The 19th International Architecture Biennale, titled “Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective.” and curated by Carlo Ratti, opens on May 10. The title carries a double meaning, as the curator himself explains: on one hand, it evokes gens, or people; on the other, it reflects the integration of the three forms of intelligence explored in this edition – natural, artificial, and collective.
With over 750 participants and more than 280 projects on display, this ambitious Biennale not only breathes new life into its usual venues, the Arsenale and Giardini – where the Central Pavilion remains closed for renovation – but also extends throughout the entire city of Venice, transforming it into a living laboratory.
Across calli and campielli, a dense program of exhibitions unfolds alongside the main event, often resonating with the theme chosen by Carlo Ratti – and certainly worth adding to your calendar.

From the opening of new exhibition spaces – such as the Nicoletta Fiorucci Foundation, which debuts its Venetian headquarters in the heart of the Dorsoduro district on this occasion – to monumental solo shows like that of Thomas Schütte at Punta della Dogana and Robert Mapplethorpe at Le Stanze della Fotografia, Venice offers a rich cultural landscape this season.
Architecture remains at the center, with fresh perspectives emerging from venues like Palazzo Diedo, alongside Jean Nouvel’s designs for the future headquarters of the Carter Foundation, on display at the Giorgio Cini Foundation. There’s also a renewed focus on the work of master architect Carlo Scarpa at the Museo Correr.
Meanwhile, the Gallerie dell’Accademia hosts an exhibition exploring the human body through Renaissance masterpieces – including the rare public display of Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic Vitruvian Man drawing.

Domus has curated a selection of must-see exhibitions: all that’s left is to lace up a comfortable pair of shoes and begin your itinerary, and, of course, reward yourself with a classic spritz at the end of the day.
Opening image: Tessa Mars, a call to the ocean, 2025. Exhibition view of “otras montañas, las que andan sueltas bajo el agua” [other mountains, adrift beneath the waves], Ocean Space, Venice. Commissioned by TBA21–Academy. Photo Jacopo Salvi

1. Thomas Schütte. Genealogies, Punta della Dogana, April 6 – November 23
Featuring around fifty sculptures and over one hundred drawings, "Genealogies" is the largest retrospective ever dedicated to Thomas Schütte in Italy. Curated by Camille Morineau and Jean-Marie Gallais, the exhibition traces the German artist’s career from the 1970s to today, with works drawn from the Pinault Collection and beyond. A versatile and multidisciplinary figure, Schütte investigates the human condition with a gaze that is both restless and ironic, blending sculpture, architecture, photography, and drawing. Eschewing a chronological approach, the exhibition instead focuses on the evolution of form in Schütte’s work, offering pathways to navigate his universe — one that balances intimacy and theatricality.
Installation view of Thomas Schütte. Genealogies featuring his works Glass: You No. 24 (2018), Glass: Me No. 33 (2018) and Fleurs pour M. Duchamp (2002). © Thomas Schütte, by SIAE 2025. Photo: Marco Cappelletti © Palazzo Grassi - Pinault Collection

2. Tatiana Trouvé. The Strange Life of Things, Palazzo Grassi, April 6 – January 4, 2026
Palazzo Grassi hosts a major exhibition dedicated to Tatiana Trouvé, curated by Caroline Bourgeois and James Lingwood, and presented by the Pinault Collection. This marks the first major solo show in Italy for the Franco-Italian artist, developed as a carte blanche invitation from the Pinault Collection. The exhibition unfolds across three floors of Palazzo Grassi, transformed into a spatial and temporal labyrinth. Featuring new sculptures, monumental drawings, site-specific installations, and works from the past decade, the show delves into Trouvé’s world of dreams, memories, and visions. The journey is enriched by international loans and materials drawn from the artist’s own archive.
Tatiana Trouvé, Hors-sol, 2025, Collection of the artist © Tatiana Trouvé, by SIAE 2025. Installation view, “Tatiana Trouvé. The strange Life of Things”, 2025, Palazzo Grassi, Venezia. Photo: Marco Cappelletti and Giuseppe Miotto / Marco Cappelletti Studio © Palazzo Grassi, Pinault Collection

