Wallace Chan returns to the Venice Biennale for the fourth time with 'Vessels of Other Worlds', a two-city exhibition opening at the Chapel of Santa Maria della Pietà in Venice on 8 May 2026 and continuing at the Long Museum West Bund in Shanghai from 18 July, coinciding with the artist's 70th birthday. Curated by James Putnam, the project features large-scale titanium sculptures that explore material transformation, perception, and metaphysical space, including a live video link between the two venues and an inhabitable mirrored sculpture at the Long Museum.
This exhibition matters because it marks a significant expansion of Chan's practice beyond conventional sculpture into immersive, cross-continental dialogue, reinforcing his reputation as a self-taught innovator who bridges Chinese traditions and Western sculptural histories. His use of titanium—a material he pioneered in jewelry and now applies at monumental scale—and his integration of real-time connectivity between Venice and Shanghai challenge traditional exhibition formats, while his growing institutional presence (including works in the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Museum) underscores his rising prominence in the global art world.