The Light of Kintera's Life

Have a peek into the eccentric mind of Kristof Kintera.

The Kunsthal contemporary art museum, located in Rotterdam, houses some of the most interesting contemporary exhibitions of quirky and out there art and design. Kristof Kintera is now part of the collections in his new exhibition, ‘Your Light is My Life.’ Through explosive, daring sculptures we get a look into Kintera’s mind, his political and societal views translated into strange and out-of-this-world pieces. However despite his pieces sometimes looking like they are from a different planet the ideas behind them are truly the opposite as he provides us with hidden meanings completely related to the distressed world we live in today. His pieces provoke us to think about how we live in imaginative sculptures all within the concept of his personal life and ideas about the world.


Kintera believes that art must be something that people put effort into finding for themselves which has essentially influenced him to turn the whole museum and the grounds around them into, what could be described as, art hide-and-seek. Pieces are dotted around the park and exterior of the museum as well as pieces at hidden emergency exits making you work to find the creations. From the main room we are transported to a maze-like corridor created by confusing neon yellow walls that change our perspective and have the aim of disrupting our visit into the main hall. This isn’t the only area in which our visit is disrupted as his, sometimes absurd,  sculptures become a confusing puzzle piece for us to solve ourselves.

The main hall is filled with a vast array of strange objects that could be described as a collision of incompatibility yet the ideas behind them do the job in making us think. At first many of these sculptures send a smile to our face as we bask in the irony of his creations but looking closer some become increasingly disturbing and even highly irritating. One example of this is the raven perched on top of the wall overlooking the whole exhibition. At first it is hard to notice his repetitive remarks of visionary phrases such as ‘Just Do It’ and ‘Let’s Make Things Better.’ However as he continues to repeat these for the duration of your stay the catchphrases begin to lose a meaning and you find it difficult to block the creature out. The philosophical insights become an addition to the disruptive noises Kintera has created throughout many of the artworks.

On the more thought provoking side of the pieces displayed is what can be first assumed as a large selection of old lamps and cables hanging in a chaotic manner. Bulbs and spotlights are lit up in vast quantities and although you do not hold the meaning to them yet it is still an impressive collection of electricity. However, what you should be waiting for is the timed dimming of the lights ascending the room into darkness. It is then that you witness the large human figure standing with a halo over their head. The sculpture immediately becomes one of his most monumental and powerful structures, another designed to make you think this time about the subject of unbridled energy consumption. Whilst we admire the amazing creation we are still left thinking of how we are living our life through Kintera’s typical ironic nature and the continuous use of dark humour.