Recommended exhibitions in Venice
Which exhibitions to visit in Venice? Some people miss the fervor, the excitement that the Venice Biennale brings with its enormous artistic offerings, with the possibility of spending entire days immersed in art rushing from one exhibition to the next, let’s face it, sometimes in a very tiring way, there are instead many exhibitions that can be visited in Venice. It is not only during the seven months of the Biennale of Art and Architecture that Venice becomes one of the favorite places for international artists and curators to exhibit and complement its natural beauty and culture, with the added value of also hosting many exhibitions, especially of contemporary art, but the artistic offer is always wide. Here is my personal guide to the exhibitions you can visit in Venice in 2025. This guide is also designed for those who do not normally frequent modern and contemporary art. The list of exhibitions you can visit in Venice will also be updated periodically. In the list of exhibitions to visit, next to the title is marked those that have already endedor have not yet begun.
Exhibitions in museums and galleries
The Strange Life of Things, Tatiana Trouvé – Palazzo Grassi 6/4/’25 – 4/1/’26 (opening soon)
Following her participation in the 2019 group exhibition Places and Signs at Punta della Dogana and after her exhibitions at the Bourse in Paris, the François Pinault Collection is dedicating a monographic exhibition to the French-Italian artist to be held at Palazzo Grassi from April 6 to January 4, 2026.
Thomas Schütte, Punta della Dogana. 6/4/’25- 4/1/’26 (opening soon).
This exhibition explores the flow of motifs in the artist’s major works from the 1970s to the present. Focusing on the exceptional group of works belonging to the Pinault Collection (nearly fifty sculptures) and accompanied by loans from the artist, as well as a hundred or so works on paper, many of which have never been exhibited before, the exhibition traces, in a non-chronological manner, the emergence of forms and their variations, confronting them with the German artist’s practice of drawing, watercolor and printmaking.
Caricatured, sometimes abused, always poignant, Schütte’s figures – the central subject of the Pinault Collection’s works – come to life in clay, wax, ceramic, glass, steel or bronze, either as full-length portraits or as character heads, while remaining anchored in drawing. Reconciling violence and wit, intimacy and theatricality, seriousness and humor, the artist’s singular universe has given him a leading role in art.
ACP – Franchetti Palace 21/2-27/7-’25
Objects and things think in silence, Mattia Moreni
Mattia Bruno Moreni was an artist who spanned the 20th century, adhering to various artistic expressions. His works were exhibited many times at the Biennale between the 1950s and 1972, when he had a monographic room. The 30 paintings in this exhibition dedicated to Mattia Moreni-many of them large in size-trace the artist’s research, from the Cubist-inspired experiments of the 1950s, through the period of Informal Art and the cycle of “Watermelons”-which he presented in his own room at the 1972 Venice Biennale-to a broad exploration of the “Humanoids” phase of his work. With these works, beginning in the 1980s, the artist carries on a lucid and intuitive reflection on the impact of technology and information technology on culture and everyday life.
Bittersweet–Dolceamaro, Graham Sutherland
The “Bittersweet” exhibition dedicated to Graham Sutherland, dubbed the Damien Hirst of his time, is organized under the patronage of the British Embassy in Rome. The exhibition explores themes dear to the artist, such as nature and the animal world, through a selection of oil paintings, watercolors and lithographs chosen from his most famous cycles, including the famous “Bestiary” created for Guillaume Apollinaire’s poetic compositions on animals. Sutherland’s works, always suspended between reality and imagination, approach surrealism and immerse us in what Francesco Arcangeli has called a “magical unease,” characterized by allusive metamorphoses and the tension between opposing forces. These forces, in their unstable balance, create a “mystery” whose solution will never be known. Both exhibitions are curated by Roberta Perazzini Calarota.
Venetian Galleries
What other exhibitions to visit in Venice besides those in museums? This space is dedicated to Venetian art galleries and institutions that are in close relationship with the area.
