Venice Biennale 2026: Tegene Kunbi to represent Ethiopia

Primo Marella Gallery is proud to share an important milestone in the career of Ethiopian artist Tegene Kunbi, who has been selected to represent the Ethiopian Pavilion at Palazzo Bollani Castello 3647 for the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia – from May 9th to November 22nd, 2026.

 

This year’s edition, In Minor Keys, curated by Koyo Kouoh, brings together practices that challenge dominant narratives through subtle and poetic approaches.   

 

Kunbi will represent Ethiopia in a presentation curated by Abebaw Ayalew – with Yohannes Mulat Mekonnen serving as Curatorial Assistant –, titled Shapes of Silence. The chosen venue, Palazzo Bollani Castello 3647, located in the picturesque Castello district, is a Renaissance building standing as a symbol of Venice’s understated beauty.

Marking the culmination of over thirty years of studio practice, the project brings together a new body of work in which Kunbi mobilizes abstraction, textile, and assemblage to explore silence as a social and political condition.