Anish Kapoor
Palazzo Manfrin, Cannaregio
5 May – 9 August 2026
“For a long time I’d been thinking of my work as potential architecture. I’ve always been convinced by the idea that to create new art you have to create new space.” – Anish Kapoor
During the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, Anish Kapoor unveils an ambitious new exhibition at Palazzo Manfrin, a Venetian landmark in Cannaregio with layers of history dating back to the 16th century. The exhibition brings together large-scale installations and architectural models spanning the last 50 years, alongside a series of mirror and stainless-steel works.
Kapoor has become world renowned for making sculptural objects on an architectural scale, and for architecture that exists as sculptural object; from monumental works such as At the Edge of the World (1998) and Descent into Limbo (1992), both included in the show, to the world’s first inflatable concert hall Ark Nova (2013) and the recently opened Monte Sant’Angelo Metro Station in Naples, Italy; the genesis of such monumental works is always the sketchbook and the model.
Erwin Wurm
Museo Fortuny
06 May – 22 November, 2026
The first extensive monographic exhibition in Italy dedicated to the work of Austrian sculptor Erwin Wurm. Throughout his career, Wurm has radically expanded the concept of sculpture, questioning notions of time, mass and surface, abstraction and representation, and for many decades he has used clothing to address sculptural issues. Along this journey, his path has often crossed that of Mariano and Henriette Fortuny.
Curated by Elisabetta Barisoni and Cristina Da Roit
Marina Abramović: ‘Transforming Energy’
Gallerie dell’Accademia di Venezia
6 May – 19 October 2026
Marina Abramović will be the first living woman artist to be honoured with a major exhibition at the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice in 2026. ‘Marina Abramović: Transforming Energy’ will be presented during the 61st Venice Biennale Arte.
The exhibition marks the artist’s 80th birthday and establishes a profound dialogue between her pioneering performance art and the Renaissance masterpieces that have shaped the cultural identity of Venice. Curated by Shai Baitel, Artistic Director of the Modern Art Museum (MAM) Shanghai, in close collaboration with the artist, the exhibition unfolds across both the museum’s permanent collection galleries and its temporary exhibition spaces, a first in the institution’s history, embedding Abramović’s practice within the very heart of Venetian patrimony.
