Anish Kapoor and Russia Pavilion Closed at Venice Biennale Opening
The Italian ministry of culture said anish kapoor’s Venice Biennale opening will not include a public Russian pavilion when the 61st edition opens fully on 9 May. The pavilion’s flower sculptures will still be visible through the windows, but the public-facing show has been cut off at the door.
Venice Biennale Under Grey Skies
The 61st Venice Biennale vernissage began on Tuesday under grey clouds and rain showers, with the Russian pavilion still wrapped around crates of prosecco and a display that can be seen but not entered. The sequence is blunt: Russia is back after missing the past two editions, but public access is not part of this return.
Tetyana Berezhna called the move a “meaningful step” and added that “Cultural platforms shape global perception.” She also said, “They define what is considered acceptable and whose voices are amplified. In this context, every form of representation matters.”
Koyo Kouoh’s Team Delivers
The event is being delivered by the curatorial team installed by Koyo Kouoh, who died in May 2025. That gives this opening an unusually compressed sense of continuity: her plans are on view, but the politics around participation have already moved the frame around them.
About 60 artists joined Solidarity Drone Chorus at midday in the giardini, while more than 200 artists signed an open letter demanding the cancellation of the Israeli pavilion. The Israeli pavilion opened on Tuesday, and the pressure around national representation now sits on both sides of the same site.
Jury Resignation And Iran Exit
The jury resigned en masse before the event after saying it would not consider entries from countries whose leaders were subject to international arrest warrants. The Iranian entry also pulled out without giving a reason, adding another gap to a show already defined by who is present, who is absent, and who is allowed to be seen.
For visitors, the practical effect is simple: the Russian pavilion is part of the Biennale, but not part of the public circuit when 9 May arrives. That makes the windows the whole exhibition for now, and it leaves the opening day’s political contest sharper than the art-world ceremony around it.
