RAGE BAIT // EVA & FRANCO MATTES
5 May–30 June, 2026

The exhibition title is derived from the internet slang term ‘rage bait’: content engineered to provoke outrage, hijack attention, or extract a visceral emotional response before reason can intervene. Spanning installation, video, and generative AI, the show explores how rage bait is the logical—often inevitable—endpoint of platforms optimised for user engagement.
Eva & Franco Mattes have spent over twenty years tracking the lacunae of networked life and have been influential on two successive generations of artists exploring the cultural impacts of digital change in Europe and the US. This exhibition extends their focus on tensions between the polished surface of online content and its murky ethical depths.
RAGE BAIT. Eva & Franco Mattes
Curated by Nadim Samman & Luisa Haustein
SAVE THE DATE:
Palazzo Franchetti, 5 May–30 June, 2026
Le Cabanon: 5–31 May, 2026
Open
Location:
Palazzo Franchetti: Fondamenta Narisi 2847, 30124 Venice (vaporetto: Accademia)
Le Cabanon: Campo del Santissimo, Giudecca 193/A Venice (vaporetto: Redentore)
1. Eva & Franco Mattes, Photo by Melania Dalle Grave for DSL Studio;
2-6. Melania Dalle Grave, Perottino-Piva-Castellano-Bergadano, AI Generated Image, Video still, AI Generated Image





