A leading voice in contemporary art, Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo has shaped a global dialogue between artists, institutions, and audiences through her visionary foundation. Since the 1990s, she has championed experimentation and exchange, building platforms in Turin and beyond that foster critical engagement and discovery. With a deep commitment to cultural stewardship, her work continues to expand the role of the collector as catalyst, connecting art to place, community, and evolving forms of knowledge.
Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo’s Venice
Chiara Camoni, “Chiamare a raduno. Sorelle. Falene e fiammelle. Ossa di leonesse, pietre e serpentesse.” Hangar Bicocca, Milan (IT) 2024, installation view. Photo by Agostino Osio.
WHITEWALLER: What are your favorite corners of Venice that most visitors never find?
PATRIZIA SANDRETTO RE REBAUDENGO: The soul of Venice reveals itself fully in its artistic heritage, but it is truly understood in its quieter corners. I love getting lost in less frequented areas, such as Giudecca or parts of Castello, where everyday life still unfolds with authenticity. It is essential to understand the relationship between the city and the lagoon—a bond I feel particularly strongly at San Giacomo, the small island between Murano and Burano where the new headquarters of the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Foundation will open on May 7. We envisioned it as a place of discovery, where art can engage in dialogue with the environment and the contemplative dimension of the lagoon.
“I love getting lost in less frequented areas.”
-Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo.
WW: What does Venice during Biennale season feel like to you — how does the city change?
PSRR: During the Biennale, Venice completely changes pace: it becomes an international crossroads of people, artworks, energies, and encounters. It is an experience of extraordinary vitality—a time that feels accelerated and even overwhelming.
Art, Landscape, and the Lagoon
Simon Denny with Venkatesh Rao, “Monsters Between Worlds” (2026) Installation View of “Strange Rules,” Palazzo Diedo Berggruen Arts & Culture. Photo credit Joan Porcel.
WW: Which artists or works are you most excited to see this year?
PSRR: Michael Armitage and Amar Kanwar at Palazzo Grassi—artists I greatly admire and know well, as they have exhibited at the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Foundation; the Uzbek Pavilion, featuring the work of Xin Liu, who opened her solo exhibition at the Foundation in Turin on April 15; and of course the Italian Pavilion with the project by Chiara Camoni.
Naturally, I am also very eager to present the Island of San Giacomo and to share the works of Matt Copson, brought together in the solo exhibition “Fanfare/Lament,” curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist. The project combines exhibition and performance, with music composed by Oliver Leith, and forms part of a broader exhibition path that also extends into the island’s garden, featuring six installations by Goshka Macuga, Pamela Rosenkranz, Claire Fontaine, Thomas Schütte, Hugh Hayden, and Mario García Torres.
“What lingers most are the works that establish a deep dialogue with the city.”
-Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo.
WW: Is there a work of art — anywhere in Venice, in any era — that has stayed with you the most?
PSRR: The San Zaccaria Altarpiece by Giovanni Bellini, with the Madonna enthroned and the Saints. Going to see it again is a kind of personal ritual that marks the time I spend in Venice. I love it because it is a painting that invites meditation, drawing us into a suspended and silent space-time.
What lingers most are the works that establish a deep dialogue with the city—those that belong to its history, its light, and its fragility. Venice has this unique ability to transform the experience of art into something deeply personal and enduring.
