Where Light Finds Form: New ‘Komorebi’ Art Project at The St. Regis Venice to Debut for Biennale Arte 2026
- 4 days ago
- 9 min read
Updated: 4 hours ago
Timed with the opening of the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, The St. Regis Venice introduces 'Komorebi', a new contemporary art project that rethinks the hotel as a perceptual environment.
The exhibition was conceived by curator Marta Cereda and developed with The St Regis Venice in collaboration with Artelier Art Consultancy. On view from May 2026 to April 2027, the exhibition deepens the hotel’s role as a cultural salon on the Grand Canal, where heritage and contemporary expression meet.
The Santa Maria Suite Terrace, the Arts Bar, the Gran Salone & The St Regis Hotel's façade © The St Regis Venice
About the Exhibition
Named after the Japanese word describing sunlight filtering through leaves, Komorebi echoes the theme of the 2026 Venice Biennale, In Minor Keys, translating the late Koyo Kouoh’s vision into the language of hospitality. Works by six artists – Nina Carini, Gaia De Megni, Marco De Sanctis, Joan Jonas, Jure Kastelic and Marinella Senatore – appear in dialogue with bespoke Murano glass pieces created with Berengo Studio.
The exhibition unfolds across the ground-floor spaces, all open to the public, as a sequence of thresholds shaped by changing light and material presence. Each environment introduces a new condition, encouraging visitors to slow their gaze and let themselves be caught by moments of radiance. As it explores the shifting relationship between light, matter and space, the concept mirrors Venice itself, where reflections ripple across lagoon façades and historic interiors shimmer with changing luminosity.
“In Komorebi, light operates as a condition that alters perception,” said Marta Cereda. “Each work introduces a moment of suspension in which space, matter and image are continuously reconfigured, in direct dialogue with the layered architecture of The St. Regis Venice.”
(From left to right) Gaia De Megni, Joan Jonas & Marco de Sanctis © Courtesy of The St Regis Venice. Photography by Tiziano Ercoli
How to Navigate the Exhibition
Anchoring the exhibition in the physicality of Venice’s architecture are the works of Marco De Sanctis. His bronze, copper and cyanotype surfaces, marked by chemical and manual processes, introduce a sense of material tension and appear like fragments of a past still taking shape.
In the adjoining spaces, Nina Carini creates a sculptural ecosystem shaped by her contemplation of the lagoon. Bronze, glass and aluminium elements evoke organic growth, casting shifting shadows that alter the rhythm of the room. The installation feels alive, subtly reorienting the guest’s gaze.
Within St. Regis Bar, works by Joan Jonas, a seminal figure in performance and moving image, introduce a more intimate register. Her drawings, traces of gesture and memory, unfold like visual notations that connect body, space and time. Further along, Jure Kastelic presents figurative paintings that emerge from layered fields of light and colour. His scenes feel paused between reality and imagination, as if captured from a film whose story remains just out of reach.
In the Arts Bar, Gaia De Megni offers a single striking image: a pair of boxing gloves adorned with bells, photographed like a still life. The object, stripped of its original purpose, becomes a relic of an action that may or may not have occurred, its metallic surface scattering light across the room.
The journey culminates with Marinella Senatore, whose works appear throughout the exhibition path, between the Arts Bar, St. Regis Bar and Ginori Terrace, forming a constellation of luminous interventions. Neon phrases, gilded collages and a grand luminaria overlooking the Grand Canal transform the façade into a beacon. Her language-based interventions extend the exhibition outward, connecting the hotel to the city’s continuous flow.
To learn more about The St. Regis Venice, visit stregisvenice.com.
About The St Regis Venice
St. Regis Hotels & Resorts
Combining timeless glamour with a vanguard spirit, St. Regis Hotels & Resorts is committed to delivering exquisite experiences at over 65 luxury hotels and resorts in the best addresses around the world. Beginning with the debut of The St. Regis Hotel in New York by John Jacob Astor IV at the dawn of the twentieth century, the brand has remained committed to an uncompromising level of bespoke and anticipatory service for all of its guests, delivered flawlessly by the signature St. Regis Butler Service.
For more information and new openings, visit stregis.com or follow Instagram and Facebook. St. Regis is proud to participate in Marriott Bonvoy®, the global travel program from Marriott International. The program offers members an extraordinary portfolio of global brands, exclusive experiences on Marriott Bonvoy Moments , and unparalleled benefits including complimentary nights and Elite status recognition. To enroll for free or for more information about the program, visit marriottbonvoy.com.
