company Bjelina, and media partner Večernji list.

Photo credit: 

Nora Turato, installation view

‘Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!’, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, 2024

Photography: Iris Ranzinger