Cornwall

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/04/13-a.-Aleksandra-Kasuba.-Spectrum-An-Afterthought.-1975-2014-1000x667.jpg" alt="Shelters for the Senses, Aleksandra Kasuba" class="wp-image-40328" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/04/13-a.-Aleksandra-Kasuba.-Spectrum-An-Afterthought.-1975-2014-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/04/13-a.-Aleksandra-Kasuba.-Spectrum-An-Afterthought.-1975-2014-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/04/13-a.-Aleksandra-Kasuba.-Spectrum-An-Afterthought.-1975-2014-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/04/13-a.-Aleksandra-Kasuba.-Spectrum-An-Afterthought.-1975-2014.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Aleksandra Kasuba Spectrum, An Afterthought, 1975/2014,&nbsp;Lithuanian NMA, Photo by Antanas Lukšėnas</figcaption></figure>



Think of the work of the artists that made St Ives their home in the 20th century and the themes that emanate: the relationships between art and technology, art and science, and art and natural form. A consideration of imagination, of the juxtaposition of Neolithic&nbsp;and the modern, and of an interest in the space age. 



All of which can be applied to the work of Lithuanian American artist&nbsp;Aleksandra Kasuba (1923-2019), who you&#8217;ve probably never heard of, but you will find familiarity in her work. Kasuba never came to St Ives, but in this first UK museum exhibition, covering seven decades of her wide-ranging career, makes sense in the context of the St Ives artists. From her early paintings and mosaics to her later sculptures and public artworks, including her innovative spatial environments, she was a visionary artist, often inspired by forms found in nature, such as shells, rocks, vegetation and marine life. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-1-1000x667.jpg" alt="First Look: Shelters for the Senses, Aleksandra Kasuba, Tate St Ives" class="wp-image-40554" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-1-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-1.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">details from Kasuba&#8217;s work using beach stones and wooden tiles</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-who-was-aleksandra-kasuba">Who was Aleksandra Kasuba?</h2>



Aleksandra Kasuba was a Lithuanian-born artist, best known for her innovative architectural environments. She married the sculptor, Vytautus Kasuba, in 1944 and they emigrated to the United States in 1947, escaping successive occupations of Lithuania where she spent her early years. She mainly lived in New York and latterly in New Mexico until her death in 2019. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-are-the-main-themes-of-the-exhibition">What are the main themes of the exhibition?</h2>



This exhibition at Tate St Ives shows a range of Kasuba’s sculptures, models, mosaics, paintings, drawings and collages from the collection of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art, where the artist donated her works, including her spatial environments. 



During her time in New York, she designed large-scale mosaics and murals in brick, marble and granite for the interiors and exteriors of public buildings. Among these were the Hideaway Bar in the New York Hilton, where the stones resemble the flint Roman walls that will be familiar to all British schoolchildren, and mosaics created out of bricks, like the relief at Lexington Avenue in New York, and a 4,000 square feet wall in etched granite at the World Trade Centre, which was destroyed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-1-1-1000x667.jpg" alt="First Look: Shelters for the Senses, Aleksandra Kasuba, Tate St Ives" class="wp-image-40553" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-1-1-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-1-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-1-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-1-1.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



Driven by a desire to forge a deeper connection between humanity and the natural world, Kasuba created art that imagined alternative ways of living. Kasuba’s work drew on different disciplines, and in the late 1960s, she collaborated with the Experiments in Art and Technology (EAT) group, made up of artists, engineers and scientists.



Made of tensile fabrics and without right angles, these immersive spaces imagined a more harmonious and peaceful way of living. The artist famously told The New Yorker in 1971 that she wanted to ‘kill the square. Conventional rooms with four walls dictate too much to the people in them. Relationships are different here. People who come here find themselves behaving differently.’



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-1000x667.jpg" alt="Three-dimensional Rug First Look: Shelters for the Senses, Aleksandra Kasuba, Tate St Ives" class="wp-image-40551" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">(L) Urban Jupena with Tate St Ives Director Anne Barlow and Three Dimensional Rug (R) Digital photo of The Group Shelter and Dining sections of Live in Environment featureing Kasuba and the rug 1971.</figcaption></figure>



On show are parts of Kasuba’s Live-In Environment: immersive, contemplative spaces, no longer connected to aspects of Western architecture, which she considered too rigid or dehumanising, which she created inside her New York apartment. The team at Tate managed to track down the original Three-dimensional Rug, designed and made by artist Urban Jupena in 1971. 



Another theme that resonates with St Ives as a location is Kasuba&#8217;s fascination with shells. Both in the concept of shelter, and of the geometric patterns that form in nature, the shell crops up time and time again across her works. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="750" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelter-for-the-senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives--1000x750.jpg" alt="First Look: Shelters for the Senses, Aleksandra Kasuba, Tate St Ives" class="wp-image-40562" style="aspect-ratio:1.3333333333333333;object-fit:cover;width:640px;height:auto" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelter-for-the-senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives--1000x750.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelter-for-the-senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives--800x600.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelter-for-the-senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives--768x576.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelter-for-the-senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives--1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelter-for-the-senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives--2048x1536.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-if-you-ve-only-time-for-a-quick-visit-don-t-miss-these">If you’ve only time for a quick visit, don’t miss these</h2>



