Du Hai Jun in Venice: "Chronicles of the Floating City" at Cavana

Du Hai Jun in Venice: "Chronicles of the Floating City"

Big Eyes International Vision presents the first solo show in Italy by Chinese artist Du Hai Jun. The exhibition collects 32 works—oil paintings on canvas and aluminum plus sculptures—that explore the changing cityscape and collective memories embedded in urban architecture.

Du's practice sits at the intersection of figuration and urban construction: windows act as visual witnesses to everyday stories, social tensions and shared memories. Alongside the well-known Urban Window and N Windows series, the Venice presentation includes, for the first time in Europe, recent series on urban metro systems and the When the Smoke Clears cycle, addressing the traces left by contemporary conflicts.

Why go

• Discover recent work by an artist engaged with urban themes in contemporary painting.
• A visual route that connects architecture, memory and the social impact of rapid urbanization.
• Free admission and coinciding with the 2026 Art Biennale period—an excellent addition to a Venice itinerary.

Practical information

• Venue: Cavana Gallery (Centro Culturale Don Orione Artigianelli), Rio Terrà Foscarini, Dorsoduro 909/C, Venice.
• Dates: 8 May – 29 July 2026. Opening: Friday 8 May at 13:00.
• Hours: Wednesday > Monday 11:00 - 19:00, closed on Tuesdays.
• Admission: free.
• Curators: Hui Shuwen and Alessandra Pozzi.
• How to get there: from the Station take vaporetto line 5.1 to Lido (stop Zattere), about 20 minutes.
• Info: www.bigeyesvision.com

About the artist

Born in Yixing, Jiangsu in 1978, Du Hai Jun trained at the China Central Academy of Fine Arts and is based in Shanghai. His painting—primarily oil on canvas and sometimes on aluminum—investigates metropolitan phenomenology: residential density, architectural grids and fragmented everyday landscapes. His works have been shown internationally and are included in public collections.