The Facts
On September 17, 2026, Thaddaeus Ropac announced that its represented artist Florentina Holzinger presented the performance piece 'Seaworld Venice' at the Venice Biennale. The work features naked women driving jet skis in circles, scuba diving in a tank fed by two urinals through a NASA-grade filtration system, climbing a rotating weather vane, and using their bodies as the clapper in an enormous bell. Holzinger, 40, often performed the bell role herself. The piece, which also includes roller skating nuns and live body modification in her repertoire, attracted long queues of visitors in a city known for water and historic nude imagery.
The Signal
Holzinger's work pushes the boundaries of performance art by integrating physical risk, spectacle, and direct engagement with the human body. For collectors and curators, this signals a growing institutional and market appetite for extreme live art, particularly at major international events like the Venice Biennale. The gallery's promotion of Holzinger underscores its commitment to avant-garde, body-centric practices that challenge traditional artistic mediums.
- Artists: Florentina Holzinger
- People: Belinda Luscombe
- Galleries: Thaddaeus Ropac
- Locations: Venice
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