The Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung at the Venice Biennale

This year, the Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung is supporting the German Pavilion at the Venice Art Biennale.

Under the title Ruin, curator Kathleen Reinhardt brings together works by Henrike Naumann (1984–2026) and Sung Tieu (*1987) in the German Pavilion. In a thought-provoking dialogue, both artists engage with physical and social structures as well as German ideologies. While Henrike Naumann reflects on sociopolitical themes through the medium of densely packed interior installations, Sung Tieu explores her own biography—centered on immigration and guest worker experiences in the former GDR—through powerful sculptural installations.

In the room installation But the Flesh Is Weak, supported by the Alexander Tutsek Stiftung, Tieu presents glass casts of her mother’s arms and legs. This oppressive work symbolizes the deindividualized guest worker—the “glass human”—who is defenselessly exposed to scrutinizing gazes—and the fragility of human existence. Upon closer inspection, traces of labor and illness become visible on the glass extremities. They stand in stark contrast to the purity and clarity that glass as a material seemingly promises.

Sung Tieu also designed the entire facade of the German Pavilion and completely clad it with mosaic tiles. These depict the Berlin apartment building—a prefabricated structure that has since been demolished—where Tieu grew up.

The exhibition Ruin was organized by the ifa – Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations and can be seen at the German Pavilion at the Venice Biennale through November 22, 2026.