Du Hai Jun — Chronicles of the Floating City: solo exhibition in Venice

Du Hai Jun — Chronicles of the Floating City

Venue: Cavana Gallery, Rio Terrà Foscarini, Dorsoduro 909/C, Venice

Dates: 8 May 2026 – 29 July 2026

• Opening hours: 11:00–19:00, closed on Tuesday
• Curators: Hui Shuwen and Alessandra Pozzi
• Admission: free
• Opening: Friday 8 May at 13:00

Big Eyes International Vision presents Chronicles of the Floating City, the first solo exhibition in Italy by Chinese artist Du Hai Jun (Jiangsu, 1978). The show gathers 32 works — oil paintings on canvas and aluminium and sculptures — highlighting the artist's long-standing investigation into urban windows, notably the Urban Window and N Windows series.

Du's work examines contemporary metropolis as a field of memory and social relations: windows act as visual devices that condense micro-narratives, silences and traces of communal life. For the Venice presentation, recent series focused on subway environments and the new body of work titled When the Smoke Clears—addressing conflict and urban devastation—are shown in Europe for the first time.

The exhibition offers a reflective and sensory approach to accelerated urbanization, connecting architecture, identity and collective memory. Through refined oil techniques and occasional metallic supports, Du composes grids and apertures that function as metaphors for suspended lives and fragmented everyday landscapes.

Visitor notes: recommended for contemporary art audiences and anyone interested in new perspectives on urban space. The installation converses with the international context of the Venice Biennale 2026, contributing an original viewpoint on 21st-century metropolitan perception.

Practical info: check the gallery's updated opening hours before your visit.