"A Kiss on the Eyes" is the title of Nilbar Güreş’s exhibition, curated by Başak Doğa Temür, to be presented at the Türkiye Pavilion of the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. The exhibition will be on view from 9 May to 22 November 2026. The Türkiye Pavilion will open on 6 May at 15.00 at the Arsenale, Sale d’Armi, during the preview days.

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Taking its title from the Turkish phrase Gözlerinizden öperim — a traditional closing remark used at the end of a letter or conversation — the exhibition brings together existing works and new productions spanning sculpture, installation, painting, and mixed-media works on paper and fabric.

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For the Türkiye Pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition, la Biennale di Venezia, Nilbar Güreş presents a series of large-scale sculptures and installations produced between December 2025 and March 2026 through an intensive, collaborative process in Istanbul with sculptors, metalworkers, tailors, and craftspeople. Treating material not only as formal element but as carrier of memory and labour, these new works are presented alongside selected pieces from earlier periods of her practice.

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In her curatorial statement, Başak Doğa Temür writes:

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“The exhibition unfolds through spatial relationships rather than a linear narrative. Works remain close to the ground, lean, hang, or hover. Instead of guiding the viewer from one work to the next, the exhibition invites them to slow down and become aware of their own bodily position in relation to the space and to others. Moving through the exhibition becomes a negotiation between distance and proximity, vulnerability and resistance.

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Such an approach characterises Nilbar Güreş’s work across multiple media, drawing on lived experience to address questions of gender, migration, and belonging. Her practice is shaped by situations marked by displacement, racism, xenophobia, and discrimination based on religion and belief, not as distant subjects but as conditions that structure everyday life. She often focuses on moments where social norms and power relations become visible through bodies, relationships, and acts of looking.

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Materials such as textiles, garments, domestic objects, and organic forms play a central role in her work. These materials carry personal and collective histories and are altered through gestures of care, humour, and resistance. Intimacy and political tension exist side by side, allowing vulnerability to appear without connotations of passivity.”

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The full curatorial statement and further information available at turkiyepavilion26.iksv.org

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Publication

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A bilingual (Turkish and English) publication accompanies the exhibition, co-published by İKSV and Mousse Publishing. Alongside essays by Başak Doğa Temür and Franz Thalmair, closely engaging with the artist's practice and the exhibition, the book includes a selection of poems by Margaret Atwood, Joy Harjo, Etel Adnan, Bejan Matur, Diya Ciwan, Sappho, Birhan Keskin, Audre Lorde, Jîla Huseynî, and Avedig Isahakyan — chosen for their resonance with the exhibition's themes of displacement, memory, and plurality. 

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The publication will be available at La Biennale bookshops and selected art bookshops worldwide, and online at moussemagazine.it/shop.

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About the Türkiye Pavilion

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Türkiye Pavilion at the International Art Exhibition, la Biennale di Venezia is coordinated by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) with the contribution of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye, with the support of co-sponsor Trendyol Art, airline partner Turkish Airlines, production support of SAHA Association, and publication support of Vehbi Koç Foundation.

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The Advisory Board for the Türkiye Pavilion in 2026 includes art historian and academic Dr. Ceren Özpınar; curator, writer, and academic Chus Martínez; curator Öykü Özsoy Sağnak; and curator and writer Ulya Soley. The board unanimously suggested Nilbar Güreş as an outstanding voice to represent Türkiye at the upcoming Biennale and shared the following statement:

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​‘Her multidisciplinary practice spans sculpture, installation, painting, photography, textiles, video, and performance, consistently addressing questions of gender, identity, and cultural memory with intelligence, empathy, sensitivity, and striking visual force. Güreş’s practice is eloquent both in creating a poetic universe, and in staying faithful to a rigorous narrative that challenges dominant perspectives and gives visibility to marginalised communities, remaining deeply rooted in Türkiye’s complex social fabric.

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​For the 2026 Biennale, Koyo Kouoh chose the motto – In Minor Keys – as its theme. The panel is convinced that the work of Nilbar Güreş embodies and embraces the values of resilience and resistance, and the spaces where quieter, more delicate expressive registers can disrupt current dominant narratives. Her work’s international resonance, together with her profound artistic vocabulary, makes her an exceptional choice to represent Türkiye at the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia.’​​

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For high-resolution images: www.iksvphoto.com/album/s212phtm