Armen Agop is representing Egypt at the 61st Venice Biennale, writes Nora Koloyan-Keuhnelian, at a pavilion entitled “Silence: Between the Tangible and Intangible”. The Egyptian pavilion’s soft opening took place on Tuesday while the official opening of the Biennale is taking place on Saturday 9 May. In Agop’s work, the Egyptian pavilion invites us to listen to the silence, see the invisible and touch the intangible.
Born in 1969 to survivors of the Armenian Genocide who settled in Egypt, Agop graduated from Helwan University’s Faculty of Fine Arts in 1992. In 2000 he won the Prix de Rome and settled in Pietrasanta, the town in northern Tuscany where he is still based. Known for his meditative approach to sculpture, Agop transforms stone into vessels of stillness. His sculptures and paintings explore the relationship between the physical and spiritual.
This year the Egyptian pavilion goes beyond a cultural statement; it reflects a broader artistic dialogue between heritage and contemporary expression. Rooted in his Egyptian-Armenian heritage, Agop’s work connects ancient traditions with contemporary practice, blurring the line between art making and meditation. Agop’s three large sculptures and two paintings displayed at the Egyptian pavilion turn art into a space for listening and reflection, inviting visitors to experience the transformation of their own inner world. The exhibition bespeaks an identity capable of speaking globally while remaining deeply rooted.
He takes the Biennale’s theme, “In Minor Keys” as a deliberate artistic stance. In a moment characterised by speed and spectacle, the vision of the late Venice Biennale curator, Koyo Kouoh, suggests a different rhythm based on attentiveness and the ability to persevere. Agop’s practise aligns with this shift, showing that quiet power can have an impact no less significant than grand gestures, and that art remains capable of refining and realising perception.
About one of the “tangible” sculptors displayed, where Agop uses granite, he believes that granite came out of the heart of the earth for a reason, “and may be that reason is to be touched by you. What we touch, touches us,” inviting visitors to touch that sculpture.
According to the Egyptian Ministry of Culture’s press announcement, “Armen Agop’s selection to represent Egypt at the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia reflects our commitment to supporting artists whose work engages with heritage and contemporary dialogue. It also demonstrates the ministry’s dedication to advancing Egyptian creativity internationally, expanding opportunities for Egyptian talent, and strengthening Egypt’s role in global cultural discourse.”
Egypt being one of the oldest participants in the Biennale since it started in 1895, the Egyptian pavilion has been held in the Giardini della Biennale, a historic park area, since 1938. The park dates back to 1807, when Napoleon Bonaparte ordered the creation of public gardens in that part of Venice. The exhibition opens to the public on 9 May 2026 and is ongoing through 22 November.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 7 May, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.
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