About The St. Regis Venice
The ultimate arbiter of sophistication and elegance, The St. Regis Venice combines historic legacy with modern luxury in a privileged location beside the Grand Canal, offering stunning views of Venice’s most iconic landmarks. Through a meticulous restoration of a unique collection of five Venetian palaces, the hotel’s design celebrates the modern spirit of Venice, boasting 163 guestrooms and suites, many with furnished private terraces with incomparable views of the city.
Uncompromising glamour extends to the hotel’s restaurants and bars, which offer a range of exquisite dining and beverage options for Venetians and visitors alike including the private Italianate Garden (a refined space for local tastemakers and guests to mingle), Gio’s (the hotel’s signature restaurant), and The Arts Bar, where cocktails have been specially created to celebrate masterpieces of art.
For celebratory gatherings and more formal functions, the hotel offers a choice of areas that can be easily transformed and personalised to host guests, supported by an extensive menu of inspirational cuisine. Crafted occasions are held in the Library, with its urbane atmosphere, in the well-appointed Lounge, or in the adjacent Astor Boardroom. The Canaletto Room embodies the contemporary spirit of a Venetian palazzo and impressive ballroom, presenting an ideal backdrop for significant celebrations.
For more information, please visit stregisvenice.com.
The Presidential Suite © The St Regis Venice
About the Artists
Gaia De Megni
Gaia De Megni, a visual artist originally from Santa Margherita Ligure, lives and works between Rome and Milan. Her practice moves across different media including sculpture, video and performance, exploring relationships between body, space and collective imagination. She studied Visual Arts and Curatorial Studies at NABA in Milan and later continued her research through the MAP_PA Master’s program in Performing Arts organised by Palaexpo and the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. In 2024 she was among the fellows of WHW Akademija in Zagreb, a program curated by the collective What, How and for Whom.
Since 2014 she has participated in numerous exhibitions and projects including Bienal del Sur, Milan; UNDERCURRENTS, Vila 31 x Art Explora, Tirana; Malta Biennale, Valletta; Ekrani i Artit, Shkodër; Hypermaremma, Tuscany; Ars Electronica Festival, Linz; and PROPAGANDA at Museo del Novecento, Milan. She has received several awards including Premio Città di Monza Biennale dei Giovani, Arte Accademia DUCATO Prize, Premio Lydia, the Pini Art Prize by Fondazione Pini and Arte Visione Careof. She has also been shortlisted for prizes such as Talent Prize, Premio Michetti and Flash Art Emerging Artists.
© Gaia de Megni
Joan Jonas
Joan Jonas (New York, 1936) is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the development of performance and video art. Since the 1960s she has placed female subjectivity at the centre of her practice, developing a complex visual language that combines gesture, storytelling, drawing, sound and moving image. Her work is characterised by a deeply interdisciplinary approach and by a continuous dialogue with myths, fairy tales, literature and folklore, which she reinterprets to reflect on contemporary life in both poetic and political terms.
Throughout her career she has collaborated with artists and musicians including Peter Campus, Richard Serra, Ragani Haas, Alvin Curran and Jason Moran. Her work has been presented in major international institutions such as Tate Modern, London; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Dia Art Foundation, Beacon; Haus der Kunst, Munich; Museo Nacional Thyssen Bornemisza, Madrid; Fundação de Serralves, Porto; HangarBicocca, Milan; and the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam. In 2015 she represented the United States at the 56th Venice Biennale and has participated several times in Documenta in Kassel. In 2018 she received the Kyoto Prize and in 2009 the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
(Left) Joan Jonas © Maximilan Geuter. Courtesy: the artist, Raffaella Cortese, Milan – Albisola and Haus der Kunst, Munich (Right) Installation View, Joan Jonas: Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, The Drawing Center, New York. March 6 - June 2, 2024. © Daniel Terna. Courtesy: the artist, Raffaella Cortese, Milan – Albisola and The Drawing Center, New York
Jure Kastelic
Jure Kastelic (Slovenia, 1992) is an artist whose practice explores the interplay of opposing forces and ideas that shape desires, values and the influence of technology on contemporary culture. Working primarily through painting, he creates surreal and dreamlike scenarios inspired by both analog and digital sources, including dissident communities, classical painters and essays on the history of economy. His work reflects on the cultural and symbolic systems that structure the contemporary imagination.
