VENICE.- For the 61st International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale 2026, JR has chosen Palazzo Ca' da Mosto — The Venice Venice Hotel — as the site of a socially engaged project. The palazzo’s façade becomes the surface for a large-scale temporary artistic installation inspired by Paolo Veronese’s The Wedding at Cana — the most imposing painting in the collection of the Musée du Louvre, originally created for the monastery of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice.

Drawing on an approach central to the artist’s practice — one that brought the Chronicles project to worldwide acclaim — JR brings the celebrated 1563 painting into the present as a contemporary fresco: 176 people connected to the community of Refettorio Paris — guests, volunteers and chefs — have been photographed and recorded to form a collective composition in which every face holds a story, and every story carries its own dignity and voice.

A CONTEMPORARY BANQUET

Painted in 1563, Veronese’s masterpiece stages a banquet at which water is transformed into wine. In JR’s reinterpretation, this moment becomes, above all, a social transformation.

At Refettorio Paris, surplus food is transformed each evening into refined meals, served in a space where care and beauty are central. As in the original work, the scene of The Wedding at Cana is abundant and choreographed, rich in gestures and interactions, but here the protagonists are real people of our time: individuals whose lives and commitments reflect the complexity of contemporary society, transforming the table into a metaphor for equality.

A VISUAL AND SONIC WORK

Following an approach central to the artist’s practice — one that brought the Chronicles project to worldwide acclaim — the work transcends the purely visual to become a choral narrative: each portrait carries a recorded voice, creating a living archive that affirms the dignity and voice of those who often live on the margins of society. This sonic dimension transforms the banquet into a layered experience that can be read, listened to and explored, extending beyond the physical boundaries of the space in which it is presented. Through a dedicated digital platform, audiences will be able to immerse themselves in the personal stories of the protagonists, discovering the faces behind the installation. At the same time, the portal jr-art.net will serve as the central hub for all practical information and in-depth content on the creative process, turning the project into an ongoing bridge between Venice’s monumental setting and global participation.

FROM FRESCO TO TAPESTRY: A MONUMENTAL DIALOGUE

The project finds its definitive form on the Second Piano Nobile of Ca' da Mosto.
The exhibition unfolds in the grand salon, where the reflections of great chandeliers and the surface of an imposing mirrored table expand the space. Here, a large-scale installation envelops the room entirely, transforming the walls into a vibrant archive: it is in this setting that the project reveals its social dimension, allowing the faces of the protagonists to inhabit the salon and guide the audience through an immersive experience.

The journey culminates in an adjoining room — a natural extension of the grand salon — where JR’s choral narrative finds its most complete and enduring form: a monumental tapestry, measuring 4.30 metres in height and 7.80 metres in width, created by Master Weaver Giovanni Bonotto and produced by the Fondazione Bonotto. The undertaking required around 600 hours of research and production. To lend the work depth and chromatic richness, yarns made from recycled plastic, virgin wool, organic cotton and washi paper were used. The weaving was carried

out on mechanical looms, whose inherent regularity was shaped by the skilled hands of master weavers, allowing the design to come to life.

This choice creates a material bridge between Venice’s textile heritage and contemporary artistic practice, transforming the room into a place of contemplation where the palazzo’s past and the work’s present converge.

THE TEMPORARY GESTURE: THE FAÇADE AS LIVING STAGE

During the vernissage week of the 61st International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale 2026, the soul of JR’s work breaks free from the interior rooms to spill into public space, reclaiming the façade of Palazzo Ca' da Mosto. The monumental installation embraces the exterior of the palazzo’s two piani nobili, transforming its Veneto-Byzantine architecture into a living organism visible from the waters of the Grand Canal and the banks of Rialto.

It is an expansion of the banquet: the faces and gestures of the protagonists emerge from the windows and merge with centuries-old stone, in an ideal dialogue with the architectural vigour also celebrated by John Ruskin. The installation, made with ultra-lightweight panels, does not impose itself upon history but interrogates it. The figures seem to lean out from across the centuries, blurring the boundary between image and reality, between the intimacy of the palace and the breath of the crowd.

In this gesture, Ca' da Mosto opens beyond its physical boundaries to become an invitation: an open-air stage where the city of Venice is invited to take a seat at the table, partaking in a form of beauty grounded in encounter and shared experience.
“By bringing together people of different origins in a single composition, I ask: what idea of community are we building today? Who is truly visible? Who is invited to sit at the table? What does it mean, at the deepest level, to share a meal? In this work, the banquet becomes a necessary space of encounter, where beauty ceases to be a privilege and becomes a shared human experience.” — JR

The title of the work, Il Gesto, reflects the transformative power inherent in human action. It serves as a dual metaphor: on the one hand, it evokes the miracle of turning the ordinary into the extraordinary; on the other, it celebrates the outstretched hand as a universal symbol of human connection. It is a tribute to the generative force of solidarity and participation, where a single, simple movement becomes a catalyst for collective change and community building.

THE ACT OF RESTITUTION

The project goes beyond artistic celebration to become an instrument of genuine social impact. The artistic intervention translates into an act of civic responsibility and a concrete pact with the local community, operating on multiple fronts: the project’s social dimension takes tangible form.

In close collaboration with JR’s studio, the chefs of The Venice Venice Hotel will extend the project beyond the walls of the palace: the team will organize dedicated moments in line with the project’s social dimension. A commitment to sustainability completes the picture: at the end of the exhibition, the panels of the external installation will be donated. Finally, the installation on the Second Piano Nobile will be open to the public, with visits to the tapestry room bookable through a dedicated web platform, and visitors will be invited to support a local charity association through a voluntary donation. In this way, the visit may also become a tangible gesture of support for the community