On 3 July, Kunstverein Friedrichshafen opened The Limit of Sensitivity, the first solo museum exhibition by Ukrainian artist Alina Kleytman, according to the organisers. The exhibition will run until 30 August and will then be presented in Kharkiv in October.
According to the exhibition description, The Limit of Sensitivityexplores themes of violence, war, trauma and the imagery of collective memory. At its centre are new video works and sculptures examining the psychological, political and social consequences of war. Kleytman draws on visual languages associated with queer culture, BDSM aesthetics and body horror.
In the video work Are u tired?, Kleytman raises moral questions about the perception of war through a fetishised and sexualised interrogation: “Are democratic moral values truly a conscious and sincere choice made by an individual? Or, somewhere in the depths of their consciousness, might that person still choose to abandon them for the sake of their own well-being?”
Thank You, Daddy!is a video work that explores how ethical convictions are transformed into a resource for monetisation in the modern capitalist world and become a product that can be profitably offered to the market.
Cradle of Democracy is a video work that questions the effectiveness of democracy in the modern world and challenges idealised perceptions of systems of governance.
The sculptures on display are presented as hybrid human-animal bodies. They personify fear, helplessness and resistance, illustrating how violence becomes imprinted on bodies, images and the collective imagination. To create them, Kleytman used mortuary body bags and white bronze, materials that symbolise emergency aid, protection and destruction.
These works were previously presented at the LISTE Art Basel 2026 fair. Following its run in Germany, the exhibition will be shown in Kharkiv.
Alina Kleytman is a Ukrainian artist from Kharkiv who works with sculpture, performance and video. She describes her artistic approach as “hysterical realism”. Her works have been exhibited internationally and are held in the collections of the ERSTE Foundation in Vienna and the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw. In 2021, she received the Ukrainian Institute’s Women in Visual Arts Prize.