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Paper Tears by Claudia Pagès and Elise Lammer at the Venice Art Biennale 2026
The notion of duality, a central element in Clàudia Pagès' research, is examined through the history of watermarks.
The 61st International Art Exhibition of the Biennale di Venezia will take place from May 9 to November 22, 2026 under the theme In Minor Keys , a project led at the time by curator Koyo Kouoh. And in this new edition, Paper Tears , a work by the Barcelona artist Clàudia Pagès Rabal is the project selected for the participation of Catalan culture organized by the Institut Ramon Llull at the Eventi Collaterali.
Paper Tears is curated by Elise Lammer and the Catalan artist explores the watermarks preserved in the archive of the Molí Paperer Museum in Capellades (Barcelona), a historical collection that preserves papers dating back to the 11th century and from various regions, from northern Italy to the Iberian Peninsula.
Claudia Pagès Rabal is a visual artist, performer and writer based in Barcelona. Her artistic practice combines words, body, music and movement to create visual and linguistic devices, which materialize in video installations, works on paper and books. Her work is articulated from diverse interests that include linguistics, psychoanalysis and decolonial studies, weaving a discourse that challenges conventional narratives.
The project is very much in line with Kouoh's vision by creating a multi-layered installation that literally tunes into the minor keys in the form of light, sound and narrative. The jury that selected Pagès' proposal highlighted how the history of paper, intimately linked to water and to Jewish and Muslim communities, finds echoes in current issues. As they noted, 'the history of 15th-century Catalonia reverberates in the dynamics of the contemporary world'.
A jury composed of Pepe Serra, Cristina Anglada, María Berríos, Amanda de la Garza, Chus Martínez, Filipa Ramos and Eva Sòria. The 4 finalist projects were: Fulgor , curated by Rosa Lleó, We are Resonance, curated by Pilar Soler Montes, El món cantarà... en una vibració , curated by Sonia Fernández Pan and Resonant Body , curated by Renan Laru-an.
The Institut Ramon Llull organizes and produces Catalonia in Venice , the participation of Catalan culture in the Eventi Collaterali of La Biennale di Venezia. They have been part of the Eventi Collaterali of La Biennale di Venezia since 2009 and of the Biennale d'Arquitectura since 2012. The eventi collaterali (collateral events) of the Venice Biennale are parallel exhibitions and activities that take place during the same period as the Biennale d'Art or the Biennale d'Architecture, but that are not part of the official selection or the main program.
