For many years, the Venice Biennale was primarily associated with the main exhibitions at the Giardini and the Arsenale. In recent years, however, the city’s parallel exhibitions have gained equal prominence, attracting nearly as much attention as the Biennale itself. These large-scale shows, hosted by foundations, private collections, and historic palaces, are now seen as a natural extension of the Biennale program; the art world anticipates these exhibitions each edition with nearly the same excitement as the pavilions themselves.
The 2026 Biennale program, spread across different points of Venice, once again highlights this trend. Alongside the Pinault Collection exhibitions at Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana, the Transforming Energy exhibition at the Gallerie dell’Accademia—marking Marina Abramović’s 80th birthday—the first installment of Peggy Guggenheim in London: The Making of a Collector at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Anish Kapoor’s site-specific abstract installations, and Amoako Boafo’s contemporary Black portraiture represent key stops that take the Biennale experience beyond the pavilions.
Below is a selection of the most notable parallel exhibitions to visit in Venice during the 2026 Biennale.
Jenny Saville
Ca’ Pesaro – Galleria Internazionale d’Arte Moderna
28 March – 22 November 2026
This is British painter Jenny Saville’s first major exhibition in Venice, presenting her practice from the 1990s to the present through approximately thirty paintings. Renowned for her radical approach to representing the body in figurative painting, Saville is one of the artists who has forged a new visual language in contemporary painting, particularly through her large-scale canvases.
The exhibition at Ca’ Pesaro places Saville’s monumental figures in dialogue with the legacy of Titian, Tintoretto, and other Venetian masters within the museum’s permanent collection. The final section of the show features new works created in response to Venice, allowing Saville’s practice to directly engage with the city’s historical painting traditions.
Joseph Kosuth
Casa dei Tre Oci
28 March – 22 November 2026
Dedicated to one of conceptual art’s pioneers, this exhibition focuses on Joseph Kosuth’s practice centered on language, meaning, and representation. Since the 1960s, Kosuth has explored the relationship of art to ideas rather than objects, and his text-based works position him as a central figure in conceptual art. At Casa dei Tre Oci, the exhibition brings together site-specific installations alongside selected works spanning Kosuth’s long career. Produced in collaboration with Berggruen Arts & Culture, the show invites viewers to reconsider his philosophically inflected practice within Venice’s historical context.
Michael Armitage
Palazzo Grassi
29 March 2026 – 10 January 2027
Organized by the Pinault Collection, this exhibition gathers significant works from the last decade by Michael Armitage, one of contemporary painting’s leading figures. The Kenya-born artist merges African and European cultures in his work, addressing history and social issues with a distinctive visual language. Through large-scale canvases and a vibrant palette, Armitage blends figurative and abstract elements, taking viewers on both an emotional and visual journey.
Palazzo Grassi’s historic architecture interacts with Armitage’s dynamic and dense scenes. The works transform the perspective of the rooms and spatial perception, creating an environment that draws the viewer into the paintings. The exhibition engages with questions of collective memory, identity, and individual narratives, offering audiences both observational and contemplative participation.
Amar Kanwar
Palazzo Grassi
29 March 2026 – 10 January 2027
This comprehensive exhibition by Indian artist Amar Kanwar examines political and social themes through photography, video, and site-specific installations. Kanwar addresses history, memory, power structures, and social injustice through a quiet yet powerful visual language. Key installations, including The Peacock’s Graveyard, provide visitors with a visually and intellectually intense experience.
Curated in dialogue with Palazzo Grassi’s architecture, the exhibition uses spacious rooms and natural light to integrate Kanwar’s works with the setting. As visitors move through the exhibition, they gain spatial awareness while reflecting deeply on contemporary social issues. Kanwar’s practice transforms art into not only a visual experience but also a tool for awareness and critical inquiry.
Lorna Simpson
Punta della Dogana
29 March 2026 – 22 November 2026
This retrospective brings together paintings, collages, sculptures, and video works by one of contemporary art’s key figures, Lorna Simpson. Simpson is known for her practice exploring identity, memory, gender, and cultural representation. The works on display offer a perspective in which personal and societal experiences intersect visually and conceptually.
The expansive and open spaces of Punta della Dogana allow Simpson’s multidisciplinary works to be experienced fully. Visitors can explore the artist’s reflections on history and culture while engaging with narratives that interrogate both individual and collective memory. The exhibition presents her oeuvre chronologically and thematically, inviting audiences to experience the interplay between art and social critique.
Paulo Nazareth
Punta della Dogana
29 March 2026 – 22 November 2026
This exhibition presents Brazilian artist Paulo Nazareth’s output from the last twenty years, including his performative walks. Nazareth addresses history, identity, migration, borders, and social justice, providing a multilayered experience that prompts reflection on global issues. The exhibition combines his collections, documentation, and site-specific installations.
The spatial characteristics of Punta della Dogana complement Nazareth’s performative and installation-focused works, offering audiences a deeply physical and intellectual experience. The works highlight the connection between individual stories and collective memory, inviting visitors to join the artist on journeys exploring different geographies and cultures. The exhibition establishes a dialogue between space and art, delivering a compelling visual and conceptual experience.
Peggy Guggenheim in London: The Making of a Collector
Peggy Guggenheim Collection
25 April – 19 October 2026
The first installment of Peggy Guggenheim in London: The Making of a Collector, which focuses on the formative years in London that played a decisive role in shaping Peggy Guggenheim’s identity as a collector, will be on view at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection throughout the Biennale season.
