The Ruin. The German Contribution to the 61st Venice Biennale: Henrike Naumann & Sung Tieu

The official catalog for the German Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale, showcasing the critically acclaimed practices of Henrike Naumann and Sung Tieu.

The artists Henrike Naumann and Sung Tieu will be showcased in the German Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale, which begins in May of 2026. Curator Kathleen Reinhardt nominated two artists whose oeuvres engage with systems of social and bureaucratic order, subjecting them to critical scrutiny.

Naumann reflects on sociopolitical issues at the level of design and interior design, exploring the friction between opposing political opinions in relation to taste and personal everyday aesthetics. In her installations, she arranges furniture and objects to create scenographic spaces that integrate video, sound, and performance. Tieu combines sculpture, found objects, sound, video, photography, writing, and archival materials in dense installations. Having grown up between political systems, she develops her art amid the tensions of biography and geopolitics. Her work grapples with the lingering effects of the Cold War, colonial entanglements, and the subtle mechanisms of institutional violence, examining the social and psychological impact of migration, bureaucracy, and control. This catalog includes texts by Reinhardt, Sabeth Buchmann, and Kerstin Stakemeier.