Ash Bulayev

Dear President Buttafuoco, Dear Members of the Board of La Biennale di Venezia,   With this letter, we formally request thatThe Fortress be withdrawn from consideration for the Visitor Lion. We do so in solidarity with the resignation of the jury selected by Koyo Kouoh.   This decision concerns the prize structure only. It does not constitute a withdrawal from the Biennale itself, nor from the public, artistic, and critical conversations that the Biennale makes possible. We remain fully committed to presenting The Fortress in Venice, and to engaging with visitors, artists, curators, and colleagues throughout the exhibition period.   Sincerely,   Dries Verhoeven, Artist & Rieke Vos, Curator of The Fortress Dutch entry for the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia @studiodriesverhoeven @riekevos @ellen.van.bunnik @jana.jacuka @mamelgares @jenniebergsli @mchowow @maartenheijnens @denglinglevine @diane.mahin @julienneirynckmayamertens @mrln.pflgr @marie.popall @pousette @oliviariviere @hrihro @mistysuperdeluxe @frauflach @onequartergreek @peterisviksna 

@labiennale @evdlingen @mondriaanfonds @dutch.pavilion.venice @fondspodiumkunsten @venice.art.biennale #biennale #biennaledivenezia #venice

Such and incredible pleasure to have dear friends and colleagues take part in this edition of @labiennale #venicebiennale2026 How to Stage a Performance in Venice @studiodriesverhoeven @miet_warlop @floholzinger @ei.arakawa.nash in @friezeofficial in conversation with @sf_burns “The Fortress” @dutch.pavilion.venice “With performance, there’s an inherent awareness of the contradiction between our intentions and the economic and political structures we operate within.” - DRIES VERHOEVEN @studiodriesverhoeven @riekevos @ellen.van.bunnik @jana.jacuka @mamelgares @jenniebergsli @mchowow @maartenheijnens @denglinglevine @diane.mahin @julienneirynckmayamertens @mrln.pflgr @marie.popall @pousette @oliviariviere @hrihro @mistysuperdeluxe @frauflach @onequartergreek @peterisviksna @willempopelier 

@labiennale @evdlingen @mondriaanfonds @dutch.pavilion.venice @fondspodiumkunsten @venice.art.biennale #biennale #biennaledivenezia #venice

Can performance art still shock?
A century after its invention, the form seems to have lost its nerve — but in Venice, two bold artists are preparing to test audiences’ limits By @chloeellenstead @financialtimes Dutch artist Dries Verhoeven, who is representing the Netherlands in Venice, is known for creating taboo-busting performances that confront audiences with moral grey areas, touching on topics such as consumer ethics and sexual subcultures. “I always search for discomfort,” he says. “I use my own feeling of unease as a starting point and then look for ways I can materialise it for an audience so we can examine that unease together.” His contribution, titled “The Fortress”, marks the first time the Netherlands will be represented by a performance at Venice. A vocal and architectural intervention in the Gerrit Rietveld-designed pavilion, the piece will be experienced by a select number of invited visitors, who will enter a pitch-black, bunker-like space within the otherwise closed building. “It’s a work, I would say, on the reflex for self-preservation — the urge to safeguard our boundaries, our peace of mind, our way of life,” says Verhoeven. He believes that performance art can counter our tendency to push uncomfortable truths under the carpet and offer a way to switch off the autopilot many of us rely on just to get through the day. “There is this growing sense that the art world should be a safe space, that it should set a good example, and that’s understandable,” he says. “But I’m not interested in utopias. I would like to use art as a space where we can experience our nightmares.” @studiodriesverhoeven @riekevos @ellen.van.bunnik @jana.jacuka @mamelgares @jenniebergsli @mchowow @maartenheijnens @denglinglevine @diane.mahin @julienneirynckmayamertens @mrln.pflgr @marie.popall @pousette @oliviariviere @hrihro @mistysuperdeluxe @frauflach @onequartergreek @peterisviksna 

@labiennale @mondriaanfonds @dutch.pavilion.venice @fondspodiumkunsten @venice.art.biennale #biennale #biennaledivenezia #venicebiennale #venice /content/65470ee6-9832-4802-beec-9b7a17a1f66f

And the most incredible, unexpected surprise has been the exhibition at the @pinchukartcentre “Still Joy - from Ukraine into the World”, curated by @bgeldhof and @iwinku . Incredibly curated exhibition with a remarkable group of artists. If in venice for @labiennale do NOT miss it. “Across all its layers, Still Joy responds to the present moment — originating in Ukraine and extending beyond — to a place that is fragile, yet resilient, where joy endures.” Participating artists include: Kateryna Aliinyk (UKR), Piotr Armianovski (UKR), Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller (CAN), Julian Charrière (CH), Tacita Dean (UK), Ryan Gander (UK), Gabrielle Goliath (SA), Nikita Kadan (UKR), Zhanna Kadyrova (UKR), Alevtina Kakhidze (UKR), Roman Khimei & Yarema Malashchuk (UKR), Pavlo Kovach (UKR), Bogdana Kosmina (UKR),
Katya Lesiv (UKR), Kateryna Lysovenko (UKR), Simone Post, (NLD) Ashfika Rahman (Bangladesh), Daniel Turner (USA), Álvaro Urbano (ESP), Lesia Vasylchenko (UKR), Oleksiy Sai & Yury Gruzinov (UKR).  @aliinyk.co , @armianovski , @janetcardiff , @george_bures_miller , @julian.charrier , @tacita_dean , @ryanjgander , @gabriellegoliath , @jannkad , @truealevtina , @romanhimey , @yaremiah , @bog_dana_aqua_kosmina_ukraina , @katya.lesiv , @olysovenko_kateryna , @simone_post_ , @ashfikarahman47 , @alvaro_urbano , @lesia_vasylchenko , @oleksiysai , @yuriy.gruzinov , #nikitakadan

