ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Li Yi-Fan's 'Screen Melancholy' at Venice Biennale 2026

exhibition · 2026-04-04

The Taipei Fine Arts Museum is showcasing 'Screen Melancholy: Li Yi-Fan' as a Collateral Event of the 61st Venice Biennale, which will take place from May 9 to November 22, 2026, at Palazzo delle Prigioni. Curated by Raphael Fonseca, this exhibition introduces a new site-specific creation by Taiwanese artist Li Yi-Fan. Through a blend of painting, animation, game engines, and generative imagery, Li investigates the influence of screens and algorithms on perception. The title, derived from Portuguese 'Melancolia de tela,' contemplates screen-mediated daily experiences in relation to the Biennale's theme 'In Minor Keys.' This marks the museum's first project of this kind since 1995, featuring large-scale sculptures and mixed media that challenge the boundaries of reality and virtuality.

Key facts

  • Exhibition runs May 9 to November 22, 2026 at Palazzo delle Prigioni, Venice
  • Part of the 61st Venice Biennale as a Collateral Event
  • Curated by Raphael Fonseca, curator of visual arts at Culturgest, Lisbon and Porto
  • Li Yi-Fan works across painting, animation, game engines, and generative imagery
  • Title originally conceived in Portuguese as 'Melancolia de tela'
  • Exhibition responds to Biennale theme 'In Minor Keys'
  • Li's third new creation employing game engine for image production
  • First such endeavor by Taipei Fine Arts Museum at Palazzo delle Prigioni since 1995
  • Installation includes video, mixed media, and large-scale sculptures of fragmented limbs
  • Artist uses dark humor, sarcasm, and jump-cut narratives with a puppet-like persona

Entities

Artists

  • Li Yi-Fan
  • Raphael Fonseca
  • Eunju Hong
  • Albrecht Dürer
  • Isu Kim Lee
  • Li-Chen Loh

Institutions

  • Taipei Fine Arts Museum
  • Culturgest
  • La Biennale di Venezia
  • TFAM
  • Biennale di Venezia
  • Artribune
  • Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM)
  • Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten
  • Palazzo delle Prigioni
  • Venice Biennale

Locations

  • Venice
  • Italy
  • Palazzo delle Prigioni
  • Lisbon
  • Portugal
  • Porto
  • Taiwan
  • Taipei
  • Calle Seconda de la Fava, 4209
  • Amsterdam
  • Netherlands
  • Palazzo Ducale

Sources