Vessel of Other Worlds — Wallace Chan in Venice and Shanghai
- Anna Lilli Garai
- Oct 2
- 2 min read
Location: Chapel of Santa Maria della Pietà, Venice / Long Museum, Shanghai
Date: May 8 – Oct 18, 2026 (Venice) / July 18 – Oct 25, 2026 (Shanghai)
Project: Dual exhibition by Wallace Chan, curated by James Putnam
Why it Matters: Bridges Venice and Shanghai through large-scale sculptural work exploring ritual, transformation, and cultural dialogue
Wallace Chan, the Hong Kong–based artist celebrated for his technical precision and conceptual ambition, will stage a dual exhibition in 2026 that links two global art capitals. Vessel of Other Worlds opens during the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia at the Chapel of Santa Maria della Pietà before traveling to the Long Museum in Shanghai.
In Venice, Chan presents three monumental titanium sculptures inspired by the Olea Sancta—the three sacred oils used in Catholic blessing rituals. The towering works serve both as physical presences and as symbolic thresholds, referencing transformation, purification, and the passage between worlds. Installed in the historic chapel, they highlight Chan’s interest in merging contemporary material innovation with layered cultural and spiritual narratives.
These sculptures also act as precursors to even larger, ten-meter-high versions that will be unveiled in Shanghai later in the year. Together, the two chapters of the project establish a dialogue between Venice and Shanghai, placing the sacred and the secular, the intimate and the colossal, in tension and exchange.
Chan’s practice, known for its mastery of scale and material—from gemstone carving to titanium engineering—has long sought to test the limits of form and meaning. With Vessel of Other Worlds, he uses sheer physical presence to address how objects hold memory and belief, and how art might serve as a vessel for both continuity and change.
More info: https://www.wallace-chan.com/
