VENICE — German paper-and-light artist Lore Bert will open her installation at Venice’s San Fantin Church on May 5, securing one of the most coveted spots at the Venice Art Biennale 2026 and celebrating her 90th birthday just weeks later. Bert, who has exhibited at the Biennale twice before, at the Correr Museum in 2013 and at San Samuele in 2019, spent months building the case for a third appearance.
A dream realised through perseverance
“I wanted to make a grand appearance at the Venice Biennale once again,” she told Italy Now from her studio in Mainz.” In August 2024, I decided to contact Monsignore Gianmatteo Caputo, Patriarchal Delegate for Ecclesiastical Cultural Heritage, and proposed a light-and-silk-paper project for San Fantin Church.”
With more than 300 artists vying for exhibition space beyond the national pavilions, in palaces and churches across the lagoon city, competition is fierce. Lore Bert submitted a 17-page dossier in November 2024 outlining her project, Towards the Light, part of her broader Environment of Hope series.
40,000 signed sheets of paper
Her pitch aligned with the 2025 Holy Year theme of Pilgrims of Hope. Monsignore Caputo invited her to place 40,000 sheets of paper beside baptismal fonts in 15 churches, gathering signatures, poems and drawings from the millions of pilgrims who passed through. Those contributions now form part of the installation itself.
The centrepiece features two large circles of crumpled white paper. The first contains a spiral of 20 white and turquoise neon balls. “The spiral from the inside out symbolises infinity; from the outside in, concentration,” Bert explained. The second integrates four red quatrefoils representing the cardinal virtues. A light sculpture in the choir displays three oriental numerals alongside four pictorial objects.
Logistics were formidable. “Then comes the actual fun part, the transport to Venice,” said gallery owner Dorothea van der Koelen. A 3.5-tonne lorry carried the works from Mainz to the lagoon city, where they continued by boat through the canals, before 12 workers assembled the installation on site.
The exhibition marks Lore Bert’s 351st show across 30 countries. For an artist who has long used light as a symbol of hope and optimism, the timing feels apt. It will remain open until October 22, 2026.
