Exhibition

In her latest series of work Emanuela Lekić explores the boundaries between real and imagined space in her works, opening new possibilities for rethinking reality through traditional painting. The starting point of Marvelous Problems is the concept of shelter, interpreted as an ambivalent space that is depicted as both a safe refuge and a deceptive trap. Inspired by 19th-century paper theaters and their delicate constructions made from easily destructible materials, the main motifs are placed within a proscenium that evokes the playfulness of childhood while simultaneously exposing the fragility and illusion of constructed boundaries. The shelter, presented as a theatrical set, becomes a metaphor for our attempts to create a sense of safety, revealing at the same time the danger of such constructions that can collapse at any moment. Through this duality, Marvelous Problems reflects on the tension between imagination and reality, protection and vulnerability, illusion and truth, inviting the viewer to reconsider where the line between them truly lies.
 

Emanuela Lekić (b. 1996) is a Croatian visual artist focused on contemporary painting. In her artistic practice, she explores figuration through an intimate and psychological approach to portraiture and the human form. Lekić graduated in 2019 from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb. Her works have been widely exhibited across Croatia in major national galleries and cultural institutions. Notable group exhibitions include the 5th and 6th Painting Biennial at Meštrović Pavilion, Zagreb, Situations, 35th Youth Salon, Forum Gallery, Zagreb, From Y to Z at Oktogon, Zagreb, Erste Fragments 14 at Kranjčar Gallery, Zagreb, and Red and Black at Forum Gallery, Zagreb. She has presented several solo exhibitions in prominent galleries, including Night Shift at Kortil Gallery in Rijeka and Lauba House in Zagreb, both of which received significant media attention. Her work has been featured in leading art magazines such as the Croatian Kontura and the international publication Booooooom.
 

 

Marvelous Problems at Kahan Art Space Vienna marks Emanuela Lekić’s first solo exhibition in Austria. The show will also be presented in spring 2026 at Kahan Art Space Pest.
 

 

The exhibition is curated by Jelena Tamindzija Donnart. Jelena Tamindzija Donnart (Dubrovnik, 1989) has been a member and co-director of the Nomad – Croatian Office for Contemporary Art since 2016 and since 2017, she has been working as a curator at the Museum of Modern Art Dubrovnik. She participated as an invited curator in the CCA Andratx residential art project in Mallorca, in 2022 and has worked as a curator at numerous solo and group exhibitions and as a curator and manager of international projects at the Museum of Modern Art Dubrovnik (Ahmet Ertug – Point of Vanishment, 2017, Oceans – works from the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection, 2018, Worlds within worlds – Sophie Erlund, Igor Eškinja, Stephen Kent, Josep Maynou, Mark Požlep, 2023, Andy Warhol – I am from nowhere, works from the collection of the Andy Warhol Museum of Modern Art Medzilaborca, 2023, Tony Cragg – Sculpture, 2025).

 

Emanuela Lekić – Marvelous Problems 
December 17th 2025 - March 7th, 2026
Kahan Art Space Vienna | 1020 Große Pfarrgasse 7

opening times:
from Wednesday to Sat 6 pm - 10 pm and by appointment