Lore Bert 90th anniversary in Venice

On July 2, 2026, the world-renowned Mainz-based paper artist Lore Bert celebrated her 90th birthday in Venice. Even at her advanced age, she remains extremely productive and can be found in her studio for several hours every day, where she works with her assistants on exciting new creations.

In 2026, Lore Bert reached two further important milestones in her artistic career. First, she was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit on Ribbon by Dr. Wolfram Weimer, Minister of State for Culture, at the Federal Chancellery in Berlin for her lifelong artistic work.

In addition, the artist opened her large-scale installation Towards the Light at the Church of San Fantin in Venice, running concurrently with the Art Biennale. The work sends a message of hope and incorporates countless messages from pilgrims who traveled to Rome as part of the Holy Year 2025. Since its opening, the exhibition has been breaking attendance records and is considered one of the most important cultural events of this summer.

This is already Lore Bert’s third Biennale presentation, following her 2013 exhibition featuring Platonic solids at the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana in the Correr Museum on St. Mark’s Square and her 2019 installation in the Church of San Samuele, where she achieved exciting optical effects through the use of dichroic glass – demonstrating how deeply Lore Bert remains interested in experimenting with new materials.

On July 2, extensive celebrations were held at various locations throughout the lagoon city in honor of Lore Bert.

Following a welcome at the Church of San Fantin and the presentation of the new Lore Bert book – which had just arrived hot off the press – Gianmatteo Don Caputo, the Patriarchate of Venice’s delegate for cultural heritage and religious buildings, also spoke. Afterward, visitors were able to view the expansive installation. The crowd of friends and well-wishers then made their way to the famous and nearby Teatro La Fenice, where delicacies from Rosa Salva were served in an elegant setting.

The group then proceeded to La Galleria Venezia, which recently celebrated its 25th anniversary and is located at the rear of the Teatro La Fenice. There, gallerist and art historian Dr. Dorothea presented the gallery and its current exhibition titled Art Beyond Boundaries, which also features works by Lore Bert. The opening address was delivered by the renowned cultural journalist Bettina Victoria Countess von Pfeil The numerous visitors presented Lore Bert with countless gifts and bouquets of flowers.

Finally, the procession made its way to Campo Sant’Angelo to enjoy a meal together with the artist at the elegant Ristorante Acqua Pazza and engage in lively conversations about art and the world.

For all art lovers and friends of Lore Bert who were unable to celebrate with us in Venice on this memorable occasion, we’ve compiled a short video clip and some photos into our Video of the Week to give you a glimpse of the festivities. We hope you enjoy watching it.