Manuel Mathieu unveils his work at the 61st International Art Exhibition, In Minor Keys
61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia – In Minor Keysby Koyo Kouoh
Saturday 9 May to Sunday 22 November 2026 Venice, Arsenale and Giardini
Invited artist Manuel Mathieu presents his work in the Giardini and Arsenale venues of Koyo Kouoh’s 61st International Art Exhibition, In Minor Keys. Marking a major milestone in his international career, the Haitian-Canadian artist unveils in Venice the full range of his artistic practice including paintings, ceramics, mosaics, and the immersive installation Pendulum– his award-winning short film – with fabric sculptures and olfactory art.
Pendulum by Manuel Mathieu (short film, 2023)
In the Arsenale section, Manuel Mathieu will present an immersive installation anchored byPendulum, winner of the Best Short Film Award at the 2023 International Festival of Films on Art, bringing together life-size fabric figures and an olfactive diffusion system that permeates the entire space. The short film explores the equilibrium between past and future through a spiritual narrative: a woman who serves as a knowledge keeper transmits the liberation of her spirit, setting in motion a poetic choreography of resistance and transformation. In this new installation, Pendulum introduces olfactory art as a non-visual register of encounter, activating memory, intimacy, and duration, while reinforcing its sensory and affective depth.
Carrying forward the olfactory register, the artist will unveil a limited-edition candle available at Electa Bookshop (Corderie / Arsenale, Campo della Tana, Sestiere Castello, 30122 Venezia) from May 9, 2026. Infused with the same fragrance created specifically for the Pendulum installation, the candle’s packaging will reveal a poem in Haitian Creole, French, and English.
In the Giardini section, Mathieu will exhibit a selection of ceramics, paintings, and mosaics, including the large-scale mosaic Abundance and Drought (2024), his ceramic ensemble Physicality (2023), paintings such as In the Heart of the Revolution II (2025), Self Preservation (2025), The Veil (2025), and La fenêtre (2025), as well as his most recent work, GENOCIDE (2026).
Following his solo show Perineum at Galerie Hugues Charbonneau and the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, Mathieu will present his first solo exhibition in France with Galerie Poggi (Paris) during Art Basel Paris.
