Exhibitions in Venice
October 2026
October 2026 at a glance: 0 exhibitions opened, 6 closed, and 30 more were on view across the city.
Closed in October
RHEA. Sull'orlo dell'immagine by Agne Raceviciute4 OctFondazione Querini StampaliaFreePast
For Venice Glass Week, Agne Raceviciute explores alchemy through photography and Murano glass, shown in Wonder Q and at Casa Venezia.
Pellestrina isola sottile6 OctFondazione Querini StampaliaPast
Anton Giulio Onofri's winter photographs of the lagoon island of Pellestrina; the summer series continues at Galleria 200C on the Giudecca.
Nature Speaks. Listening for Rights of Nature in Venice and Europe11 OctOcean Space (Chiesa di San Lorenzo)FreePast
The Research Room becomes a Policy Lab on the Rights of Nature movement and the Venice Lagoon, with documentaries, activist props and research materials.
Tide of Returns11 OctOcean Space (Chiesa di San Lorenzo)FreePast
The Repatriates Collective fills the church with a sand dune of shell figures, ghost nets, video and sound on repatriation, Indigenous knowledge and the ocean.
Marina Abramović: Transforming Energy18 OctGallerie dell'AccademiaPast
The first major show here by a living woman artist: Abramović's performance works, interactive Transitory Objects and new commissions set among Renaissance masterpieces.
Peggy Guggenheim in London: The Making of a Collector19 OctPeggy Guggenheim CollectionPast
Peggy Guggenheim's formative UK years and her London gallery Guggenheim Jeune (1938-39), which gave Kandinsky his first London solo show.
Was on view in October
The Tarbouche. When an Accessory Becomes a Symbolto 8 NovPalazzo Mocenigo – Museum of Textiles and CostumePast
Lebanese artist Mouna Rebeiz sets the tarboosh on monumental female nudes, using the traditional headgear to question femininity, beauty and the hidden meaning of accessories.
The Silks of Lucio Andrichto 11 NovPalazzo Mocenigo – Museum of Textiles and Costume
Silk panels by Lucio Andrich (1927-2003), pieced from Missoni and Como fabric offcuts and hand-stitched by Burano embroiderer Maria Tagliapietra: Dolomite legends to lagoon fauna.
Venice Pavilion: Note Persistentito 22 NovLa Biennale di Venezia (Giardini & Arsenale)
Curated by Giovanna Zabotti, a lagoon-inspired show with Dardust, Paolo Fantin, Ilya and Emilia Kabakov and Alberto Scodro, opening on a reflecting pool of underwater "notes".
Erwin Wurm. Dreamersto 22 NovPalazzo Fortuny (Museo Fortuny)
First major Italian retrospective of Austrian sculptor Erwin Wurm: One Minute Sculptures, anthropomorphic objects and the body as sculpture, blending humour and philosophy.
Alfred Eisenstaedt. La fotografia era nell'ariato 22 NovMuseo Storico Navale
A century through the lens of the Life photojournalist behind V-J Day in Times Square, from 1930s Europe to portraits of Einstein and Marilyn Monroe. Curated by Monica Poggi.
British Pavilion: Predicting History: Testing Translation – Lubaina Himidto 22 NovLa Biennale di Venezia (Giardini & Arsenale)
Lubaina Himid's large multi-panel paintings of architects, boatbuilders and tailors debating whether to move or stay probe belonging and making a home somewhere new.
French Pavilion: Comme Saturne – Yto Barradato 22 NovLa Biennale di Venezia (Giardini & Arsenale)
Yto Barrada draws on the long history of textile work in a sequence of environments: suspended shapes, a Saturn room of folded wool, and stalling machines.
Cosmotechnics: Ding Yi as a Planetary Codeto 22 NovFondazione Querini Stampalia
Shanghai abstractionist Ding Yi shows new black-and-white paintings and stone steles from his Appearance of Crosses series, curated by Cramerotti and Scalera.
EMPORION – Andrea Vallerito 22 NovMuseo Storico Navale
Paintings and sculptures by Venetian-born, Greek-adopted artist Andrea Valleri retrace ancient Mediterranean trade routes, fusing classical antiquity with Pop Art.
Corpus serialisto 22 NovCa' Pesaro – International Gallery of Modern ArtFree
Peruvian artist Nicolás Lamas assembles found objects and fragments into sculptures and installations probing how systems of classification shape what we see.
Amoako Boafoto 22 NovMuseo di Palazzo Grimani
Ghanaian painter Amoako Boafo's first solo show in Italy: new finger-painted portraits in dialogue with Venetian portraiture, on the palazzo's second floor.