There are so many amazing artists presenting work at this edition of @labiennale and here are some of them. Props to all! 1. @ei.arakawa.nash 2. @gelitin_official 3. & 4.@floholzinger @austrianpavilion 5. @abbasakhavan 6. @alexakumikohatanaka 7. @miet_warlop 8. @habitual_body_monitoring2 9. @bogna_burska & @kotowski.daniel 10. @raedyassinstudio 11. @gabriellegoliath 12. @henrikenaumann 13. @mayansong_mad 14. @sumakshisingh 15. @alaaedris 16. @matiasduville 17. @egle_budvytyte 18. & 19. @afictionalastronaut 20. @alinebouvy

The past 2 weeks have been an incredible privilege to experience the build-up and the opening of the @labiennale while being part of an incredible team of the @dutch.pavilion.venice @studiodriesverhoeven

And “The Fortress” is officially open. Proud of you #driesverhoeven for always speaking up. For being faithful to your morals and your practice. Regardless of who is in attendance (this time it was the Dutch King & Queen). As Susan Sontag put it: “So far as we feel sympathy, we feel we are not accomplices to what caused the suffering. Our sympathy proclaims our innocence as well as our impotence.” @studiodriesverhoeven @riekevos @jana.jacuka @mamelgares @jenniebergsli @mchowow @maartenheijnens @denglinglevine @diane.mahin @julienneirynckmayamertens @mrln.pflgr @marie.popall @pousette @oliviariviere @hrihro @mistysuperdeluxe @ellen.van.bunnik @frauflach @onequartergreek @peterisviksna 

@labiennale @evdlingen @mondriaanfonds @dutch.pavilion.venice @fondspodiumkunsten @venice.art.biennale #biennale #biennaledivenezia #venice

Before arriving at @fondazionedriesvannoten I was certain that with the annoying title of the inaugural exhibition, “The only TRUE protest is BEAUTY”, it would be an equally annoying exhibition. The title and the curatorial text of #driesvannoten and @geertbruloot lived up to my expectation. BUT the building, with the incredible mosaic floors and marble inlays, the collected objects and their install (most of it is object-based) were incredible. Also a treat for fans of @maison_codognato - before their recent rebranding through the hipster-like collaboration with @asaprocky (brilliant musician and producer).

“The Fortress” BTS - Part II “Maybe the growing interest in performance also reflects a broader disillusionment with the art market. You can’t store a performance in a vault and wait for its value to rise. It only exists in the moment it’s witnessed. In that sense, the art collector doesn’t differ from the student – they get the same experience. That helps us stay credible: it’s hard to critique value accumulation while making work that itself becomes a commodity. With performance, there’s an inherent awareness of the contradiction between our intentions and the economic and political structures we operate within, especially in a setting like Venice.” - DV @studiodriesverhoeven @riekevos @ellen.van.bunnik @jana.jacuka @mamelgares @jenniebergsli @mchowow @maartenheijnens @denglinglevine @diane.mahin @julienneirynckmayamertens @mrln.pflgr @marie.popall @pousette @oliviariviere @hrihro @mistysuperdeluxe @frauflach @onequartergreek @peterisviksna 

@labiennale @evdlingen @mondriaanfonds @dutch.pavilion.venice @fondspodiumkunsten @venice.art.biennale #biennale #biennaledivenezia #venice

@studiodriesverhoeven wearing 🔥 @zosma_tinos x @intellectualleisure 🔥

“The Fortress” BTS - Part I @studiodriesverhoeven @riekevos @ellen.van.bunnik @jana.jacuka @mamelgares @jenniebergsli @mchowow @maartenheijnens @denglinglevine @diane.mahin @julienneirynckmayamertens @mrln.pflgr @marie.popall @pousette @oliviariviere @hrihro @mistysuperdeluxe @frauflach @onequartergreek @peterisviksna @mondriaanfonds @dutch.pavilion.venice @venice.art.biennale @fondspodiumkunsten @labiennale As Verhoeven notes: “Together with a group of thirteen international performers, we are presenting a work about the search for stability in a world out of balance. Through the raw sounds the performers produce, they give expression to the social state of disarray that I currently observe—and the tenacity with which we, even in art, sometimes cling to values of yesterday.”   #biennale #biennaledivenezia #venicebiennale #venice

The physical satisfaction #fontporn of analogue font 💥