Jenny Saville opens Ca' Pesaro show in Venice
Published on 08/31/2026 at 13:56 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Jenny Saville opens a major solo exhibition at Ca' Pesaro in Venice. The museum says Jenny Saville a Ca' Pesaro is the first major Venice show for the painter and runs through November 22, 2026.Ca' Pesaro exhibition page
The Venice exhibition
Jenny Saville a Ca' Pesaro presents more than 30 paintings and drawings, including a previously unseen cycle made in homage to Venice, according to the museum. The show is framed by the 2026 Biennale Arte season and places Saville's large figurative canvases in direct dialogue with Venetian painting traditions.
The exhibition also underlines how Saville has built her career around the body as a subject. Ca' Pesaro traces that arc from her beginnings in the 1990s to the present day.
Why the show matters
For collectors and institutions, the Venice venue matters because it is not a commercial gallery stop. It is an international museum platform in a Biennale year, which gives the exhibition a stronger curatorial and historical frame.
That matters for Saville's market too. Museum visibility at this level tends to reinforce the reading of an artist's work as part of contemporary painting history, not only current demand.
All news and background on Jenny Saville
Further reporting on Jenny Saville covers museum shows, market moments and the artist's position in contemporary figurative painting.
How Saville works
Saville is best known for large-scale oil paintings of the female nude and for a practice rooted in figure painting. Tate describes her as a contemporary English painter born in 1970, based in Oxford, and an original member of the Young British Artists.Tate artist profile
Her work is often built from studies of flesh, scale and painted surface. That gives the Venice show a clear art-historical line: body, paint, and the legacy of figurative painting.
Where Saville stands now
Jenny Saville's next confirmed date in the 30-day window is the Ca' Pesaro exhibition admission period, which runs through November 22, 2026.
Jenny Saville at a glance
- Artist: Jenny Saville
- Medium / Genre: Painting (figurative, large-scale oil)
- Born: 1970, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Place(s) of practice: Oxford, England
- Active since: 1990s
- Key work groups: Trace, Propped, Plan, Fulcrum
- Current/last exhibition: Jenny Saville a Ca' Pesaro - Ca' Pesaro, Venice, March 28, 2026-November 22, 2026
- Major collections: Tate, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, SFMOMA
- Awards: Young British Artists member, Royal Academy associate
- Next date: November 22, 2026 - Ca' Pesaro, Venice
Frequently asked questions about Jenny Saville
Where is Jenny Saville currently on view?
At Ca' Pesaro in Venice, where Jenny Saville a Ca' Pesaro runs through November 22, 2026.
What does Jenny Saville show in Venice?
The museum says the exhibition includes more than 30 paintings and drawings, plus a previously unseen Venice-related cycle.
Which museums hold Jenny Saville works?
Tate and The Metropolitan Museum of Art both hold Saville works, and SFMOMA lists her in its collection database.
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.