Bizhan Bassiri. Principe. Il Nottambulo del Pensiero Magmaticoto 22 NovMuseo Correr
Bizhan Bassiri's recent and emblematic works in the Sala delle Quattro Porte, with ninety images of artists from the 15th to 21st centuries in a suspended, stepped display.
Italian Pavilion: Con te con tutto – Chiara Camonito 22 NovLa Biennale di Venezia (Giardini & Arsenale)
Chiara Camoni fills the Tese delle Vergini at the Arsenale with 24 life-sized sculptures woven from plants, flowers, plastics and debris, curated by Cecilia Canziani.
Nigel Cooke: Bad Habitsto 22 NovFondazione Querini Stampalia
British painter Nigel Cooke's first solo show in Italy, staged during the 2026 Biennale in the library's portego, transformed into an artist's studio.
German Pavilion: Ruin – Henrike Naumann & Sung Tieuto 22 NovLa Biennale di Venezia (Giardini & Arsenale)
Henrike Naumann and Sung Tieu use vanished East German sites as blueprints; Tieu wraps the facade in a trompe-l'oeil mosaic of a ruined Berlin housing block.
Spiral Economy. Charrière and Canovato 22 NovMuseo Correr
Julian Charrière's works in dialogue with Canova's marbles in the Canova Galleries, on stone, geological memory and deep time.
Jenny Saville a Ca' Pesaroto 22 NovCa' Pesaro – International Gallery of Modern Art
First major Venice show of British painter Jenny Saville: 30+ paintings and drawings from the 1990s to today, ending with new works made in homage to the city.
US Pavilion: Call Me the Breeze – Alma Allento 22 NovLa Biennale di Venezia (Giardini & Arsenale)
Alma Allen's biomorphic sculptures in walnut burl, volcanic rock, Yule marble and bronze explore elevation and transformation of matter, in the Giardini's US Pavilion.
Lorna Simpson. Third Personto 22 NovPunta della Dogana
Lorna Simpson's largest European show in over a decade: about fifty paintings, collages, sculptures, installations and films on memory, representation and identity.
Leiko Ikemura. TransLucent — La forma della luceto 22 NovGallerie dell'Accademia
Leiko Ikemura's glass sculptures placed among the permanent collection, in dialogue with masters from Paolo Veneziano to Giambattista Tiepolo.
Japan Pavilion: Grass Babies, Moon Babies – Ei Arakawa-Nashto 22 NovLa Biennale di Venezia (Giardini & Arsenale)
For the pavilion's 70th anniversary, Ei Arakawa-Nash merges art and parenting: visitors carry one of 200 baby dolls through the gardens and Yoshizaka's building.
In Minor Keys – 61st International Art Exhibitionto 22 NovLa Biennale di Venezia (Giardini & Arsenale)
Koyo Kouoh's Biennale Arte 2026, completed by her team after her 2025 death: 110 artists across the Giardini, Arsenale and Venice, tuned to earth, life and quiet signals.
Paulo Nazareth. Algebrato 22 NovPunta della Dogana
Brazilian artist Paulo Nazareth fills the former customs house with twenty years of work tracing colonial fractures, threaded by a line of salt outlining a ghost slave ship.
Helter Skelter: Arthur Jafa and Richard Princeto 23 NovFondazione Prada Venezia (Ca' Corner della Regina)
Nancy Spector curates 50+ works by Arthur Jafa and Richard Prince, two image scavengers who mine American pop culture. Includes explicit content.
A Lace for Venice 2026to 6 Jan 2027Palazzo Mocenigo – Museum of Textiles and Costume
43 works from the 12th national lacemaking competition, in needle and bobbin lace on the theme of flowers and nature, from traditional patterns to contemporary takes.
Michael Armitage. The Promise of Changeto 10 Jan 2027Palazzo Grassi
45 paintings and over 100 studies by the Kenyan-British painter, whose works on Ugandan bark cloth weave East African politics, violence, migration and dreamlike visions.
La Tua Perla per Venezia 2026to 10 Jan 2027Museo del Vetro (Murano Glass Museum)
Finalist works from the international Venetian glass bead competition, shown in the museum's Venetian Bead Room; visitors can vote for their favourite bead.
Amar Kanwar. Co-travellersto 10 Jan 2027Palazzo Grassi
Two multimedia installations by Indian artist Amar Kanwar, The Torn First Pages and The Peacock's Graveyard: poetic, political meditations on justice, mortality and impermanence.
