Adriana Varejão, Brazilian Pavilion presence at the Venice Biennale
Published on 08/31/2026 at 17:57 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Adriana Varejão occupies a central role in Brazil’s presence at the 61st Venice Biennale. The Fundação Bienal de São Paulo confirms that the exhibition Comigo ninguém pode fills the Brazilian Pavilion from May 9 to November 22, 2026, with Varejão co-presenting alongside Rosana Paulino. Biennial Foundation announcement
The Brazilian Pavilion in Venice
The curatorial project Comigo ninguém pode, led by curator Diane Lima, stages Adriana Varejão and Rosana Paulino in an installation-based presentation that challenges the modernist architecture of the Brazilian Pavilion in the Giardini in Venice. Fundação Bienal project text
The pavilion’s run from May 9 to November 22, 2026, combines historic works from more than three decades of Varejão’s production with new large-scale pieces conceived specifically for the space, emphasizing themes of colonial wounds, resilience and spiritual protection embedded in the title’s reference to the toxic plant comigo-ninguém-pode.
Modernisms and the exhibition rhythm
Victoria Miro announces Adriana Varejão: Modernisms, an exhibition of new paintings opening in Venice on September 12, 2026, conceived in direct dialogue with her Brazilian Pavilion participation at the Biennale. Victoria Miro exhibition page
While the pavilion focuses on tile paintings tied to Baroque and religious tilework of the 18th and 19th centuries, Modernisms shifts the investigation toward modern Brazilian tile patterns from the 1940s onward, underscoring how Brazilian modernism absorbed colonial visual legacies rather than breaking with them.
All news and background on Adriana Varejão
Further reports on Adriana Varejão’s exhibitions, market presence and institutional projects can be found in the AD HOC NEWS archive.
The work core across tiles and bodies
Adriana Varejão is known for hybrid works that merge painting and sculpture, often using tile motifs, viscera-like reliefs and Baroque ornament to address colonial histories, violence and cultural syncretism in Brazil. Her long-term research into Portuguese azulejos and their Brazilian translations has produced several extensive series of wall-based works and cut-tile paintings.
Where the artist stands now
Against this backdrop, Adriana Varejão’s position in 2026 is marked by the dual presence at the Brazilian Pavilion in Venice and the forthcoming Modernisms exhibition in Venice with Victoria Miro, underscoring her sustained institutional and curatorial relevance.
Key facts on Adriana Varejão
- Artist: Adriana Varejão
- Medium / Genre: Painting and sculpture (conceptual, installation-based)
- Born: 1964, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Place(s) of practice: Studio practice based in Brazil
- Active since: Late 1980s, with broader international recognition since the 1990s
- Key work groups: Azulejos, Polvo, Macau Wall, Plate series
- Current/last exhibition: Comigo ninguém pode, Brazilian Pavilion, Venice Biennale, May 9–November 22, 2026
- Major collections: Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto Inhotim, Tate (London), Guggenheim (New York), The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York)
- Awards: Prêmio Marcantonio Vilaça (Brazil, year reported in institutional biographies)
- Next date: Adriana Varejão: Modernisms, Victoria Miro, Venice, opening September 12, 2026
Frequently asked questions about Adriana Varejão
Where is Adriana Varejão currently on view in 2026?
Adriana Varejão’s work anchors the Brazilian Pavilion exhibition Comigo ninguém pode at the 61st Venice Biennale, running from May 9 to November 22, 2026, in the Giardini’s Brazilian Pavilion.
What is the focus of the Brazilian Pavilion exhibition Comigo ninguém pode?
The project, curated by Diane Lima, stages historical and new works by Varejão and Rosana Paulino in an installation that connects themes of colonial trauma, spiritual protection and material transformation within the modernist architecture of the pavilion.
What does the exhibition Adriana Varejão: Modernisms in Venice present?
Modernisms at Victoria Miro in Venice presents new tile paintings by Varejão that engage with modern Brazilian architecture and industrially produced tile patterns, conceived as a temporal and conceptual extension of her Biennale contribution.
This article was produced with a.i. support and editorially reviewed. All statements without guarantee; auction results, exhibition dates and awards may change at short notice.
