Nilbar Güreş represents Turkey in Venice until November

The Turkish Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale opened on 9 May 2026 with Nilbar Güreş's exhibition A Kiss on the Eyes, curated by Başak Doğa Temür, and remains on view at the Arsenale until 22 November. The title comes from an ordinary Turkish sign-off used at the end of letters and phone calls, and the show treats it as a way of being together without possession.

Güreş works across photography, collage, oil painting, sculpture and installation, using fabric, macramé, wool, brass and everyday objects. Her long-standing subjects, gender, migration, belonging and the power relations embedded in daily life, are gathered here. The pavilion is coordinated by İKSV under the patronage of Turkey's foreign ministry, with sponsors including Borusan Automotive and Trendyol Art. This year's Biennale is curated by Koyo Kouoh under the title In Minor Keys. The pavilion's real test is whether a phrase that turns strange in translation can stay legible in the Arsenale's traffic.