The Only True Protest Is Beauty opens Palazzo Pisani Moretta. Discover the first presentation by Fondazione Dries Van Noten
Palazzo Pisani Moretta opens to the public for the first time in its history, on the feast day of Saint Mark, patron saint of Venice, with The Only True Protest is Beauty, the inaugural presentation of the Dries Van Noten Foundation, created by Dries Van Noten and Patrick Vangheluwe.
Kicking off the opening period of the Biennale Arte 2026, this project offers the extraordinary opportunity to explore one of the city’s most iconic palaces, which has always been closed to the public, and to engage with the intersections of fashion, art, and craftsmanship.
The artists: many of them are waiting for you upstairs. Please talk to them, try to understand why they are so passionate about doing the crazy things they do, because for us it is very important, and it has a future.
With these words, during the opening, Dries Van Noten invited us to discover the spaces of his new project, after explaining that the foundation is a life choice after fashion, and a commitment: dissolving the boundaries between art, design, and performance, the Foundation wants Venetian mastery to continue to evolve.
Craftsmanship has given me so much that it is now necessary for me to give back and show people its importance, especially in these times of AI and ChatGPT. I wanted to show that creativity, things made with your hands, with your heart, with your brain, are more important than things made with a computer.
Fashion, jewelry, art, design, photography, glass, and ceramics coexist with videos and conversations with the authors in the palace’s legendary rooms, in an exhibition path of 20 rooms featuring over 200 works by established and emerging talents, whose hybrid practices will foster comparisons and connections between the creative community and the public over time.
Fashion punctuates the entire journey as a cultural language that transcends time. Garments by Christian Lacroix and Comme des Garçons, along with textile volumes and surfaces, organize the space and guide visitors from one room to another, while each work is displayed in tension and dialogue with the frescoes and furnishings of the palace, which we have never had the chance to observe in such detail.
Light is an active part of the experience thanks to the intervention of light artist marionanni, who turns it into a dynamic element that highlights the artists’ gestures.
While at the entrance, in the portego, the sculpture by Peter Buggenhout introduces a hybrid material that disrupts the symmetry of the space, on the Piano Nobile, The Victory of Light over Darkness by Jacopo Guarana, a pupil of Giambattista Tiepolo, opens the palace’s conversation with the sleeping subjects of Steven Shearer’s giant photographs.
The Memento Mori jewelry by Codognato brings the city’s attention back to Attilio Codognato, a central Venetian figure in the dialogue between jewelry, art, and collecting, a friend of Andy Warhol and admired by Coco Chanel, Jean Cocteau, and Sergei Diaghilev.
In the Music Room, the work of the very young Joseph Arzoumanov constructs a complex narrative system on an incredible, hyper-decorated chessboard, governed by artificial intelligence logic, which moves Kings, Queens, Rooks, and Knights crafted like jewels around a family story.
Admiring the textile work of Adeline Halot, who weaves metal and thread into vibrant sculptures, we are consistently surprised by the poetry of the glass flowers by Lilla Tabasso and the story of her self-taught process.
The Bending Light room leaves us speechless due to the totality of the experience, with the light effects (marionanni) created on the floor by the imposing and incredible glass table made at the curators’ request by Wave Murano Glass with Armand Louis. Vases by Ritsue Mishima and Alexander Kirkeby dialogue with the palace’s collection of ancient glass, placed on display elements created by UnisVe.
Extreme creativity, an obsession with pattern, and mastery of technique characterize the crystals of Isaac Monté and the ceramics of Virginia Leonard and Kaori Kurihara. The wooden sculptures of Richard Štipl are paired with the admirable craftsmanship of master Bruno Barbon, as well as the silver and metal in the spoon and fork compositions by Ann Carrington and Misha Kahn. The paper chaise longue by Pao Hui Kao and the ceramics by Lucas Wegwerth offer a direct look at creative processes.
The unique crystal sculpture by Václav Cigler becomes a prism for another dimension and a magnifying glass for observing the palace floors, a work of art beneath our feet.
The title The Only True Protest is Beauty is taken from a line by the American singer-songwriter and political activist Phil Ochs, whose songs became protest anthems in the 1960s.
The Foundation’s bookshop completes the exhibition journey as a space for sensory and material exploration. Books, notebooks, fragrances, and handcrafted objects that are carefully selected and unique, such as the glass vases by Wave Murano Glass designed for Dries Van Noten or the papier-mâché animals by artisan Sofia Sarria of Atelier Volante, dialogue with the exhibition’s theme.
How to visit Palazzo Pisani Moretta and the Foundation
The Foundation, a non-profit cultural institution created by Dries Van Noten and Patrick Vangheluwe to bear witness to the vital importance of craftsmanship, is a platform dedicated to creators, artisans, and emerging talents. Palazzo Pisani Moretta is a private historic building. The Dries Van Noten Foundation offers the opportunity to discover it through the Become a Friend affiliation program (Membership starting from €20, €10 for under 26s).
Become a Friend of the Foundation and book your visit
Dries Van Noten Foundation
The Only True Protest Is Beauty
Palazzo Pisani Moretta, San Polo, 2766
From April 25 to October 4
Article by Laura Scarpa, photos by Settimo Cannatella.