3. Otras Montañas, Ocean Space, Chiesa di San Lorenzo, April 5 – November 2
In celebration of the tenth anniversary of The Current, TBA21–Academy presents “Otras montañas, las que andan sueltas bajo el agua”, curated by Yina Jiménez Suriel. Hosted at Ocean Space, inside the former Church of San Lorenzo, the exhibition brings together newly commissioned works by Nadia Huggins and Tessa Mars. Structured in three acts, the project reimagines the ocean as a shared horizon from which to rethink life beyond a land-centered perspective. Using tools such as improvisation and freestyle, the exhibition explores fluid and dynamic structures, challenges binary frameworks and notions of stability, and envisions new systems of life support in a world in constant flux.
Nadia Huggins, “A shipwreck is not a wreck”, 2025. Exhibition view of “otras montañas, las que andan sueltas bajo el agua” [other mountains, adrift beneath the waves], Ocean Space, Venice. Commissioned by TBA21–Academy. Photo: Jacopo Salvi

4. Diagrams. A Project by AMO/OMA, Fondazione Prada, May 10 – November 24
“Diagrams”, a project by AMO/OMA for Ca’ Corner della Regina, examines the diagram as a universal tool for communication, knowledge, and transformation. Curated by Rem Koolhaas and Giulio Margheri in collaboration with Fondazione Prada, the exhibition brings together more than 300 objects spanning from the 12th century to the present day, exploring nine critical themes: Built Environment, Health, Inequality, Migration, Natural Environment, Resources, War, Truth, and Value. The exhibition design reflects AMO/OMA’s approach, which has incorporated diagrammatic forms into architecture since the 1970s. Enhancing the project are contributions from international platforms such as Atmos Lab and Transsolar, as well as scholars like Theo Deutinger and SITU Research, offering significant research insights into sustainable design and urban planning.
AMO/OMA, Timeline, 2025 Courtesy AMO/OMA

5. Il Correr di Carlo Scarpa 1953-1960, Museo Correr, May 1 – October 19
Carlo Scarpa’s interventions at the Museo Correr (1952–53 and 1959–60) stand as emblematic examples of postwar Italian museography, inspired by Rationalism and deeply attentive to architectural context and the individuality of the artworks. The museum continues to preserve Scarpa’s vision, which will be further enhanced through upcoming restorations and reconfigurations. The exhibition “Il Correr di Carlo Scarpa 1953-1960” showcases historical photographs and original furnishings designed by Scarpa, including display cases, vitrines, and his iconic easel. It highlights his unique ability to merge form and function through refined design and extraordinary artisanal sensitivity.
Photo: Paolo Monti – Available in the BEIC digital library and uploaded in collaboration with the BEIC Foundation. The image originates from the Paolo Monti Collection, owned by BEIC and housed at the Civic Photographic Archive of Milan, via Wikimedia Commons.

6. Robert Mapplethorpe. Le forme del classico, Le Stanze della Fotografia, April 10 – January 6, 2026
From April 10, to January 6, 2026, Le Stanze della Fotografia on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore hosts “Robert Mapplethorpe. Le forme del classico”, a major retrospective dedicated to the renowned photographer. Curated by Denis Curti and featuring over two hundred works, the exhibition explores the dialogue between classicism and contemporary photography, highlighting the plasticity of the human body and compositional perfection. On display are several iconic portraits, floral images, vintage objects, and archival documents. The project, produced in collaboration with the Mapplethorpe Foundation, inaugurates a trilogy that will bring the exhibition to Milan and Rome in 2026.
Installation view. Robert Mapplethorpe. Le forme del classico, Photo: Matteo Defina

7. La Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain par Jean Nouvel, Fondazione Giorgio Cini, May 10 – September 14
Selected among the collateral events of the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, the exhibition “La Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain par Jean Nouvel” unveils the innovative designs conceived by Nouvel for the new Parisian headquarters of the Fondation Cartier which, thirty years after its founding, is set to open by the end of the year in Place du Palais Royal, just steps from the Louvre. The exhibition at Fondazione Giorgio Cini includes photographs,, prototypes, and videos, with a focus on Nouvel’s vision: creating architecture as living cultural environments in dialogue with the historical and urban context.
Building site view of the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain’s future premises, place du Palais-Royal, Paris. Rendering of platform 1 looking onto the Rue de Rivoli. © Jean Nouvel / ADAGP, Paris, 2024

