Brazilian Pavilion 2026: Comigo ninguém pode

Fundação Bienal de São Paulo announces Diane Lima as curator for the Brazilian Pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, which will take place from May 9 to November 22, 2026. About Artists Rosana Paulino and Adriana Varejão, selected by the curator, are part of the curatorial project Comigo ninguém pode — the Portuguese name of the plant Dieffenbachia that also resonates as a popular saying, which can be understood as “nobody can handle me” or “nobody can beat me.” The title draws on these ambiguities as a metaphor for protection, toxicity, and resilience. The proposal highlights the dialogues that run through the careers of both artists, in which reflections on colonial wounds and the rewriting of history give way to constant processes of metamorphosis, articulating new possibilities for imagination and poetic liberation. “Being chosen to curate the Brazilian Pavilion in Venice is an honor and a great responsibility,” says Diane Lima. “Together, Paulino and Varejão historically represent the most revolutionary aspects of the presence of women in the field of national art. Their poetics, in harmony and friction, echo the struggles of social movements and democracy, without ever losing the sensitive capacity to amaze and surprise us with high-level technical quality. Along with the ideas of protection and toxicity, Comigo ninguém pode, as a popular saying, also refers to the process of transferring knowledge about nature to the realm of life, thus reflecting a process of collective manifestation that happens naturally when ‘me’ becomes ‘us,’ becomes many, and an entire nation, which uses its wisdom as a form of defense and sovereignty,” she says. “Rosana Paulino’s work and mine intersect in the power of colonial wounds, a subject that structures the DNA of our works and runs through our research in a visceral way,” says Adriana Varejão. “I hope to develop a unique dialogue with Rosana that also connects with the architecture of the Pavilion, expanding the possibilities of our artistic paths,” she adds. For Rosana Paulino, “being in the Brazilian Pavilion in Venice, alongside Adriana Varejão, is an opportunity to investigate colonial wounds from different female perspectives that come together in an unprecedented dialogue. This encounter proposes a revision of art history by questioning the canon and recovering silenced memories, paving the way for new possibilities for the future.” Installation