Renowned artist Wallace Chan will unveil Vessels of Other Worlds, his most ambitious and visceral project to date, in a landmark dual-site exhibition across Venice and Shanghai in 2026, coinciding with his 70th birthday. 

Curated by James Putnam, this major exhibition introduces a striking new series of monumental titanium sculptures, expanding both the spatial and conceptual dimensions of Chan’s practice.

Following the success of his three previous exhibitions during the Venice Biennale – Titans

(2021) and Totem (2022) at Fondaco Marcello; and the Brian Eno-soundscaped Transcendence

(2024) at the Chapel of Santa Maria della Pietà, which attracted over 30,000 visitors in just

three months, Vessels of Other Worlds marks a bold new chapter in the artist’s oeuvre.

The first exhibition opens on 8 May 2026 at the Chapel of Santa Maria della Pietà, coinciding with the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. The second and parallel exhibition will open at the Long Museum, Shanghai, on 18 July 2026. 

The exhibition in Venice will feature three titanium sculptures inspired by the Olea Sancta, the three sacred oils used in Catholic blessing rituals. Positioned on the altar of the Pietà Chapel, three video screens form a triptych, acting as a secret portal to reveal the monumental counterparts on view at the Long Museum. Symbolising the three stages of life – birth, growth, and death – these intricate, fantastical forms draw inspiration from Hieronymus Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights. Surrounding the three central works, a constellation of suspended titanium sculptures suggests oil drops in motion, imbuing the chapel with a sense of fluidity and transcendence.