A pane of glass turns a kiss into an encounter that is offered and obstructed at once. Jiří Kovanda invites visitors to bring their lips towards his from the other side of the glass. The gesture rests on this tiny distance: closeness becomes visible while contact remains suspended. In the documentation of the 2010 performance at Museion, an ordinary architectural separation becomes a shared situation, fragile and attentive to another person’s presence.
Location
Museion, Bolzano, Italy, 2010: documentation of a performance of Kissing Through Glass, a work created in 2007 at Tate Modern, London.
Artist
Born in Prague in 1953, Jiří Kovanda is a Czech artist whose understated actions transform everyday gestures and situations. His performances and installations use minimal material means to explore attention, proximity and the relationship between individuals and social space.
Video: directed by Davide Comelli; producer Antonio Maniscalco; production Frida. Performance at Museion, Bolzano.
Sources : Cristiano Leone, 7 October 2026 ; Museion ; Coblanco ; Frac Lorraine.