Centro Pecci presents Karen Kilimnik. Abracadabra, an expansive exhibition bringing together unseen and existing works from across four decades of Karen Kilimnik’s art. Curated by Stefano Collicelli Cagol and Michele Bertolino, the exhibition comprises more than one hundred works ranging from the 1980s to the present day, and is presented across five rooms of the museum, bringing together the different media the artist has used throughout her career.
Karen Kilimnik’s artistic work intertwines art history, fashion, and books and encompasses painting, photography, video, and mise-en-scène. Her paintings, often seemingly simple, feature romantic landscapes, interiors, and enigmatic figures. In her work, glamour and romanticism intertwine. Magic can transform everyday objects into something different.
Abracadabra approaches the artist’s work through a focus on magic as the central theme within her oeuvre. The title intends to also highlight her use of language and words – which frequently appear both in her early drawings and in the titles of her paintings – that are like magic spells that transfigure images and materials drawn from everyday life.
Presenting an unusual breadth of work, and focusing particularly on theatre sets and fairytale magic, the exhibition includes historical assemblages (The Joker Episode of the Avengers, 1991; Swan Lake, 1992; and Fountain of Youth, 1992), some of her celebrated drawings (Brigitte Bardot Shopping in Shorts, 1985; Knockout, 1988; Best friends - snowflake + midnight, 2007; and Sirens, 1999), her key photographic series (Me as …, 1988-1994) alongside some of her portraits (Princess Di, That Dress, 1997, Miss France, the Mastermind, 2026), landscape paintings (the forrest of the elves, 2013; flowers in the fairy countryside, 2014), and sculptures (Endurance in the Ice, 2000; The Endurance at Night, 2000). Alongside these landmark works, some of which have not been shown for many years, the show includes a new production: a player piano playing excerpts from Felix Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night's Dream with framed fairy family photos.
Abracadabra is the second time Karen Klimnik presents her work at Centro Pecci. The first was in 1992, when she participated in Small Medium Large. Lifesize, a group show at Centro Pecci, with Pep Agut, Paolo Canevari, Sylvie Fleury, Anya Gallaccio, Huang Yong Ping, Edwin Janssen, Ivonne Jokl, and Vik Muniz. In her installation (The Umbrella Shop Part 1 and The Umbrella Shop Part 2 From the Episode ‘The correct way to kill’, The Avengers), produced for the show and immediately acquired by Centro Pecci, Kilimnik paid homage to the cult 1960s television show The Avengers, setting out an ironic, irreverent reflection on the mechanisms of mass entertainment and on the role it plays in shaping collective tastes and imaginaries.
Abracadabra opens together with Karen Kilimnik in the Kunstverein, organised by Kunstverein Hamburg and curated by Milan Ther & Sarah Messerschmidt. The shows constitute two separate exhibitions presenting recent and previously unseen works by Karen Kilimnik. Together, these overlapping exhibitions allow audiences to experience Kilimnik’s practice as never before, creating a survey between them of Kilimnik’s most recent and historical productions, each featuring new pieces witnessing the powerful vision of the artist today.
This exhibition is part of Passaggi: di mano in mano, the Centro Pecci’s 2026 cultural programme. Discover the programme ↗
