Finnland-Institut in Berlin and Frame Contemporary Art Finland are delighted to host a special evening with artist Jenna Sutela and curator Stefanie Hessler on Friday 30 January 2026 at 5–7 pm.
Location: Finnland-Institut in Berlin, Marburger Straße 3, 10789 Berlin-Charlottenburg
At the 61st Venice Biennale, opening in May 2026, the Pavilion of Finland presents an exhibition by Jenna Sutela, curated by Stefanie Hessler. Read more about the exhibition.
Please join us for a conversation between the artist and curator during which they will share first details of the upcoming exhibition, building on their long collaboration and transdisciplinary practices.
The conversation will be followed by refreshments.
The event is open to all, but registration is required due to limited attendance. Please RSVP by 23 January to mirjami.schuppert@finstitut.de.
Warm welcome!
Photo: Matteo de Mayda for Frame Contemporary Art Finland
About Jenna Sutela
Jenna Sutela’s image and sound works and ‘living sculptures’ explore open systems from biology to computation. She often seeks patterns, signs, and meaning within what might generally be considered random or chaotic, probing the relationship between consciousness and the material world. Through collaborative practice, Sutela traces decentralized forms of organization and interrelationships at scales from microbial to cosmic. Based in Berlin, Sutela graduated from University of Art & Design Helsinki (now Aalto University) in the late 2000s. Her work has been presented internationally, including at the Castello di Rivoli, Turin (2025); Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève (2024); Swiss Institute, New York (2023); Helsinki Biennale (2023); Haus der Kunst, Munich (2022); Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki (2022); Shanghai Biennial (2021); Liverpool Biennial (2021); Kunsthall Trondheim (2020); Serpentine Galleries, London (2019); and Moderna Museet, Stockholm (2019). She has been a visiting artist at La Becque, MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology, Somerset House Studios, and Callie’s Berlin. She is a Jane Lombard Fellow at The New School.
About Stefanie Hessler
Stefanie Hessler is a curator, writer, editor, and the director of Swiss Institute (SI). She has worked with over 300 artists, 50 organizations, and dozens of researchers across all continents. Originally from Germany, she has worked as a curator across exhibitions and biennales from Athens to São Paulo, Kochi to Montreal, Trondheim to Berlin. She has worked with some of the biggest artists of today, including Joan Jonas, Tomas Saraceno, and Christine Sun Kim, as well as nurtured careers of emerging artists who are currently having their big break, such as Lap-See Lam, Ali Cherri, and Raven Chacon.
In addition to her role at Swiss Institute, Hessler is the curator of Parcours at Art Basel in Basel, and co-curator of the 2026 Counterpublic Triennial in St. Louis. Previously Hessler served as the Director of Kunsthall Trondheim in Norway. Her selected projects as an independent curator include the 17th Momenta Biennale: Sensing Nature, Montreal; Rising Tides/Down to Earth, Gropius Bau, Berlin; Joan Jonas: Moving Off the Land II, Ocean Space, Venice; the symposium Practices of Attention, 33rd Bienal de São Paulo; and the 6th Athens Biennale. Hessler is the author of Prospecting Ocean (MIT Press) and has edited over a dozen volumes.
About Frame Contemporary Art Finland
Frame Contemporary Art Finland, an advocate for Finnish contemporary art, has served as the commissioner of the Aalto Pavilion of Finland since 2013. Frame supports international initiatives and fosters professional exchange, encouraging the critical development of the field through grants, a visitor programme, curator residencies, seminars and talks, exhibition collaborations, and network platforms. 2026 marks the Aalto Pavilion of Finland’s 70th anniversary. Oulu2026 European Capital of Culture is the main partner of the Pavilion of Finland exhibition in 2026.