Melissa McGill's 'Marea' Installation Transforms Venice Street with Floating Fabric Paintings During Biennale

American artist Melissa McGill (born 1969, Rhode Island) has created 'Marea,' an installation of fabric paintings floating in the sky along Corte Nova calle in Venice's Castello district. The work coincides with the Venice Biennale months and draws inspiration from writer Rebecca Solnit's 2014 essay 'Gli uomini mi spiegano le cose,' which connects laundry hanging to painting as an act that evokes meaning without words. McGill's project engages with local residents and students, reflecting themes of community, citizenship, and environmental activism. The installation continues her artistic dialogue with Venetian waters, following her 2019 'Red Regatta' and the 2025 community archive project 'Quei de la Corte Nova.' Fabric pieces resemble laundry lines, recalling domestic rituals and immigrant communities in San Francisco's Chinatown and Mission District. The work also references Italian artist Maria Lai's 1981 participatory piece 'Legarsi alla montagna.' McGill, who has become a grateful citizen of Venice, explores the fragility of the city threatened by mass tourism and environmental damage. Her 2022 work 'Box of Waves' contains a sensory marine universe. The installation aims to celebrate shared living in the lagoon while warning against ecological harm.