8. Cold Water. Patricia Leite, Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, May 6 – July 27
The Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa presents at Palazzetto Tito the first solo exhibition in Italy by Brazilian painter Patricia Leite. The show “Cold Water”, curated by Milovan Farronato, features recent paintings created in São Paulo that evoke interior landscapes suspended between dream and memory, exploring themes such as vulnerability and awakening. Waterfalls, caves, and fireworks are transformed into rarefied visions: in dialogue with the history of Venice, Leite’s painting creates intimate, suspended atmospheres, inviting a slow and contemplative experience.
The End, 2025 (título provisório), 2025, olio su tela, 120 x 140 cm47 1/4 x 55 1/8 in MW.PLT.441. Courtesy of the artist and Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo, Brussels, Paris, New York. Photo: Estudio Em Obra

9. The Next Earth. Computation, Crisis, Cosmology, Palazzo Diedo, May 10 – November 23
Resulting from the collaboration between Antikythera and the MIT Department of Architecture, the exhibition “The Next Earth: Computation, Crisis, Cosmology” reflects on the future of the planet and the role of architecture in shaping it. Spread across two floors of Palazzo Diedo and curated by Benjamin Bratton, Nicholas de Monchaux, and Ana Miljacki, the show presents Antikythera’s research on planet Earth as an evolving megastructure, featuring historical artifacts and an immersive installation alongside forty MIT projects focused on sustainable practices.
Palazzo Diedo © Alessandra Chemollo

10. Modern Bodies. The Construct of the Body in Renaissance Venice, Gallerie dell’Accademia, April 4 – July 27
“Modern Bodies. The Construct of the Body in Renaissance Venice” is the major exhibition at the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice, curated by Giulio Manieri Elia, Guido Beltramini, and Francesca Borgo. Through masterpieces by Leonardo, Michelangelo, Dürer, Titian, Giorgione, and Bellini, displayed alongside scientific instruments, clothing, and everyday objects, the exhibition explores the conception of the human body in Renaissance Venice. The exhibition path is divided into three sections that present the body as an object of study, of gaze and desire, and as a space of cultural representation. On this occasion, Leonardo’s iconic “Vitruvian Man”, one of the treasures of the Gallerie dell’Accademia, will be on public display again after six years.
Modern Bodies. The Construct of the Body in Renaissance Venice. Leonardo, Michelangelo, Dürer, Giorgione, 2025, Gallerie dell’Accademia di Venezia, exhibition view, Photo:Andrea Avezzù

11. Alps Architecture. South Tyrol, Palazzo Cavanis, May 10 – November 23
An inventory of projects documenting the architectural practice that developed in South Tyrol between 2018 and 2024: “Alps. Architecture. South Tyrol”, held at Palazzo Cavanis, is the exhibition presented by Kunst Meran/Merano Arte, together with the Fondazione Architettura Alto Adige and the Südtiroler Künstlerbund. Curated by Filippo Bricolo and conceived as a traveling exhibition, it features a selection of fifty-six works chosen by an international jury, with twenty-eight presented in depth. The project aims to highlight the sustainability of architectural practices, urban regeneration, and the careful use of resources—topics that resonate with this year’s Biennale theme: “Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective”.
Palazzo Cavanis Courtesy Palazzo Cavanis, Photo: Maddalena Tartaro

12. Deep Surfaces. Architecture to enhance the visitor experience of UNESCO sites, Palazzo Zorzi, May 10 – November 23
UNESCO, in collaboration with the Royal Commission for AlUla, presents the exhibition “Deep Surfaces. Architecture to enhance the visitor experience of UNESCO sites”, which explores multifunctional architectural projects aimed at improving the visitor experience at UNESCO sites. On display are over fifty interpretation and information centers located across World Heritage Sites, Biosphere Reserves, and Geoparks. Audiovisual content and a “materials library” accompany the projects, expanding the reflection on how architecture can support heritage conservation, promote social inclusion, and empower local communities.
Photo ©UNESCO

