Sanya Kantarovsky shows 'Basic Failure' Venice

Sanya Kantarovsky opened “Basic Failure” in Venice on May 6, adding a new off-site exhibition to the city’s Biennale season. The show is installed at Palazzo Loredan, home of the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, and runs through Nov. 22. Venue and gallery materials describe it as a presentation of new paintings, ceramic works and a sculpture made with a Murano glass studio. The exhibition arrives as Venice’s 61st International Art Exhibition, titled “In Minor Keys,” unfolds across the city. ### Where exactly is “Basic Failure” being shown in Venice? Palazzo Loredan is the exhibition site for “Basic Failure,” according to the Istituto Veneto and Modern Art, Kantarovsky’s gallery. The address listed by the venue is Campo Santo Stefano 2945 in Venice, and admission is free. The Istituto Veneto says opening hours are 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., every day except Tuesday. (modernart.net) Modern Art says the exhibition coincides with the broader programming around La Biennale di Venezia. Cultured also listed “Basic Failure” among Venice shows timed to the Biennale period, with dates from May 6 to Nov. 22. ### What kind of work is Kantarovsky showing there? Modern Art says the exhibition includes a group of paintings, ceramic works and a sculpture produced in collaboration with a Murano glass studio. (modernart.net) The gallery says those works extend Kantarovsky’s interdisciplinary practice and engage directly with the architecture of the historic palazzo. The Istituto Veneto says the works focus on the human figure and themes including spirituality, alienation and vulnerability. (heni.com) Its exhibition text says the show examines the body in states of vulnerability, embarrassment and what it calls subtle cruelty. ### Why are critics focusing on religion, taboo and children in this show? The exhibition text published by Modern Art frames “Basic Failure” through ideas of taboo, ritual and religious division. (modernart.net) It refers to Freud, “holy dread,” the Eucharist and the split between gods and demons, men and animals, and the living and the dead. The Istituto Veneto reproduces the same curatorial language in Italian, again linking the show to taboo, religion and contamination. (istitutoveneto.it) That institutional framing helps explain why recent coverage has emphasized Christian imagery and unsettling depictions of childhood, even as the venue’s own summary centers more broadly on spirituality and the painted figure. (modernart.net) ### What has Kantarovsky said about how he works? Sanya Kantarovsky told Wallpaper that he works “very intuitively” and rarely begins with a fixed idea. In the same interview, he said he usually starts with “some vague sense of an effect, or even maybe a theme,” describing that as a reaction to the circumstances of the exhibition. (istitutoveneto.it) Wallpaper said the Moscow-born, New York-based artist has developed a practice spanning painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking and animation. The interview also described the Venice presentation as one of the publication’s must-sees during the 2026 Biennale period. ### How does the venue describe Kantarovsky himself? (wallpaper.com) The Istituto Veneto says Kantarovsky was born in Moscow in 1982 and lives in New York. It says he studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and UCLA, and cites earlier exhibitions at institutions including Kunsthalle Basel and Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Turin. The same venue text says his work is held by museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tate and the Whitney Museum. (wallpaper.com) It describes his painting as combining psychological unease with irony and drawing on European art history, Russian graphic satire and avant-garde design. ### If someone wants to see it next, what are the practical details? (istitutoveneto.it) “Basic Failure” remains on view in Venice through Nov. 22, according to both the venue and the gallery. The next concrete step for visitors is to go to Palazzo Loredan during the posted public hours of 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., excluding Tuesdays. (modernart.net) (istitutoveneto.it)