His works have been exhibited internationally at venues including Bernheim, London and Zurich; Carl Kostyal, London and Milan; Pact Galerie, Paris; Mare Karina, Venice; Pareidolia Foundation, Venice; UGM, Slovenia; the Ljubljana Biennial of Graphic Arts; and Showroom Fabio Gatto, Milan. His works are included in the collections of AMOCA, Wales; Musée National d’Histoire et d’Art, Luxembourg; Herbert Smith Freehills, London; and private collections worldwide. His work has been published in outlets including Le Monde, Vogue, The Guardian and Fast Company.
(Left) Jure Kastelic © Mare Karina (right) Pursuit (2024) © Jure Kastelic
Marco De Sanctis
Marco De Sanctis (Milan, 1983) lives and works in Brussels. His practice investigates the status of the image, the creative process and the notion of time through the relationship between drawing, experimental techniques and the exhibition space. His works often emerge from superimpositions and interventions on existing images, establishing a dialogue between object and environment and turning the artwork into a device that activates new perceptions and memories. Time plays a central role in his practice, both as a measurable element within the artistic process and as an intimate dimension of the viewer’s experience.
His work has been presented in solo and group exhibitions at galleries, institutions and art fairs internationally, including Platea, Palazzo Galiano, Lodi; Dauwens & Beernaert, Brussels; Eduardo Secci, Florence; Mana Contemporary, Jersey City; Centrale for Contemporary Art, Brussels; Bozar, Brussels; Artissima, Turin; Palazzo Monti, Brescia; Médiatine, Brussels; and Fondazione Rivoli2, Milan. His works are included in private and museum collections such as Vanhaerents Art Collection, Fondation Merode, the P.O.K. Collection of Galila Barzilai Hollander, Museum Voorlinden and Spazio Almag.
© Marco de Sanctis
Marinella Senatore
Marinella Senatore (Cava de’ Tirreni, 1977) is a multidisciplinary artist with a background in music, fine arts and cinema. Her practice is rooted in participatory processes and the activation of temporary communities, combining aesthetic experimentation with a strong social dimension. Through light installations, performances, films and public projects, Senatore reflects on the political potential of collective rituals and on alternative forms of shared learning, creating spaces for encounter and collaboration. In 2012 she founded The School of Narrative Dance, a nomadic, free and non-hierarchical educational platform promoting alternative systems of learning based on empowerment and self-education.
Her work has been presented at major international institutions including the High Line, New York; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Palazzo Grassi and Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice; Serpentine Gallery, London; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; MAXXI, Rome; Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; and Palais de Tokyo, Paris. She has participated in several major biennials, including Venice, São Paulo, Lyon and Havana.
(Left) Don Chisciotte (2024) by Marinella Senatore © Renato Ghiazza (centre) Marinella Senatore © Mazen Jannoun (right) Opera Opera! (2024) by Marinella Senatore © Renato Ghiazza
Nina Carini
Nina Carini (Palermo, 1984) studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Milan and at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Lyon. Her practice develops through the use of different media, understood as tools within an ongoing research process aimed at redefining the meaning and function of artistic practice. Each work emerges from an extended phase of observation and study of the investigated phenomena, resulting in works that do not appear as fixed entities but as open systems that exceed their own limits. Her research privileges the use of non conventional means and unfolds through continuous experimentation with sound, installation and sculpture.
Recent exhibitions include Atto Primo, Carlo Zauli Museum, Faenza (2026); Materia Sonora, Italian Cultural Institute of Madrid (2024); Premio Cairo, Museo della Permanente, Milan (2023); Aperçues, Basilica di San Celso, Milan (2023); Per Sempre e toujours, Nembrini Collection, Bergamo (2022); Meteorite in giardino 13, Fondazione Merz, Turin (2021); For 24h CALL ME POET! Let’s meet on the horizon, Casa Testori and Casa degli Artisti, Milan (2020); and Are my eyes distracting my hearing?, NM Contemporary, Monaco (2019). In 2017 she was a finalist of the 8th VAF Foundation Award with the work Confine, now in the collection of MART, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto.
(Left) Nina Carini © Alessandra Canteri (right) Lingue de Cielo (2023-25) by Nina Carini, installation view at Palazzo Lantieri Gorizia © Lorenzo Palmieri
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