Review of the Italian Pavilion by Chiara Camoni and its relationship with the Biennale

Chiara Camoni's Italian Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, titled "Con te con tutto," is reviewed in relation to Koyo Kouoh's central exhibition "In Minor Keys." Camoni's installation features a crowd of female figures sculpted in clay and natural materials, described as "donne tronco" (trunk women), which evoke growth, transformation, and the intuitive, manual gestures that Kouoh champions. The review highlights how Camoni's work dialogues with Kouoh's curatorial emphasis on drawing, painting, and craft as intuitive practices, moving away from conceptual art. It also notes a performance by Magdalena Campos Pons at the Tese theatre, which includes a portrait of Toni Morrison and Kouoh, accompanied by music by Kamal Malak.

This review matters because it positions Camoni's Italian Pavilion as a key expression of the broader curatorial vision of the 2026 Venice Biennale, which foregrounds intuition, craft, and feminine subjectivity as central to contemporary art. By linking Camoni's sculptures to Kouoh's theme of "minor keys," the article underscores a shift in the art world toward valuing anonymous, manual, and domestic creative practices as legitimate and transformative. It also reflects ongoing conversations about gender, materiality, and the democratization of art-making, suggesting that the Biennale is redefining what constitutes artistic heritage.