Women Shaping Germany's Pavilion at Venice '26 - Women Architects from Germany to Showcase Their Creations at Venice '26's German Pavilion
Artists Naumann and Tieu to Shape Germany's Pavilion at 2026 Venice Biennale
Henrike Naumann and Sung Tieu, two contemporary artists based in Berlin, are set to curate Germany's pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2026. The Institute for Foreign Relations announced that their work will reflect and critique social, bureaucratic, and social ordering systems.
The esteemed Venice Biennale, initially established in 1895, serves as the world's oldest platform for contemporary visual art. Expected to run from May 9 to November 22, 2026, this prestigious event, along with documenta in Kassel, offers a significant presentation of contemporary art. Kathleen Reinhardt, directing the Georg Kolbe Museum in Berlin, will oversee the curation of Germany's pavilion for the upcoming Biennale.
Prominent artists like Gerhard Richter and Joseph Beuys have previously occupied the German Pavilion. In 2024, the pavilion was shaped by Israeli artist Yael Bartana and Berlin theater director Ersan Mondtag.
Renowned for her installations that often resemble furnished stage sets, Henrike Naumann, born in Zwickau, Germany in 1984, addresses politics and power structures within everyday life in her work. Her practice also explores themes related to historical responsibility and collective as well as individual agency. Originally a scenographer, Naumann transitioned through film before focusing on visual art.
Hailing from Vietnam, Sung Tieu, born in 1987 in Hải Dương, develops her work at the intersection of biography and geopolitics. In her installations, she investigates the hostility, violence, and paranoia embedded in supposedly neutral bureaucratic spaces and architecture. Like Naumann, Tieu's practice questions historical responsibility and agency from the perspective of a younger generation.
Naumann and Tieu will present newly commissioned conceptual and sculptural works in the German Pavilion, collectively questioning historical responsibility and the role of individual and collective agency in relation to power structures and the everyday lived environment.
The community policy and employment policy within the German Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, under the curation of artists Naumann and Tieu, may reflect and critique social and bureaucratic systems, as their work aims to question historical responsibility and the role of individual and collective agency in relation to power structures and the everyday lived environment.
As Naumann's artwork often revolves around lifestyle and everyday life, her installations in the German Pavilion could provide insights into home-and-garden aspects of these systems, critiquing their impact on people's lives. Similarly, Tieu's installations delve into geopolitics and bureaucratic spaces, possibly contributing to a comprehensive critique of the employment policy within the pavilion.
