The fondazione dries van noten takes shape on the grand canal
Dries Van Noten launches it foundation in Venice, creating a new cultural platform dedicated to craft as a living, evolving language. Housed in the historic Palazzo Pisani Moretta, the Fondazione Dries Van Noten opens with its first presentation, The Only True Protest Is Beauty, which runs from April 25 to October 4, 2026.
THE report borrows its title from American songwriter Phil Ochs, recasting its statement into a spatial and material investigation. Here, beauty is approached as a tension rather than a solution, an encounter that both unsettles and attracts. Curated by Dries Van Noten himself, the presentation unfolds in twenty rooms spanning the ground floor and piano nobile levels of the palazzo, where more than 200 works form an intuitive sequence of contrasts, interruptions and resonances.
Rather than following a fixed curatorial logic, the exhibition works through instinct, allowing for unexpected approaches between disciplines. Fashion, art, collectible design, ceramics, glass and photography coexist, creating a multi-layered environment where meaning emerges through juxtaposition.
Comme des Garçons, Collection Spring/Summer 2025, Headpiece by Julien d’Ys, Courtesy of Comme des Garçons. Christian Lacroix, Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2004, Look 37, Wig by Fabio Petri, Courtesy of Christian Lacroix, STL team. Kate MccGwire, STIFLE, 2008, Private collector | all images from Matteo de Mayda
fashion as structure and narrative
Christian Lacroix and Rei Kawakubo’s archival silhouettes trace parallel approaches to construction and abstraction while expanding the dialogue between generations. The inclusion of Comme des Garçons emphasizes sculptural garments as autonomous forms, challenging conventional definitions of beauty.
Emerging voices such as Ayham Hassan introduce a materially grounded language shaped by constraints and resilience, positioning fashion as both a personal narrative and a political expression. Throughout the exhibition, garments transcend projection to become spatial agents, interacting directly with the palace’s frescoes, textures and historic decoration.
In all his rooms foundationmaterial experimentation unfolds as a continuous dialogue between past and present. Works by Peter Buggenhout introduce ambiguity and wear, while glass pieces by Ritsue Mishima and Murano-based makers extend traditions of fragility and transparency. Elsewhere, Kaori Kurihara’s ceramics echo organic rhythms in the palazzo’s painted interiors, while Hubert Duprat’s Trichoptère works transform insects into improbable jewellers, incorporating precious materials into natural processes. In a former chapel alcove, Misha Kahn introduces a deliberately irreverent sculptural intervention, offset by Ann Carrington’s intricate metal assemblages.
These encounters are structured around a recurring tension between harmony and rupture. Moments of visual coherence are repeatedly interrupted by elements that destabilize the scene, reinforcing beauty as something active, unstable, and open-ended.
Christian Lacroix, Haute Couture Fall/Winter 1997, Look 59, Wig and Headpiece Arrangement by Fabio Petri, Courtesy of Christian Lacroix, STL Team — Lionel Jadot, Black Moon Chandeliers, 2025, Courtesy of Narrative Objects.
a scenography of intuition and encounter
The exhibition’s scenography, also developed by Van Noten, eschews hierarchical organization in favor of a fluid, atmospheric progression. Historical elements of the palazzo become active participants, framing each project within a dense network of references. Ceiling frescoes, antique furniture and architectural details come into dialogue with modern interventions, collapsing time limits.
More than twenty behind-the-scenes videos accompany the presentation, offering insight into the manufacturing processes and emphasizing the human dimension embedded in each object. This focus on gesture, work, and material knowledge reinforces the institution’s broader mission to foreground the act of making as both cultural memory and future-oriented practice.
As a private historic residence, Palazzo Pisani Moretta is opened to the public through a controlled access model linked to the foundation’s membership program. The initiative also marks a rare opportunity to experience the building before its impending restoration, positioning the exhibition as both a cultural activation and a transitional moment.
With this inaugural presentation, the Fondazione Dries Van Noten sets a clear trajectory, one that bridges disciplines, geographies and temporalities while maintaining a focus on craft as a common language. Within this framework, beauty is not positioned as a fixed ideal, but as an evolving question, constantly reshaped through material, context and encounter.
Steven Shearer Whiskered Sentinel, 2024 UV print on canvas Courtesy of ©Steven Shearer Courtesy of the artist, Galerie Eva Presenhuber and David Zwirner
Ann Carrington, Persian Slipper 2026, Courtesy of the artist — Ann Carrington Qiulong, 2026, Courtesy of the artist — Tuscan School, 17th-18th century Madonna and Child enthroned between the infant St. John and a musical angel
Comme des Garçons Spring/Summer 2024 Collection Headline by Julien d’Ys Courtesy of Comme des Garçons — Portrait of Giustiniano Bullo as a child by unknown artist, 18th century.