Through her Guggenheim Jeune gallery in London in 1938–39, Guggenheim supported leading figures of modern art, introducing prominent European avant-garde artists to the international art scene during this brief yet intense period. Bringing together approximately one hundred works, the exhibition revisits the development of Guggenheim’s vision as a collector and her role in the history of modern art. Visitors are thus witness not only to the evolution of a collection but also to the formation of an international cultural network that reshaped the direction of 20th-century art.
Curated by Gražina Subelytė and Simon Grant, the exhibition will continue its international journey following its presentation in Venice:
- Royal Academy of Arts, London — 21 November 2026 – 14 March 2027
- Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York — 16 April 2027 – 12 September 2027
Nigel Cooke — Bad Habits
Fondazione Querini Stampalia
5 May – 22 November 2026
This exhibition presents British painter Nigel Cooke’s recent works in dialogue with Venice’s historical architecture. Known for paintings oscillating between figurative and abstract elements, Cooke often incorporates mythological imagery, pop culture references, and historical motifs within the same compositions.
Bad Habits situates Cooke’s visual language in a new context, spreading paintings, drawings, and site-specific interventions across the museum’s galleries. Querini Stampalia’s spaces, renowned for Carlo Scarpa’s architectural interventions, provide a dramatic stage for Cooke’s densely layered compositions.
Anish Kapoor
Palazzo Manfrin
5 May – 9 August 2026
Held in the 16th-century Palazzo Manfrin in Venice’s Cannaregio district, this exhibition brings together sculptures, architectural models, and large-scale installations spanning Anish Kapoor’s fifty-year career. Kapoor’s practice, often conceived at architectural scale, revolves around notions of void, reflection, and perception. His stainless-steel mirrored sculptures, pigment-coated surfaces, and immersive installations create striking encounters with the palazzo’s historical architecture.
Significant sketches and models are also on display, revealing the conceptual and formal development behind Kapoor’s monumental projects.
Marina Abramović — Transforming Energy
Gallerie dell’Accademia di Venezia
6 May – 19 October 2026
One of the most influential figures in performance art, Marina Abramović marks a first in Venice: she is the first living female artist to be invited for a major exhibition at the Gallerie dell’Accademia. Dedicated to her 80th birthday, Transforming Energy presents Abramović’s performances, videos, and installations in dialogue with Renaissance masters.
At the exhibition’s center, the juxtaposition of Abramović and Ulay’s 1983 Pietà performance with Titian’s Pietà painting forms a powerful visual conversation. Interactive works such as Transitory Objects allow visitors to engage physically with stone and crystal forms, experiencing directly the “energy transfer” Abramović describes.
The exhibition also includes her Balkan Baroque video, which won the Golden Lion at the 1997 Venice Biennale.
Amoako Boafo
Museo di Palazzo Grimani
6 May – 22 November 2026
Ghanaian artist Amoako Boafo’s first solo exhibition in Italy is staged in the second-floor galleries of the Renaissance-era Palazzo Grimani. Known for paintings exploring identity, representation, and style, Boafo has quickly risen in the international art scene with portraits of Black figures rendered through vibrant colors and finger-painted techniques. The new works created for this exhibition draw inspiration from the palazzo’s architectural details and Venice’s painting tradition, establishing a striking visual dialogue between Boafo’s contemporary Black portraiture and the city’s historical artistic heritage.
Dale Chihuly
Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti and outdoor installations
5 May – 14 November 2026
One of the most renowned names in glass art, Dale Chihuly returns to Venice with both an indoor exhibition and monumental public glass sculptures. At the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, his colorful organic-inspired glass works are placed within the historic galleries, while large-scale outdoor installations appear across the city. In Venice, where glassmaking has been synonymous with Murano for centuries, Chihuly’s works offer a new perspective on the relationship between traditional craft and contemporary sculpture.
Lee Ufan
San Marco Art Centre, Venice
9 May 2026 – 22 November 2026
Presented by the Dia Art Foundation at SMAC Venice (San Marco Art Centre), this comprehensive exhibition brings together approximately seven decades of Lee Ufan’s practice, which explores harmony, emptiness, and the relationship between objects and space. Situated in the context of Japanese Mono-ha and Korean Dansaekhwa, Lee investigates the sensory and conceptual interaction between objects and their environment. Large-scale installations, site-specific works, and new productions invite the viewer into a dialogue between time, meditation, and perception, harmonizing with SMAC Venice’s architecture and spatial flow.
Ding Yi – Cosmotechnics: Ding Yi as a Planetary Code
Fondazione Querini Stampalia, Venice
9 May 2026 – 22 November 2026
This major presentation of Shanghai-based artist Ding Yi is hosted at Fondazione Querini Stampalia as part of the 61st Venice Biennale. The exhibition, titled Cosmotechnics, surveys Ding Yi’s production from the 1980s to the present, focusing on his signature “Appearance of Crosses” motif. Twelve newly produced large-scale panels, two stone steles, and historical works trace the evolution of the artist’s visual language.
The space, designed in dialogue with Carlo Scarpa’s architectural textures, functions as a “visual forest,” offering visitors a rhythmic, meditative walking experience reminiscent of traditional Chinese gardens, with new compositional discoveries unfolding at every step.
Click here to explore our detailed feature on the 61st Venice Biennale, curated by Koyo Kouoh with the theme ‘In Minor Keys’.
Cover Image: Lorna Simpson instalaltion image. Photo: James Wang