Image: Tate Modern, London
Aleksandra Kasuba’s ‘Shelters for the Senses’, the first UK museum exhibition devoted to the Lithuanian-American artist’s work, remains on view at Tate St Ives through 4 October 2026. Organised by Tate St Ives in collaboration with the Lithuanian National Museum of Art, the exhibition brings together seven decades of Kasuba’s artistic practice in the Cornish coastal town of St Ives.
The presentation traces Kasuba’s development from early paintings and mosaics to later sculptures and architectural designs. Tate describes the exhibition as an environment of colour, light and sound, with immersive installations intended to engage visitors’ senses. The works also reflect Kasuba’s sustained interest in the natural world, drawing on forms including shells, rocks, vegetation and marine life.
Kasuba was born in Lithuania and left the country after the Second World War, later emigrating to the United States. She settled first in New York and subsequently in New Mexico. Tate’s account of the exhibition places her work within a broader effort to consider the relationship between people and nature, as well as alternative ways of living.
That interest extended to collaborative practice. During the 1960s, Kasuba worked with Experiments in Art and Technology, or E.A.T., a collective involving artists, engineers and scientists. Tate presents the collaboration as part of Kasuba’s belief that exchanging ideas could expand the possibilities of creativity and innovation.
A featured work, ‘Spectrum, An Afterthought’, was designed by Kasuba in 1975 and made in 2014. Visitors can travel through the installation via ramps at its entrance and exit, although Tate notes that some wheelchair users may not be able to pass through its central section, whose narrowest point is 67 centimetres. The work includes changing colours and atmospheric sounds, and the gallery warns that its narrow space and sensory effects may cause discomfort for some visitors. An interactive video experience with audio description is available near the exit for visitors who cannot or prefer not to enter the work.
‘Aleksandra Kasuba: Shelters for the Senses’ is presented at Tate St Ives, Porthmeor Beach, St Ives, Cornwall. Admission is £15.50, with entry free for Tate Members; the listed price includes a voluntary donation of £1.50. Support comes from the Aleksandra Kasuba Exhibition Supporters Circle, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, the TAAD Foundation, the Lithuanian Culture Institute and Tate Members. The exhibition closes on 4 October 2026.