The most immediately accessible work that Kasuba made was Spectrum: An Afterthought, 1975. Displayed in its entirety, this is an immersive and sensory experience which you are invited to walk through &#8211; and work really hard not to touch! 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="750" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-imagesIMG_5194-1000x750.jpg" alt="Spectrum: An Afterthought, 1975 at Tate St Ives, where Rachel Buchanan Muddy Cornwall Editor is experiencing colour through smell" class="wp-image-40552" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-imagesIMG_5194-1000x750.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-imagesIMG_5194-800x600.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-imagesIMG_5194-768x576.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-imagesIMG_5194-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-imagesIMG_5194-2048x1536.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



The work is a passageway comprising brightly lit, different coloured zones and is made of aluminium, neon, plastic, plywood, steel and tensile fabric. Sounds of cosmic wind arranged by composer Paulius Kilbauskas, and scents created by perfumer Danutė Pajaujis Anonis, mirror the different colours of the sculpture. The work invites you to consider colour with all of your senses, reflecting Kasuba’s interest in synaesthesia.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="750" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-imagesIMG_5169-1000x750.jpg" alt="Spectrum: An Afterthought, 1975 at Tate St Ives, where Rachel Buchanan Muddy Cornwall Editor" class="wp-image-40560" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-imagesIMG_5169-1000x750.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-imagesIMG_5169-800x600.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-imagesIMG_5169-768x576.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-imagesIMG_5169-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-imagesIMG_5169-2048x1536.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



Through out Kasuba&#8217;s work is the little figure &#8216;the walker&#8217;. Representing freedom of movement perhaps, or herself, or perhaps something more spiritual, this little figure is fun to spot throughout: from the computer game in the first room inspired by one of her works, to the mosaics, and her much later series of paintings which could be a children&#8217;s story book, it is a fun challenge to see where it materialises.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="800" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/2.-Aleksandra-Kasuba.-A-Life.-Stepping-out.-IV-1000x800.jpg" alt="First Look: Shelters for the Senses, Aleksandra Kasuba, Tate St Ives - Aleksandra Kasuba. A Life. Stepping out. IV" class="wp-image-40563" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/2.-Aleksandra-Kasuba.-A-Life.-Stepping-out.-IV-1000x800.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/2.-Aleksandra-Kasuba.-A-Life.-Stepping-out.-IV-800x640.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/2.-Aleksandra-Kasuba.-A-Life.-Stepping-out.-IV-768x615.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/2.-Aleksandra-Kasuba.-A-Life.-Stepping-out.-IV-1536x1229.jpg 1536w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/2.-Aleksandra-Kasuba.-A-Life.-Stepping-out.-IV-2048x1639.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Aleksandra Kasuba. A Life. Stepping out. IV</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-muddy-verdict">The Muddy Verdict</h2>



Super interesting exhibition and great to see the Tate branching out in the scope of their exhibitions; the themes explored here will lead well into Tate&#8217;s winter retrospective, showcasing the works of Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, one of Britain’s most significant 20th century artists. I loved Kasuba&#8217;s imagination and creativity and the way she explored this through her work; her fascination with texture and space reminded me both of Naum Gabo. Other works brought to mind the surrealism of <a href="https://cornwall.muddystilettos.co.uk/things-to-do/arts-culture-things-to-do/first-look-ithell-colquhoun-between-worlds-tate-st-ives/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ithell Colquhon</a>. 



Good for: As I always say, good for anyone wanting a bit of culture alongside their beach trip, and to expand their knowledge. 



Not for: Once again, no seascapes here; if you want art work by artists who’ve lived in St Ives there are plenty in the other Tate St Ives galleries.



The damage: Free to members and locals pass holders (£10 with proof of a TR or PL postcode) or £15.50



Tate St Ives, Porthmeor Beach, Saint Ives TR26 1TG



<a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-st-ives/aleksandra-kasuba" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Shelters for the Senses, Aleksandra Kasuba</a> runs from 2 May &#8211; 4 October 2026



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="750" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-imagesIMG_5156-1000x750.jpg" alt="Aleksandra Kasuba. Tate St Ives. Shells I - II, 1983 -84" class="wp-image-40561" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-imagesIMG_5156-1000x750.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-imagesIMG_5156-800x600.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-imagesIMG_5156-768x576.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-imagesIMG_5156-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/05/Shelters-for-the-Senses-Aleksandra-Kasuba-Tate-St-Ives-RB-imagesIMG_5156-2048x1536.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Aleksandra Kasuba Shells I &#8211; II, 1983 -84</figcaption></figure>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />







<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-in-the-mood-for-more">IN THE MOOD FOR MORE?</h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://cornwall.muddystilettos.co.uk/things-to-do/arts-culture-things-to-do/how-to-find-cornwalls-stone-circles-lally-macbeth-matthew-shaw-stone-club/">Cornwall’s stone circles: My fave places, Lally MacBeth &amp; Matthew Shaw, Stone Club</a></li>



<li><a href="https://cornwall.muddystilettos.co.uk/things-to-do/arts-culture-things-to-do/arts-and-culture-planner-cornwall-april-may-june-2026/">Bookmark these: arts and culture planner for April, May and June 2026</a></li>



<li><a href="https://cornwall.muddystilettos.co.uk/things-to-do/film-tv/where-was-rose-of-nevada-filmed-in-cornwall/">Where was Rose of Nevada filmed in Cornwall?</a></li>
</ul>

First Look: Shelters for the Senses, Aleksandra Kasuba, Tate St Ives

You may also like