13. Temple of Love. Cœur, Scuola Piccola Zattere, from May 8
On May 8, Scuola Piccola Zattere opens its new season with “Temple of Love. Cœur”, an exhibition by Gaëlle Choisne concluding her research residency. Inspired by Roland Barthes’ essay A Lover’s Discourse: Fragments, the artist presents works that combine various media and materials, creating an evolving narrative on coexistence, affection, and collaboration. In the curatorial project by Irene Calderoni and Eva Vaslamatzi, Gaëlle Choisne’s work is presented in dialogue with a selection of pieces by Haitian artists from the collection of writer and documentarian Jean Marie Drot. At the same time, Fosbury Architecture continues the design of Scuola Piccola Zattere’s spaces, with the ABC Zattere restaurant project, scheduled to open on May 8, 2025.
Gaëlle Choisne, Prix Marcel Duchamp, 2024, Centre Pompidou, Paris, Ph Marc Domage, Courtesy Air de Paris, Romainville Grand Paris

14. Tolia Astakhishvili, Nicoletta Fiorucci Foundation, May 7 – November 23
Nicoletta Fiorucci Foundation has transformed a historic Venetian building, once owned by painter Ettore Tito, to create a new exhibition space in the heart of the Dorsoduro district, at number 2829. Coinciding with the opening of the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale, the foundation presents a site-specific installation by Georgian artist Tolia Astakhishvili, curated by Serpentine Gallery director Hans Ulrich Obrist. The exhibition, which will encompass the entire building, explores the site's material history and the perception of space, combining text, painting, and drawing to create a temporary intervention of destruction and fragmentation. The work will also include pieces by eight artists invited by Astakhishvili.
Courtesy Nicoletta Fiorucci Foundation, Venezia.

15. Architectural Landscape, Galerie Negropontes, Palazzina Masieri, April 17 – November 22
Until November 22, 2025, Galerie Negropontes hosts “Architectural Landscape”, an exhibition exploring the synergy between contemporary architecture and historical heritage within Carlo Scarpa’s masterpiece, Palazzina Masieri. Works by Gianluca Pacchioni, Pinton, and Perrin & Perrin engage with the spaces, creating a synergy that unites art and architecture. On the first floor, sculptures by Pacchioni and tapestries by Pinton evoke a kind of "imaginary garden." On the first floor, glass sculptures by Perrin & Perrin blend with a selection of Scarpa’s iconic geometries and graphic compositions. The second floor will host various exhibitions, including “Scarpa-Zanon, Dialogues”, realized in collaboration with the IUAV University of Venice.
Architectural Landscapes, Galerie Negropontes, Venezia © Gabriele Bortoluzzi

16. Two exhibitions dedicated to Harry Seidler and Jung Youngsun SMAC, Procuratie in Piazza San Marco, May 9 – July 13
Opening to the public on May 9, SMAC is a new contemporary arts center located in the Procuratie of Piazza San Marco, Venice. Spanning over 1,000 square meters restored by Pritzker Prize-winning architect David Chipperfield, SMAC offers an interdisciplinary program spanning visual arts, architecture, fashion, technology, and film—engaging with history, science, and society. The center launches with two exhibitions: “Migrating Modernism”, dedicated to architect Harry Seidler and his collaborations with artists such as Calder and Frank Stella; and “For All That Breathes On Earth”, highlighting the work of Korean landscape architect Jung Youngsun. The latter is organized in collaboration with the MMCA in Seoul to mark 140 years of cultural exchange between Korea and Italy.
Procuratie di Piazza San Marco, Photo: Alessandra Chemollo

17. No Stone Unturned. Conceptual Photography, Fondazione Querini Stampalia, May 5 – November 23
The Querini Stampalia Foundation is entering a new chapter in its cultural history, with a renewed vision under the leadership of Cristiana Collu. Redefined in both its spaces and its language, the Foundation launches this new course with “No Stone Unturned”, the most comprehensive exhibition ever held in Venice dedicated to John Baldessari, a key figure in conceptual art. Over seventy works explore his pioneering use of photography and his crucial role in the emergence of new visual languages. In the Scarpa Area, the exhibition “A Light Touch” presents the Diriyah Art Futures project, while the lions and lionesses by Davide Rivalta inhabit the spaces of Campo Santa Maria Formosa and Campiello Querini.
Scarpa Area, Fondazione Querini Stampalia. Photo: Adriano Mura. Courtesy: Fondazione Querini Stampalia, Venezia