Mona Hatoum and the fragile architectures of exhibition space
Published on 08/31/2026 at 12:41 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Mona Hatoum uses fragile architectures to turn exhibition spaces into sites of tension and unease. Her expansive project Over, under and in between at Fondazione Prada’s Cisterna in Milan unfolds across three chambers with glass spheres, a world map in glass and a buckling aluminium lattice, as recent coverage in Impulse Magazine highlights.
The Cisterna project in Milan
At Fondazione Prada, Over, under and in between runs from January 29 to November 9, 2026, transforming the former distillery’s Cisterna building into an environment that stages instability and bodily disorientation. The three installations respond directly to the architecture, asking visitors to navigate under suspended glass, across a shifting map and beside an oscillating metal structure.
Impulse Magazine describes hundreds of hand-blown glass spheres hanging overhead, with around thirty thousand more forming a world map on the floor, while an immense aluminium lattice repeatedly collapses and rises again. White Cube’s museum exhibition listing confirms the dates and location of Hatoum’s project at Fondazione Prada, underscoring its institutional framing as a major 2026 presentation.
Exhibition & show across continents
Hatoum’s focus on precarity extends to the group exhibition We, Such Fragile Beings at Podo Museum on Jeju Island, which runs from August 9, 2025 through August 8, 2026 and includes a 1.6-ton suspended concrete and rebar mass that appears serene yet conveys acute instability. The show gathers thirteen artists to reflect on conflict and empathy, with Hatoum’s work installed in a section addressing displacement and collective memory.
Beyond Jeju and Milan, White Cube’s overview of Hatoum’s institutional activity records the forthcoming exhibition Mona Hatoum at Kunst Museum Winterthur from October 3, 2026 to January 31, 2027, as well as the ongoing site-specific project at Fondazione Prada. Taken together, these exhibitions show how Hatoum’s installations circulate between European museums and Asian venues while consistently staging states of tension.
All news and background on Mona Hatoum
Further reports and dossiers on Mona Hatoum’s exhibitions, installations and institutional projects are available in the AD HOC NEWS archive.
The work core in recent installations
Hatoum’s recent projects build on decades of work with everyday materials rendered hazardous, from wired household furniture in Homebound and Sous tension to electrified grids and suspended structures. White Cube’s artist profile notes how she moves between installations, sculpture, video, photography and works on paper, always balancing seduction with threat.
Her institutional retrospectives since the 2010s, including major exhibitions at Centre Pompidou in Paris, Tate Modern in London and Kiasma in Helsinki, have consolidated this practice as a key reference for politically charged installation art. Awards such as the Praemium Imperiale in 2019, the Hiroshima Art Prize in 2017 and the Joan Miró Prize in 2011 mark a sustained recognition of her contribution.
Where the artist stands now
Against this backdrop, Mona Hatoum’s site-specific project Over, under and in between remains on view at Fondazione Prada’s Cisterna in Milan through November 9, 2026, with the Jeju exhibition We, Such Fragile Beings having closed on August 8, 2026 and the Kunst Museum Winterthur show scheduled to open on October 3, 2026.
Key facts on Mona Hatoum
- Artist: Mona Hatoum
- Medium / Genre: Installation and sculpture with mixed media
- Born: 1952, Beirut, Lebanon
- Place(s) of practice: Lives and works in London
- Active since: Active since the mid 1970s, with early video and performance works in the 1980s
- Key work groups: Homebound, Remains of the Day, Hot Spot, Over my Dead Body
- Current/last exhibition: Over, under and in between, Fondazione Prada, Milan, January 29 – November 9, 2026
- Major collections: Centre Pompidou (Paris), Tate (London), Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art (Helsinki), Menil Collection (Houston)
- Awards: Praemium Imperiale (2019), Hiroshima Art Prize (2017), Joan Miró Prize (2011)
- Next date: October 3, 2026 – January 31, 2027, exhibition Mona Hatoum at Kunst Museum Winterthur
Frequently asked questions about Mona Hatoum
Where can Mona Hatoum’s work be seen in 2026?
In 2026, Mona Hatoum’s project Over, under and in between is on view at Fondazione Prada’s Cisterna in Milan from January 29 to November 9, while the group exhibition We, Such Fragile Beings at Podo Museum on Jeju Island ran until August 8.
What is the focus of Mona Hatoum’s Cisterna exhibition in Milan?
The Cisterna project in Milan stages instability through suspended hand-blown glass spheres, a vast glass world map underfoot and a large aluminium lattice that repeatedly buckles and rises, inviting visitors into a physically and psychologically charged environment.
Which major awards has Mona Hatoum received?
White Cube’s biography lists the Praemium Imperiale in 2019, the 10th Hiroshima Art Prize in 2017 and the Joan Miró Prize in 2011 among Hatoum’s key international honors, alongside earlier nominations such as the Turner Prize.
This article was produced with a.i. support and editorially reviewed. All statements without guarantee; auction results, exhibition dates and awards may change at short notice.
