Set within the timeworn interiors of Palazzo Rota Ivancich, “We Thought We Were Alone” marks Belgian artist Koen Vanmechelen’s first solo sculptural exhibition in Venice, presented in parallel with the 61st Venice Biennale. Spanning three floors and comprising 40 newly commissioned works, the exhibition transforms the historic palazzo into an immersive environment where art, science, and philosophy converge.
Koen Vanmechelen Collaborates with Architecture
Koen Vanmechelen, “Think Twice,” marble, 90 x 90 x 70 cm, 2026, photo by Kris Vervaeke, © Koen Vanmechelen.
Koen Vanmechelen, “Cosmopolitan Fossil,” bronze, 220 x 110 x 150 cm, photo by Philippe van Gelooven, 2026, © Koen Vanmechelen.
Koen Vanmechelen, widely known for his long-running Cosmopolitan Chicken Project, continues his exploration of biocultural diversity, hybridity, and identity through a multidisciplinary approach that merges sculpture, installation, video, and sound. Here, his practice evolves into a fully spatial experience, with the palazzo itself functioning as both container and collaborator. Its layered architecture, shaped by centuries of adaptation and repair, mirrors the artist’s core themes of transformation and interconnectedness.
The exhibition opens with reinterpretations of classical forms, including references to Medusa and The Three Graces, recast through Vanmechelen’s hybrid visual language. Sculptures such as Will we ever exist (2026) juxtapose human figures with animal elements, destabilizing traditional hierarchies and questioning the boundaries between species. Bronze, marble, and glass works are interspersed with photography and video, creating a dialogue between material histories and speculative futures.
Reimagining Identity Through Art and Science
Koen Vanmechelen, “Silence,” marble, chain, 140 x 70 x 100 cm, photo by Laura Veschi, 2026, © Koen Vanmechelen.
Throughout, Vanmechelen resists the notion of the artwork as an isolated object. Instead, each piece emerges from a network of relationships, between human and animal, culture and ecology, local and global systems. This approach extends his broader conceptual framework, which positions diversity not as a theme but as an active methodology. His work at LABIOMISTA, a 24-hectare cultural park in Belgium, informs this ethos, foregrounding collaboration and community as integral to artistic production.
A dedicated room within the exhibition highlights Wild Gene Festival, a collaborative project with Senegalese musician Youssou N’Dour. Presented through video installations, the project documents a live performance in which music, painting, and collective participation converge. The resulting works underscore the exhibition’s central proposition: that meaning is generated through exchange, not isolation.
Curated by James Putnam, the exhibition aligns with the Biennale’s broader thematic framework while maintaining a distinct voice. Rather than illustrating interconnectedness, Putnam emphasizes how Vanmechelen constructs environments in which it can be experienced physically, through thresholds, transitions, and hybrid forms.
Ultimately, “We Thought We Were Alone” is less a statement than an invitation: to reconsider humanity’s position within a broader ecological and cultural continuum, and to imagine new modes of coexistence grounded in reciprocity rather than dominance.
What to Know
Koen Vanmechelen, “Cold,” marble, glass, bronze, 143 x 100 x 100 cm, photo by Philippe van Gelooven, 2026, © Koen Vanmechelen.
Koen Vanmechelen, “Will we ever exist,” Carrara White marble, patinated bronze, 220 x 200 x 100 cm, photo by Laura Veschi, 2026, © Koen Vanmechelen.
Don’t Miss: The Wild Gene Festival installation featuring collaborative works with Youssou N’Dour.
Why it Matters: Reframes identity and coexistence through art-science hybridity and global collaboration.
Dates: May 9 – November 22, 2026 (Preview: May 6–8).
Venue: Palazzo Rota Ivancich, Castello, Venice.
Curator: James Putnam.
