Exhibitions

Biennale Arte 2026 | Alfredo Jaar

Venice, Italy

A tiny cube of rare earth minerals confronts the heavy human and environmental cost of our technological desires.

ALFREDO JAAR | In Minor Keys |
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Image credit

© La Biennale di Venezia

Meet the artist

ArtLovers Tip

Look closely at the cube to see how the different metals create subtle, distinct layers of color and texture; the glimmer is seductive, which is exactly part of Jaar’s point about our collective desire for these materials.

Exhibition Highlights - What you'll see

Alfredo Jaar has spent decades investigating the ethics of images and the silences of history. In this installation for the Biennale, the Chilean artist turns his gaze toward the very materials that power our digital lives and our wars, distilling the complex web of global extraction into a singular, silent object.

You're watching a four-centimeter cube resting in the center of the Arsenale’s cavernous, cathedral-like hall. Though it appears delicate and jewel-like, it is composed of ten of the world’s most contested minerals, from cobalt to lithium. The scale of the room makes the object feel impossibly small yet dangerously dense, as if the weight of the entire world’s geopolitical tension has been compressed into a shimmering, palm-sized form.

Worth the trip

  • Material density: Witness the physical manifestation of ten critical minerals, usually hidden inside devices, brought together in a rare metallurgical synthesis.
  • Spatial contrast: Experience how Jaar uses the immense historical architecture of the Arsenale to amplify the impact of a miniature sculpture.
  • Philosophical weight: Engage with a work that bridges the gap between the beauty of the object and the dizzying reality of its environmental origin.

How to experience it

Approach the cube slowly, allowing the vastness of the Arsenale to fade until only the shimmering minerals remain in your field of vision. Consider the origins of its layers—the deep oceans and strip mines—before stepping back out into the Venetian light. To process the work’s gravity, take a vaporetto toward the quieter islands or walk along the Riva dei Sette Martiri, letting the saltwater air provide a contrast to the earth's extracted minerals.

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