Virginia Leonard, A Frock Will Hide All That Sticky Out Bits He Said, 2026, courtesy of Virginia Leonard and Side Gallery
Misha Kahn Flotsam Jetsam, 2017 Aluminum, stainless steel Courtesy of Friedman Benda and Misha Kahn, Arthur Vandergucht Metropolis Cabinet, 2025 Aluminum, rivets Courtesy of Uppercut, Tuscan School, 16th century CRUCIFIXION WITH OF THE MOURN
Misha Kahn Flotsam Jetsam, 2017 Aluminum, stainless steel Courtesy of Friedman Benda and Misha Kahn | Arthur Vandergucht Metropolis Cabinet, 2025 Aluminum, rivets Courtesy of Uppercut
Comme des Garçons Collection Spring/Summer 2016 Headpiece by Julien d’Ys Courtesy of Comme des Garçons, Steven Shearer ORK, 2025 UV print on linen Courtesy of ©Steven Shearer Courtesy of the artist, Galerie Eva Presenhuber and David Zwirner
Kaori Kurihara Pierrot fleuri, 2025 Stoneware, underglaze decoration, glaze, gilding, silver Courtesy of the artist, Tessitura Bevilacqua textiles
Ann Carrington Persian Slipper, 2026 Sliver, nickel-plated and cutlery steel Courtesy of the artist, Ann Carrington Inferno, 2026 Gold-plated bronze, with resin. Steel support plate Courtesy of the artist
Joseph Arzoumanov The Fund of Dreams, 2026 | Image courtesy of Fondazione Dries Van Noten
Alexander Kirkeby, Vase, Candelabra and Tumbler, 2026, Courtesy of the artist studio and Uppercut — Manifattura Briati Glassware with the Pisani family crest, 18th century
Steven Shearer On Grass, 2024 UV print on canvas Courtesy of ©Steven Shearer Courtesy of the artist, Galerie Eva Presenhuber and David Zwirner, Pietro Liberi Lot e le figlie, 17th century Oil on canvas
project information:
name: THE ONLY TRUE COMPLAINT IS BEAUTY
venue: Dries Van Noten Foundation | @fondazionedriesvannoten
location: Palazzo Pisani Moretta, Grand Canal, Venice, Italy
founders: Dries Van Noten and Patrick Vangheluwe
curator and scenographer: Dries Van Noten
coordinators: Jurgen Sailer and Sabrina Transiskus
architecture: Torsello Architecture
lighting design: studio marionanni
Set design production: Uni.S.Ve.
Presentation production: Marsilio Art
publisher: Marsilio Art
exhibitors: Adeline Halot, Alexander Kirkeby (Uppercut), Ann Carrington, Armand Louis for Wave Murano Glass, Arthur Vandergucht (Uppercut), Atelier Lachaert Dhanis, Audrey Guimard, Ayham Hassan, Bruno Amadi, Bruno Barbon, Chris Fusaro (Uppercut), Christian Lacrotoit, Listores, Codotske Duprat (Art: Concept), Isaac Monte (Spazio Nobile), Joris Laarman (Friedman Benda), Joseph Arzoumanov, Joyce J Scott (Goya Contemporary Gallery), Julien d’Ys, Hyeokjin Jung (Side Gallery), Kaori Kurihara, Kate Kate Kitsukoyopei, Kate Kate Kitkoyopei. Lionel Jadot (Objects With Narratives), Lilla Tabasso (Caterina Tognon Gallery), Lisa Immordino Vreeland, Misha Kahn (Friedman Benda), Monika Rościszewska, Moreno Schweikle (Uppercut), Nifemi Marcus-Bello (Side Gallery), Paindeobile Peter Buggenhout (Axel Vervoordt Gallery), Rebecca Manson (Josh Lilley), Richard Štipl (Steinhauser Gallery), Ritsue Mishima (Gallery Pierre Marie Giraud), Seongil Choi (Uppercut), Sophie Buhai (Anne Sophie Duval Gallery and Steven Sheeavid Gallery). Takuro Kuwata (Gallery Pierre Marie Giraud), Tony Cragg (Barengo Foundation), Václav Cigler (Caterina Tognon Gallery), Virginia Leonard (Side Gallery), Vladimir Slavov (Objects With Narratives), Wendy Andreu (Uppercut), Xavier Mañosa (Side Gallery).
photographer: Matteo de Mayda | @demayda
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