Exhibition dates: Saturday 9 May – Sunday 22 November 2026 (pre-opening 6-8 May)
Location: Dutch pavilion, Giardini, Venice
The ‘Fortress’ is the title of the new work to be presented by artist Dries Verhoeven and curator Rieke Vos for the 61st edition of the Venice Biennale. Dries Verhoeven and Rieke Vos are currently developing a performance and architectural intervention for the Rietveld Pavilion, marking the first time that performance will be presented in the Dutch Pavilion.
With The Fortress, Verhoeven and Vos examine the human instinct for self-protection – the urge to safeguard one’s boundaries, peace of mind and way of life. In an age of uncertainty, the duo reflects on how Western society grapples with the tension between its enlightened self-image and an increasingly bleak outlook on the future. Through this work, Verhoeven draws visitors directly into this contradiction. The Rietveld Pavilion,built amid the progressive optimism of the postwar era, not only serves as the setting for the presentation but also becomes an integral part of the work itself.
Dries Verhoeven: “The Biennale’s design perpetuates an old-world order, which fascinates me. Many former Western powers have a prominent place there. The Netherlands, with its modernist pavilion, can present itself as a model of openness, progress, and internationalism. But do we still recognise ourselves in this image?”
Advisory Committee
The Advisory Committee’s positive recommendation to the Board of the Mondriaan Fund regarded Verhoeven and Vos’ plan, in light of the remarkable way in which the current global political developments are translated into a visual performance. Verhoeven will now add a striking new chapter to the presentations in the Dutch Pavilion, while simultaneously placing the pavilion itself in a new light.
The members of the advisory committee for the 2026 Dutch submission were: Amira Gad (curator at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen), Franziska Nori (Dir. Frankfurter Kunstverein), Manuel Segade (Dir. Reina Sofía), Jörgen Tjon A Fong (former Dir. De Kleine Komedie, curator, Senior Cross Media Editor at Omroep Max) and Barbara Visser (visual artist), with Eelco van der Lingen (Director Mondriaan Fund) as the committee Chair.
Eelco van der Lingen, Director Mondriaan Fund and commissioner:
‘Following the relocation of melanie bonajo to a church outside the Giardini in 2022, and Renzo Martens making way for the Congolese collective CATPC in 2024, conventions are once again being pushed aside, and hierarchy and national representation are being challenged. The building, the garden, the biennale and the relationship with the outside world all deserve to be discussed, and I am therefore looking forward to Dries Verhoeven’s intervention, and to the questions that it will raise.’
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Dries Verhoeven & Rieke Vos
Dries Verhoeven is a visual artist and theatre maker. He creates installations, performances and interventions in the public space that critically reflect on the moral frictions in the late capitalist society. Rieke Vos is an art historian and curator working working across various disciplines. She has been Curator of Contemporary Art at Teylers Museum in Haarlem since 2023.
The Mondriaan Fund as commissioner
The Mondriaan Fund, the public incentive fund for the visual arts and cultural heritage, is responsible for the Dutch submission for the International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. The presentation is funded from the international budget the Fund receives from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.