Nel segno di Venezia: The Alessandro Favaretto Rubelli Donationto 11 Jan 2027Ca' Rezzonico – Museo del Settecento Veneziano
29 drawings from a recent donation, from Palma il Giovane's 16th century to Carlevarijs, Ricci, Canaletto and Tiepolo, shown in the first-floor portego.
BABEL - Marco Toso Borellato 30 Mar 2027Museo del Vetro (Murano Glass Museum)
About twenty new works by Murano artist Marco Toso Borella, scratched into gold leaf on glass, on incommunicability in an age of social media and AI.
Image credits
36
- RHEA. Sull'orlo dell'immagine by Agne RaceviciuteCourtesy of Fondazione Querini Stampalia
- Pellestrina isola sottileCourtesy of Fondazione Querini Stampalia
- Nature Speaks. Listening for Rights of Nature in Venice and EuropeCourtesy of Ocean Space (Chiesa di San Lorenzo)
- Tide of ReturnsPhoto: Britten Syd Andrews
- Marina Abramović: Transforming EnergyMarco Anelli / Gallerie dell'Accademia di Venezia
- Peggy Guggenheim in London: The Making of a CollectorCourtesy of Peggy Guggenheim Collection
- The Tarbouche. When an Accessory Becomes a SymbolCourtesy of Palazzo Mocenigo – Museum of Textiles and Costume
- The Silks of Lucio AndrichCourtesy of Palazzo Mocenigo – Museum of Textiles and Costume
- Venice Pavilion: Note PersistentiCourtesy of La Biennale di Venezia (Giardini & Arsenale)
- Erwin Wurm. DreamersPhoto Markus Gradwohl
- Alfred Eisenstaedt. La fotografia era nell'ariaCourtesy of Museo Storico Navale
- British Pavilion: Predicting History: Testing Translation – Lubaina HimidCourtesy of La Biennale di Venezia (Giardini & Arsenale)
- French Pavilion: Comme Saturne – Yto BarradaCourtesy of La Biennale di Venezia (Giardini & Arsenale)
- Cosmotechnics: Ding Yi as a Planetary Code© Ding Yi. Courtesy Lisson Gallery and ShanghART Gallery
- EMPORION – Andrea ValleriCourtesy of Museo Storico Navale
- Corpus serialisStudio Nicolás Lamas. Copyright: Nicolás Lamas, courtesy Max Goelitz.
- Amoako BoafoCourtesy of Museo di Palazzo Grimani
- Bizhan Bassiri. Principe. Il Nottambulo del Pensiero MagmaticoCourtesy of Museo Correr
- Italian Pavilion: Con te con tutto – Chiara CamoniCourtesy of La Biennale di Venezia (Giardini & Arsenale)
- Nigel Cooke: Bad Habits© Nigel Cooke, courtesy Pace Gallery
- German Pavilion: Ruin – Henrike Naumann & Sung TieuCourtesy of La Biennale di Venezia (Giardini & Arsenale)
- Spiral Economy. Charrière and CanovaCourtesy of Museo Correr
- Jenny Saville a Ca' PesaroCourtesy of Ca' Pesaro – International Gallery of Modern Art
- US Pavilion: Call Me the Breeze – Alma AllenCourtesy of La Biennale di Venezia (Giardini & Arsenale)
- Lorna Simpson. Third PersonCourtesy of Punta della Dogana
- Leiko Ikemura. TransLucent — La forma della luce© Leiko Ikemura. Photo: Jörg von Bruchhausen
- Japan Pavilion: Grass Babies, Moon Babies – Ei Arakawa-NashCourtesy of La Biennale di Venezia (Giardini & Arsenale)
- In Minor Keys – 61st International Art ExhibitionCourtesy of La Biennale di Venezia (Giardini & Arsenale)
- Paulo Nazareth. AlgebraCourtesy of Punta della Dogana
- Helter Skelter: Arthur Jafa and Richard PrincePh. Andrea Rossetti, Courtesy Fondazione Prada
- A Lace for Venice 2026Courtesy of Palazzo Mocenigo – Museum of Textiles and Costume
- Michael Armitage. The Promise of ChangePhoto by Tom Jamieson © Michael Armitage. Courtesy the artist and David Zwirner
- La Tua Perla per Venezia 2026Courtesy of Museo del Vetro (Murano Glass Museum)
- Amar Kanwar. Co-travellersCourtesy of Palazzo Grassi
- Nel segno di Venezia: The Alessandro Favaretto Rubelli DonationCourtesy of Ca' Rezzonico – Museo del Settecento Veneziano
- BABEL - Marco Toso BorellaCourtesy of Museo del Vetro (Murano Glass Museum)
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A short note now and then when something new opens worth your time.