We Thought We Were Alone, Palazzo Rota Ivancich, Venice (IT), 9 May – 22 NOV 2026

Koen Vanmechelen returns to Venice with a solo exhibition entitled We Thought We Were Alone. Coinciding with the 61st International Art Exhibition – In Minor Keys, the exhibition will feature 30 installations across three floors, transforming the historic 17th-century Palazzo Rota Ivancich into a space of hybridity, connection, and dialogue between all forms of life.

Curator James Putnam;

We Thought We Were Alone alludes to the premise that humans are not central to the functioning of the Earth, instead all of its living organisms interact with the inorganic environment to form a complex, self-regulating system that maintains the conditions necessary for life. The exhibition is also linked to Vanmechelen’s on-going conceptual art practice that endorses hybridity or the mixing of diverse elements thereby challenging established boundaries and nurturing social understanding. The concept is expressed with his classically inspired anthropomorphic sculptures in marble, bronze and glass.

Through his research and collaboration with leading scientists his work also explores the relationship between genes and planetary ecology since genes carry the information that allows organisms to adapt to their environment. A highlight among the dynamic sculptures and profound neon quotes spread three floors of the historic Palazzo (Rota Ivancich), is a vast realistically painted bronze femur around which glass snakes are coiled that takes on the form of a traditional Venetian chandelier.

Exhibition Facts

WE THOUGHT WE WERE ALONE

Solo exhibition

Koen Vanmechelen

Curated by James Putnam

Palazzo Rota Ivancich

(3 min walk from P.za San Marco)

Coinciding with the 61^st International Art Exhibition

La Biennale di Venezia

In Minor Keys

9.05 - 22.11 2026