The Universal form of ONE – Andrea Marchesini
From February 16 to April 27, the exhibition of Veronese artist Andrea Marchesini can be visited at Cantieri Crea del Contemporaneo (Giudecca). The title of the exhibition encapsulates the essence of Andrea Marchesini’s research. The artist brings together the different layers of reality in his works. The works inhabit the space of the old Venetian factory and seductively converse with the viewer. Such practice deeply reflects the processuality and artistic language of an author in perpetual balance between personal and universal, person and mask, in the work, sign and color and assembled elements.
Entering the exhibition space means passing through a corridor in which a series of banners set up in sequence, images, colors and sounds catapult us into an intimate and profound world of our author. The arrangement includes a video projection of the mixed media works, the various convex mirrors of various shapes that dialogue with different materials, formats and large formats hanging on the walls and straight fabrics. His research starts from the Venetian artistic tradition of the 1500s and goes through various eras.The artist uses oil paint, acrylic, plaster, enamel, tar and impasto, embodied images that exude her inner world and her familiar past, which becomes a universal dimension. the exhibition is curated by Martina Cavallarin, with Antonio Caruso and Matteo Scavetta.
Akka Project FOWSKOW MOMENTS, Michael Hailou
Since 21 March, AKKA Project presents Fowskow Moments, a compelling and introspective exhibition by Ethiopian artist Michael Hailu. The show highlights Hailu’s watercolor painting skills, examining themes such as identity, interconnectedness, and the dualities of human existence. Hailu’s artistic philosophy is rooted in the African concept of Ubuntu, meaning “I am because we are.” This principle shapes his creative process, where art becomes a medium for peace, transformation, and collective prosperity.
The name Fowskow comes from Hailu’s childhood, symbolizing a strong community spirit. His art reflects this, emphasizing the inherent meaning of all things. Hailu’s portraits, inspired by the dual colors of King Solomon, capture life’s contrasts—good and evil, light and dark, joy and sorrow—inviting viewers to contemplate the balance of our existence. Hailu’s creative process is fluid and intuitive, allowing each piece to evolve naturally beyond his conscious control. This dynamic interplay between the physical and the invisible, matter and spirit, artist and larger forces, defines his work.
For other artists exhibiting in the gallery : L’arte africana a Venezia: dalla Biennale alle gallerie d’arte (in Italian)
Exhibitions in churches and monastic spaces
OCEAN SPACE – Otras montañas, las que andan sueltas bajo el agua
Nadia Huggins e Tessa Mars 5/4- 2/11/2025
Photographic exhibitions
This space is dedicated to lovers of photographic exhibitions.
Le stanze della Fotografia – San Giorgio Maggiore
Robert Mapplethorpe. The Forms of the Classic 10/4–23/11/2025 (forthcoming opening)
Maurizio Galimberti between Polaroid/Ready Made and Italo Calvino’s American Lessons 10/4-27/7/’25 (forthcoming opening)
Special Events in Venice (ended)
Venice Gallery Weekend, to be held on March 21, 22, and 23, 2025. This event, sponsored by the Venice Galleries View association, will offer a program of vernissages, talks, and special events promoted and hosted by participating galleries.
While this is not the first time the association has organized a shared and widespread initiative, the Venice Gallery Weekend of 2025 represents a new phase for the association. Founded in 2018, Venice Galleries View has grown over the years, welcoming new galleries and participating more and more actively in the Venice arts system. To date, VGV brings together seventeen galleries of research working in the contemporary art system and primary market, and aims to attract the public international art and promote the cultural life of the city, which also develops beyond the physical and temporal boundaries of the Biennale.
FIORELLA PAGOTTO — I am an art historian and a writer, authoring essays on art history and biographies of artists. I also work on the history of architecture and the history of architectural restoration. I have been a guide to the city of Venice and the Venetian villas since 2012, when I passed the Veneto Region exam.