Lore Bert in San Fantin Towards the Light
12 May 2026
Towards the Light
After her successful official participation in the Venice Art Biennale (2013) at the Correr Museum and her overwhelming presentation for the Biennale (2019) in San Samuele, Lore Bert is once againrealizing an impressive installation in the lagoon city for this year’s Biennale (2026).
Under the title Towards the Light, the artist presents a large-scale, immersive paper environment with neon elements in the Church of San Fantin (opposite Teatro La Fenice) from May 5 to October 22, 2026. The van der Koelen Foundation for Art and Science is the sponsor of this project.
The overall project reveals another important aspect of Lore Bert’s work: light installations with neon tubes, which she has been developing since the 1990s. In the main nave, there are two paper circles made of folded sheets of paper – one featuring red neon elements in the form of quatrefoils, the other with turquoise-and-white alternating neon spheres arranged in a spiral. The third light work stands as a sculpture in the choir and displays ‘Oriental numbers’. In the flanking side aisles, there are four large-format pictorial objects that correspond thematically and chromatically.
Light stands for hope and confidence, as it shines in the darkness. The quatrefoil is not only a typically Venetian architectural form found in many Gothic palaces, but also represents the ‘cardinal virtues’: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance, already mentioned by Plato. The spiral represents both concentration and infinity, stillness and movement. (Oriental) numbers, originating from India and including the concept of zero, not only make it possible to describequalities and quantities, but are also used in intellectual and empirical sciences as well as in business and banking.
The opening reception for the major Biennale exhibition took place last Friday, March 8, 2026, in conjunction with the opening of the Venice Biennale at La Galleria Venezia. The exhibition will remain on view through October 22, 2026. The Environment is one of the highlights of the 2026 Cultural Summer, and art lovers and culture enthusiasts should not miss it.
A catalog titled Lore Bert · Towards the Light will also be published shortly in conjunction with the exhibition, documenting the show in its entirety – from planning and installation to the opening. The bilingual publication (German/English) will be approximately 96 pages long and cost €15. If you would like to pre-order the catalog, please click here and provide us with your shipping and billing address.
