Pablo Larios

At Venice's Portuguese pavilion, planetary tremors drive a mise-en-scène of animal intuition and machine perception View of “Alexandre Estrela: RedSkyFalls,” 2026, Portugal Pavilion, Fondaco Marcello, Venice. In eras of fierce scientific acceleration, artists often rework older, compensatory forms of tactile production. Such atavism couldn’t be further from Alexandre Estrela’s technological vision.

View of the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale 2026. Photo: Alessandro Brasile. These days, it’s not in Berlin, New York, Paris, or Rome that I see the best large-scale group shows of contemporary artists. Go to Budapest, Warsaw, Istanbul, or Riyadh—cities where people have something to demonstrate, something to say beyond decrying gentrification and the cost of housing—and the mega-show suddenly feels vital again.

On the performer's Opening Étude, SEAWORLD VENICE 2026 Florentina Holzinger, Opening Étude, SEAWORLD VENICE 2026, 2026. Performance view, Venice lagoon, May 2026. Photo: Helena Lea Manhartsberger. A DEAD CURATOR. A resigned prize jury. A Biennale president under fire. Furor over Russia and Israel. A political fig leaf at the American pavilion. An artist who dies before her time to shine. This was never going to be a simple year for the art world’s premier biennial.