Biennale 2026: Chiara Camoni at Padiglione Italia — The Aesthetics of

Chiara Camoni at Padiglione Italia: an artwork about care

Con te con tutto, curated by Cecilia Canziani, is one of the main projects at Padiglione Italia in the Arsenale for Biennale 2026. The installation creates a relational space where sculpture becomes a setting for contemplation and encounter rather than a mere object on display.

Concept and materials

Camoni employs humble and recovered materials — clay, plastics, vegetation and industrial scraps — elevating forms that sit between human, animal and sacred. Her approach, often described as site-specific sculpture, emphasizes handcraft and a direct relationship with the material, answering a growing demand for more ethical and craft-aware collecting practices.

Exhibition layout

The pavilion unfolds as a landscape divided into two mirrored zones:

• La Prima Tesa (The Silent Wood): a dimly lit area hosting twenty-four ceramic figures, ritual and hieratic, modeled with traditional techniques and integrated with natural elements and anthropized objects.
• La Seconda Tesa (Human Time): a bright zone featuring an evolving architecture — floors, seats and corridors emerging from the ground — where sculpture contains and displays made or found objects, blurring the line between art and craft.

Dialogues and critical positioning

The Dialogues section, curated by Fiammetta Griccioli and Lucia Aspesi, places Camoni’s work alongside 20th-century and contemporary masters such as Fausto Melotti, Marisa Merz and Medardo Rosso. This alignment reinforces the historical continuity with Italian sculptural traditions and provides collectors and professionals with a clearer critical framework.

Interdisciplinarity and collaborations

The project integrates multiple disciplines: choreographer Annamaria Ajmone will inhabit the space with vocal and physical performances, while director Alice Rohrwacher contributes with previously unseen filmic excerpts. Institutional sponsorship reflects a governance model that sees contemporary art as a driver for cultural innovation and social responsibility.

Visitor notes

• What to expect: a sensory route encouraging slow observation, where sculpture and everyday objects converse.
• Why go: the project offers a contemporary reading of Italian sculpture focusing on materials, craftsmanship and relational practices.
• Practical tip: allow time for slow visits and multiple passes between the two zones to appreciate contrasts of light and atmosphere.