Kira Freije: Unspeak the Chorus

Modern Art Oxford presents Unspeak the Chorus, the Turner Prize nominated solo exhibition by British artist Kira Freije (b.1985, lives and works in London), featuring a new body of work co-commissioned with The Hepworth Wakefield, in collaboration with KINDL, Berlin.

The exhibition is Freije’s first major solo presentation in the UK, bringing together around twenty hand-welded, life-size metal figures, with the artist expanding her practice through the inclusion of animals and textiles. The resulting work transforms the Upper Gallery into an immersive and emotionally charged environment in which human and animal worlds meet.

Freije’s hand-welded metal figures, arranged in intimate groupings, suggest fragments of a story without ever resolving into a fixed narrative. United by a palpable sense of kinship, the figures appear at once connected and self-contained – celebrating, loving, grieving, guiding, resting, reaching and exhaling. While subtle interactions unfold between the sculptures, Freije deliberately leaves the scene open, inviting viewers to bring their own interpretations and emotional responses to the work.

To create her life-size sculptures, Freije casts her own hands and feet in aluminium before constructing each figure from the ground up. Welding strips of steel together in a process akin to drawing an outline in space, she builds skeletal forms that are at once delicate and robust. Faces, or fragments of faces, are cast from people close to her; fabric, found materials and hand-blown glass elements are incorporated to complete materially layered scenes that combine strength and vulnerability.

Developed in collaboration with lighting designer Matt Daw, Unspeak the Chorus responds directly to the distinctive architecture of Modern Art Oxford’s Upper Gallery, using atmospheric lighting and staging to heighten the emotional presence of the sculptures.

An alumna of the Ruskin School of Art, University of Oxford, Freije returns to the city with a significant new body of work at a pivotal moment in her career.

Kira Freije: Unspeak the Chorus runs from 23 May – 16 August 2026 in Upper Gallery 1 at Modern Art Oxford. A solo exhibition by Olivia Plender: Little Fennel’s Complaint, will also be on view in Upper Galleries 2 and 3.

ENDS

Notes for Editors

For media enquiries contact:

Rob Power, [email protected]

About Kira Freije

Kira Freije (b.1985) lives and works in London. Freije graduated from the Ruskin School of Art, University of Oxford, in 2011. Working primarily in steel, aluminium, glass and textile, Freije creates life-size sculptural installations that explore human relationships, emotional states and embodied experience. Her recent exhibition Unspeak The Chorus was presented at The Hepworth Wakefield in 2025 and received critical attention in publications including Vogue, Frieze and Plaster. She is represented by The Approach, London.

Kira Freije: Unspeak the Chorus is co-commissioned by Modern Art Oxford and The Hepworth Wakefield, in collaboration with KINDL – Centre for Contemporary Art, Berlin. The presentation for Oxford is made possible thanks to the Kira Freije Exhibition Circle led by Modern Art Oxford Patron, Marcelle Joseph with the generous support of Bell Cohen, Emma & Fred Goltz, Frank Krikhaar, the Hitchin family, and Matt & Oksana Symonds.

About Modern Art Oxford

Located in one of the world’s great cities of learning, Modern Art Oxford is a leading contemporary art space with an international reputation for innovative and ambitious programming. We promote creativity in all its visual forms as an agent of social change. Our programmes, both in person and online, are shaped by a belief in dialogue between contemporary art and ideas and celebrate the relevance of contemporary visual culture to society today.

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Modern Art Oxford is supported by Arts Council England, Oxford City Council and Lavazza.