August 23, 2026 · global
Chris Kraus, Venice Pavilions, Rina Banerjee: Our Favorite Picks at the Biennale
Writer and critic Chris Kraus shares her favorite national pavilions at the Venice Biennale, while Shirley Tse and Dana Berman Duff present breathing moons and Dean Millien an animal world in aluminum foil.
The Venice Biennale, one of the most anticipated events in contemporary art, always sparks lively commentary. This year, American writer and critic Chris Kraus, known for her cult novel I Love Dick and her essays on underground culture, shared her personal selections among the national pavilions. Her often offbeat and engaged perspective offers a unique viewpoint on a show that could otherwise overwhelm visitors.
Among the works that caught attention, those by Shirley Tse and Dana Berman Duff stand out for their visual poetry: moons that seem to breathe, evoking both the fragility of celestial bodies and our own condition. Tse, a Los Angeles-based artist, explores materials and their transformations, while Duff, a photographer and performer, plays with the rhythms of the body and the image. Their collaboration, presented in one of the pavilions, offers a contemplative experience that contrasts with the general buzz.
In a completely different vein, Dean Millien, a New York-based artist, has created a singular animal world from aluminum foil. His sculptures, both fragile and shiny, question our relationship with consumerism and nature. This metallic bestiary, shown in an annex space of the Biennale, invites reflection on matter and its recycling while retaining a playful dimension.
These different perspectives, gathered by Hyperallergic, testify to the diversity of artistic approaches presented in Venice. As the Biennale continues until autumn, these subjective choices remind us that art is also experienced through personal preferences, far from institutional discourses. For visitors, these selections offer discovery paths, between poetic reverie and social critique.
Written by the ADM desk based on Hyperallergic. Read the original article for the full story.
Source — Hyperallergic ↗