Nick Cave is a messenger who espouses truths about the entwinement of beauty and pain. From his Soundsuits – wearable sculptures exuberantly adorned with beads, buttons, brightly coloured hair, and raffia – to bronzes, immersive installations and performance activations, he ponders how society is both connected and divided, existing in the liminality of life and death.
In the Biennale Arte 2026, Cave’s suite Two Points in Time – At Once marks a processional path outside and within the Arsenale. It features monumental bronzes and mixed-media installations that include vintage metal serving trays, flowers painted on household objects, and needlepoint self-portraits. The suite’s seven stages allude to the stages of grief. The contrasting monumental and domestic registers and materials signal duality and the need to rest in split space.
The towering Amalgam (Origin) looks across the Arsenale harbour. Intricate nature designs lace up its body to a crown of branches, flowers and birds. As the series unfolds, bronzes in the Corderie depict figures in positions of waiting, perishing or rescue, leading to a contemplative coda back outdoors. Two Points in Time – At Once is full of loaded silence yet beckons towards tranquility. It holds space for many levels of grief, but the forever flowers that spring from its figures channel remembering and joy.
—Denise Markonish
