Athens-based artist Marina Xenofontos has been selected to represent Cyprus at the 2026 Venice Biennale with a pavilion titled “It rests to the bones.” Curated by Kyle Dancewicz, deputy director of SculptureCenter in New York, the exhibition will be housed at the Associazione Culturale Spiazzi near the Arsenale. Xenofontos, born in Limassol in 1988, works across sculpture, kinetic objects, and film, often exploring Cyprus’s history and British colonial legacy. Her proposal was chosen from 21 submissions via an open call organized by Cyprus’s Department of Contemporary Culture, with a five-person advisory committee praising its engagement with Cypriot micro-histories and global issues.
This selection matters because it marks a continued international recognition of Xenofontos, who has recently had solo shows at major institutions like SculptureCenter, Kunstverein Hamburg, and Camden Arts Centre. The Venice presentation will build on her growing profile, highlighting how her practice—described as an “unconditional archive” of political memory and social conditions—resonates beyond Cyprus. The pavilion also underscores the biennale’s role in amplifying artists from smaller nations, with a focus on folk traditions, heritage, and postcolonial narratives.