Statement
Lena Zak (b. 1994) is a visual artist working primarily in painting and sculptural objects, who also explores installation. Her practice is grounded in an inquiry into duality, not as a purely philosophical notion, but as a fundamental tool through which we make sense of the world. From an early age, we learn to understand reality through opposites: light and dark, strength and fragility, self and other. Zak employs this lens to explore questions of identity and selfhood, drawing on Jungian archetypes of the collective unconscious, as well as generational inheritance and collective memory.
Her work is deeply informed by the socio-political landscape of post-Soviet Central Europe, where she was part of the first generation born into democracy after decades of totalitarian rule. Growing up amidst generational dissonance, political flux, and the residue of censorship and trauma, Zak’s artistic exploration became a way to process inherited histories and internal conflicts, a negotiation between resistance, power, and transformation.
Zak's minimalist yet symbolic approach employs a restrained palette, with black as a dominant force, often paired with tangible light sources. The paintings unfold through ritual-like gestures, repetitive, performative marks that accumulate into a cryptic language. This visual script feels both ancient and futuristic, an intuitive system that bypasses rational interpretation to speak to something archetypal and subconscious. By working within the tension of contrasts such as light and darkness, presence and absence, concealment and revelation, Zak creates spaces that echo both personal memory and collective experience, asking how we navigate selfhood and resilience in the face of external systems of control.
CV
Selected Exhibitions & Showcases
SEPTEMBER 2025 - JANUARY 2026
— Art Embassy at NOTAGALLERY, group exhibition curated by Ivan Gette | Berlin, Germany
APRIL 2025
— Culterim studios group exhibition at CANK, curated by Mathilda Augart | Berlin, Germany
MARCH 2025
— The Unbound solo exhibition at PR55 project space, curated by Louise des Places | Berlin, Germany
JANUARY 2025
— The Unrequested at NOTAGALLERY, group exhibition curated by Matilde Dani | Berlin, Germany
NOVEMBER 2024
— Mäzen at Giri Berlino curated by Giuseppe Moramarco, duo exhibition w. Sela Loex with dj set by Abs8lute, Chloe Lula, Amanda Mussi, Nick Moody, Chami, Earwax, Sanna Mun | Berlin, Germany
OCTOBER 2024
— Autumn Selection at Untergeschoss der Pandora Art Gallery, group exhibition curated by Guinchi | Berlin, Germany
MAY 2024
— LENA ZAK solo exhibition at the BASEMENT, SpätiBros, curated by Louise des Places | Berlin, Germany
DECEMBER 2023 - JANUARY 2024
— The Collective at THE HIGH LINE NINE galleries, group exhibition curated by VISIONARY PROJECTS | Chelsea, New York, USA
DECEMBER 2023
— Winter Residency Open Studio at GlogauAIR | Berlin, Germany
DECEMBER 2023
— Street Window Showcase at GlogauAIR | Glogauer Str., Berlin, Germany
SEPTEMBER 2023
— Street Window Showcase at GlogauAIR | Glogauer Str., Berlin, Germany
SEPTEMBER 2023
— Summer Residency Open Studio at GlogauAIR | Berlin, Germany
AUGUST 2023
— The Art of Access at PROJET MONÉ by NEW COLLECTORS gallery, group exhibition curated by VISIONARY PROJECTS | Broadway, New York, USA
AUGUST 2023
— Garage Takeover pop-up solo exhibition | Bratislava, Slovakia
NOVEMBER 2022
— Lisbon Art Weekend at Duplex AIR | Lisbon, Portugal
APRIL 2021
— Facade group exhibition at THE HOLY ART gallery | London, UK
FEBRUARY - MARCH 2021
— Spring Awakening by LONDON PAINT CLUB, digital exhibition during the pandemic curated by Kelly Foster
NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2020
— Disrupting the Stillness, digital exhibition during the pandemic curated by VISIONARY PROJECTS (NYC) and Lohme Art Gallery Malmö (Sweden)
SEPTEMBER 2020
— RESVÉS group exhibition | Lisbon, Portugal
AUGUST 2020
— 284 Open at Gallery Coletivo 284, group exhibition curated by Clara Afonso | Lisbon, Portugal
JULY - SEPTEMBER 2020
— Dream Big III at Artzone 42 Gallery, group exhibition curated by Domna Chanoumidou | Athens, Greece
Art Residencies
SEPTEMBER 2024
— Artist in Residence at Duplex AIR | Lisbon, Portugal
JULY - DECEMBER 2023
— Artist in Residence at GlogauAIR | Berlin, Germany
OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2022
— Artist in Residence at Duplex AIR | Lisbon, Portugal
