Venice Biennial 2026 - Part I (Giardini)
10:34 p.m.In October 2024, Koyo Kouoh accepted the Venice Biennale's invitation to curate the 61st International Art Exhibition. By early May 2025, she had already defined the theoretical framework, selected the participants and artworks. The authors of the catalogue, graphic identity, and exhibition architecture had also been determined. Koyo Kouoh intended to present all of this on May 20th, but she passed away unexpectedly ten days earlier, on May 10th, 2025. The Venice Biennale then decided to proceed with the exhibition according to her plans, together with the curatorial team she herself had appointed.
While the 61st Biennale is based on Koyo Kouoh's concepts, it is also a tribute to her, resulting in one of the most poetic exhibitions to date.
Untitled (from The Affirmative Happiness of a Green Dot), by Hala Schoukair (2019)
Technique: acrylic on canvas
Flower, by María Magdalena Campos-Pons (2026)
Material: resin
In Giardini, visitors are invited to connect with the earth and life through a hopeful message of comfort and transcendence. Commentary on world events and current crises is absent; instead, the emphasis is on reconnecting with the natural habitat and the role of art in society: emotion, visuality, and sensory experience. Editors and critics agree that it is diplomatic and healing, and it's true: those of us fortunate enough to experience it firsthand left feeling comforted, as if we had received a hug from a dear friend. What predominates? Flowers as a recurring motif, for example, the giant orchid by María Magdalena Campos-Pons, among others.
(To be continued...)
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