Inaugural CHANEL Commission: Klára Hosnedlová

Hamburger Bahnhof—Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart announces a major three-year partnership with the CHANEL Culture Fund. The CHANEL Commission at Hamburger Bahnhof is an annual commission that marks a new chapter in the museum’s legacy, empowering artists to realize ambitious, large-scale projects.

Setting a new benchmark for commissions in public institutions due to its unparalleled scope and vision, the collaboration boldly reimagines the museum’s iconic 2,500-square-meter historic hall, transforming it into an immersive, thought-provoking arena.

Engaging with the monumental architecture and situated at the heart of the institution, the CHANEL Commission at Hamburger Bahnhof offers a platform for innovation and scale. Known for redefining the boundaries of sculpture, Berlin-based Klára Hosnedlová will inaugurate the annual series with a profoundly evocative installation exploring themes of belonging, utopia, and the rhythms of life under shifting political systems.

The inaugural CHANEL Commission at Hamburger Bahnhof, embrace by Klára Hosnedlová, will be on view from May 1 to October 26, 2025, coinciding with Berlin Gallery Weekend. Within the industrial architecture of the museum’s historic hall, Hosnedlová (born 1990 in Uherské Hradiště, the Czech Republic, lives in Berlin) creates a utopian landscape using flax fibers, embroidery, cast glass, sandstone, clay, iron, and concrete slabs. Her most expansive sculptural work to date features soaring nine-meter-high tapestries, site-specific objects, organic reliefs, and monumental embroideries. These intricate motifs originate from film and video recordings of performative interventions staged by the artist in Berlin, drawing inspiration from architecture, films, and novels. The first edition of the commission marks Hosnedlová’s largest institutional solo exhibition and is accompanied by an edition of the Hamburger Bahnhof catalogue series, published by Silvana Editoriale Milano.

Rooted in the museum’s history—originally a train station built in 1848—the CHANEL Commission at Hamburger Bahnhof captures the essence of movement, gathering, and transformation. It spotlights contemporary artists whose practices resonate across disciplines and echoe the complexities of contemporary life. The initiative underscores Hamburger Bahnhof’s role as a leading global institution of contemporary art, where past, present, and future converge.

Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath, co-directors of Hamburger Bahnhof: “With the CHANEL Commission at Hamburger Bahnhof, we are embarking on a bold new chapter that celebrates the transformative power of contemporary art within the unparalleled setting of the museum’s historic hall. The collaboration reaffirms the shared commitment of Hamburger Bahnhof and CHANEL to bring forth groundbreaking projects that challenge conventions. Klára Hosnedlová’s immersive installation will resonate deeply with audiences, igniting thought-provoking new perspectives.”

Yana Peel, Global Head of Arts and Culture at CHANEL: “It’s thrilling to announce the CHANEL Commission at Hamburger Bahnhof—setting a new standard for commissions in public institutions, with the extraordinary artist Klára Hosnedlová. One of the most ambitious CHANEL Culture Fund projects to date, the commission gives artists at the vanguard an opportunity to push the boundaries of installation art and sculpture in the heart of Berlin. With its unparalleled scale, the CHANEL Commission at Hamburger Bahnhof is poised to become a must-see on Berlin’s cultural calendar, placing the iconic hall—in a city synonymous with originality and reinvention—at the centre of the global conversation on contemporary art.”

About Hamburger Bahnhof—Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart
Hamburger Bahnhof was founded in 1996 as the Contemporary Art Museum of Germany’s National Gallery in Berlin. Through exhibitions, performances, educational programming, publications and a rich schedule of symposia, Hamburger Bahnhof serves as a forum for local and global communities. Hamburger Bahnhof is the custodian to the Nationalgalerie’s collection of art from the 1960s onwards with a special focus on new media and time-based works. With 400,000 visitors in 2023 and 12,000 square meters of exhibition space, Hamburger Bahnhof hosts 8 temporary exhibitions and 4 evolving permanent collection displays each year. Hamburger Bahnhof centers its profile around four core values: inclusivity, innovation, responsiveness, and diversity. Operating beyond the borders of culture and geography, the museum highlights the complex diversity of today’s societies.

About the CHANEL Culture Fund
The CHANEL Culture Fund fosters a vibrant network of creators and innovators to advance the ideas that shape culture worldwide. Core programmes include CHANEL’s Art Partners, institutions whose leaders are supported in the development of ground-breaking, long-term initiatives that bring transformation to the cultural landscape. The CHANEL Next Prize celebrates artists and accelerates their future successes through access to resources and mentorship. And the podcast CHANEL Connects amplifies the voices of thought-leaders across disciplines, generations, and geographies—tackling the defining issues of our time.

From emerging curators at the MCA Chicago to leading ecologists at the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul, from game-changing artists at the Venice Biennale to the brightest directors at the British Film Institute, the CHANEL Culture Fund champions creative audacity for a better future and extends a century of commitment to the arts.