In my earlier article, I wrote briefly about my basic impression of Venice and my go to to the Arsenale exhibition: Biennale Arte 2026 | A Few Favourites from the Arsenale Trying again on my week in Venice and the Biennale, what I loved most, very similar to throughout the Salone in Milan, was the chance to step into locations which can be often off limits. Furthermore, the journey to every of those areas at all times concerned a stroll by way of charming, lesser identified elements of the town. I can really say that I totally loved Venice. Having been born on a canal in Amsterdam and now dwelling on the islands in Amsterdam’s Jap Docklands, I’ve at all times been surrounded by water; that is undoubtedly one of many the reason why I felt so at dwelling in Venice.
After spending a lot of the day at The Arsenale, the subsequent day we went to The Giardini, the second predominant location of the Biennale. The Giardini is the historic dwelling of the Venice Biennale, the place the primary worldwide artwork exhibition happened in 1895. At first, artists from completely different nations exhibited collectively in a single constructing. Because the Biennale grew, nations started constructing their very own nationwide pavilions, beginning with Belgium in 1907. At this time, the gardens include 29 nationwide pavilions, constructed at completely different occasions and designed by completely different architects.
Every pavilion represents a collaborating nation, which selects its personal artists and curators for the exhibition. This is the reason the pavilions are all completely different: every nation develops its personal exhibition, with its personal topic, method and manner of presenting artwork. The buildings themselves are additionally a part of the expertise, starting from historic buildings to modernist structure. Not each collaborating nation has a pavilion within the Giardini, so others exhibit on the Arsenale or in venues round Venice. I actually liked The Giardini and the completely different kinds of every pavilion.
We visited each pavilion right here, in some we stayed a bit longer, and a few we left after a fast scan. The Dutch pavilion was closed regardless of checking opening days. And the most likely most talked about Austrian pavilion had a two-hour queue, we did arrived simply in time for the efficiency a part of the Austrian Pavilion, the place a feminine performer climbs a rope and makes use of her physique to ring the bell hanging exterior the pavilion. I chosen a number of of my favourites from the Giardini and can begin with my absolute favorite exhibition within the Belgian Pavilion which actually touched me, I filmed nearly your entire efficiency, together with Wietse Tanghe’s stunning singing voice
Extra from the Giardini could be discovered on my Instagram within the Venice Spotlight
Belgium
With IT NEVER SSST, Miet Warlop transforms the Belgian pavilion right into a charged enviornment the place language, music and collective disorientation collide. Plaster phrases flow into by way of the house: carried, handed alongside, dragged and damaged. Musical characters sing and seek for that means inside these unhinged fragments, which collectively kind the lyrics and emotional rating of this exhibition-performance. A gaggle of musicians and dancers transfer by way of a turbulent environment marked by a rising sense of doom. By way of a collection of absurd and bodily rituals, they hold going, resisting resignation and stillness.
This imaginative and prescient of the world mirrors our personal, wavering between despair and the urge to transcend it into one thing significant and extra stunning. Warlop’s excessive performing, energetic and artistic characters grapple with the specter of overload, at occasions revealing their breaking factors. They navigate a spiralling world during which phrases themselves lose stability and sing in direction of that susceptible threshold in a language that’s felt fairly than understood. The pavilion isn’t totally silent, even when the efficiency ends. The phrases left behind resonate as a poetry of chaos. Scattered throughout tribunes that climb the partitions, they stand frozen in time. Like remnants of a prayer wall or a karaoke machine from a vanished civilisation, they await new voices in pursuit of human connection. TXT Biennale official website
Commissioner: Caroline Gennez, Flemish Minister for Welfare and Poverty Discount, Tradition and Equal Alternatives
Curator: Caroline Dumalin (MORPHO)
Exhibitor: Miet Warlop
Brazil
The Brazilian Pavilion presents Comigo ninguém pode, bringing collectively artists Rosana Paulino and Adriana Varejão. The title refers to a plant generally discovered on the entrances of Brazilian properties, the place it’s related to non secular safety. By way of new, historic and beforehand unseen works, the exhibition explores the connection between spirituality, nature and colonial historical past, bringing collectively completely different views on religion, cultural reminiscence and the reinterpretation of colonial histories.
Commissioner: Andrea Pinheiro, President of Fundação Bienal de São Paulo
Curator: Diane Lima
Exhibitors: Rosana Paulino and Adriana Varejão
Japan
The Japanese Pavilion presents Grass Infants, Moon Infants by Ei Arakawa-Nash, bringing collectively artmaking, parenting and collective care. Guests start by holding certainly one of 200 child dolls earlier than transferring by way of the backyard and into the pavilion, the place a sound piece that includes the artist’s twin infants accompanies screens displaying historic and modern movies that discover Japanese identification and diasporic experiences. Close to the exit, guests can change a doll’s diaper and obtain an oracular poem by way of a QR code, linking the act of care to the histories of Japan, america and Asia.
Commissioner: The Japan Basis
Curators: Lisa Horikawa, Mizuki Takahashi
Exhibitor: Ei Arakawa-Nash
A number of random pictures from The Giardini – The French Pavilion
The French Pavilion
Scandinavian Pavilion
American Pavilion… we ran out because it was actually chilly inside due to AC
Collateral occasions and exhibitions
Past the principle exhibition venues on the Giardini and Arsenale, Biennale Arte 2026 additionally extends into Venice by way of a collection of collateral occasions and exhibitions throughout the town. These tasks happen in several settings, from historic palazzi to church buildings and different unbiased venues. I visited two exhibitions exterior the principle Biennale grounds that supplied one other perspective on modern artwork throughout In Minor Keys.
Official. Unofficial. Belarus
The Breath You Maintain explores life in modern Belarus by way of an immersive set up combining scent, sound and motion. Altar candles launch a perfume recalling jail corridors, solid paperwork and unmarked graves, whereas a soundscape by Olga Podgayskaya transforms liturgical music into close to silence. The exhibition additionally contains Style of Nothing, a piece by chef Rasmus Munk, supplied at designated occasions. Along with works by artists Sergey Grinevich, Vladimir Tsesler and Nicolai Khalezin, the exhibition addresses surveillance, censorship and the lack of privateness.
Curators: Daniella Kaliada, Natalia Kaliada
Exhibitors: Sergey Grinevich, Nicolai Khalezin, Vladimir Tsesler, Rasmus Munk
Venue: Chiesa di San Giovanni Evangelista, San Polo 2454
Su Xiaobai
Su Xiaobai’s Alchemical Universe presents 23 lacquer work by Chinese language modern artist Su Xiaobai, spanning works from 2009 to the current, alongside his first lacquer portray made in Fujian in 2003. The exhibition contains twelve works from his latest Niao Niao collection, that includes monochromatic surfaces and delicate tonal variations that recall classical Chinese language ink portray. Utilizing layers of lacquer, pigments and metals, Su explores the fabric qualities of the medium by way of surfaces which can be constructed up after which abraded.
Curator: Stephen Little, Curator of Chinese language Artwork and Head of the Chinese language, Korean, and South and Southeast Asian Artwork
Exhibitor: Su Xiaobai
Venue: Palazzo Soranzo Van Axel, Cannaregio 6099
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