On the occasion of the 2026 Biennale, Venice welcomes a debut that combines music and contemporary art in an unexpected way. American singer-songwriter Jewel Kilcher —a 1990s icon, Grammy nominee, and VMA winner—arrives in Venice in a new artistic guise.
At the Salone Verde, the artist presents his first major immersive installation, “Matriclysm: An Archaeology of Connections Lost”: a sensory labyrinth that transforms the historic space into a total work of art, immediately becoming one of the must-see (and free) stops for anyone visiting the city during the Venice Biennale.
Why see “Matriclysm”
Matriclysm: An Archaeology of Connections Lost represents the most comprehensive exhibition dedicated to Jewel’s artistic production ever realized to date. Organized in partnership with the prestigious Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, founded by the Walton family of Walmart, and curated by Joe Thompson, the exhibition brings together new paintings, sculptures, large-scale installations, tapestries, and immersive sound works that reflect on motherhood, female memory, and humanity’s connection to the natural world.
The work is not only a feast for the eyes but a profound experiment that intertwines art and neuroscience. Jewel, who has always been attentive to the theme of mental health, conceived this journey as a reflection on lost connections and the regenerative power of creativity. In Matriclysm, Jewel aims to bring to light what she calls “the forgotten threads of feminine memory: the mythologies, rituals, and inherited knowledge that once guided our relationship with the world and the people who inhabit it.”
Upon crossing the threshold of the Salone Verde (Venice), you find yourself immersed in a forest of suspended threads that seem to float in mid-air, as if weaving a new web between the visitor and the surrounding space. Matriclysm is not merely an installation to be viewed, but a space to be traversed: Jewel has masterfully blended symbolism and craftsmanship in a play of light and shadow on the fabrics, creating a dreamlike atmosphere that undoubtedly makes it one of the most profound and photographed installations of this Biennale.
