Venice Biennale
Species 5 exhibited at Venice Biennale 2026 in “Personal Structures”.
Work exhibited: Species 5.
Date: 9th May – 22nd November 2026.
Location: European Cultural Centre, Palazzo Mora, Venice, Italy.
“Species” is a study in evolution by Fredrikson Stallard through the media of furniture, created with a brute force that is at odds with ideas of comfort or human contact, yet so inviting by the nature of its materials. The pieces are amorphous structures, elements of sculpted mass, chaotic energy, finished in shades of red, as for Fredrikson Stallard these are the colours of life and death. Something along the lines of “It couldn’t happen here, but then it did”. This is very much furniture, but not as we know it.
Species condenses many of the concerns of Fredrikson Stallard – materiality, process, colour, directness – yet it seems not so much like a product of the studio as something pulled from deep in the earth’s crust, or fallen from the heavens.
The Species works were originally launched in their own capacious studio. The show, entitled Momentum, served as a capsule summary of what they had achieved to that point, and indicated where they might be going next. Fredrikson Stallard made the work without any particular clientele in mind. It was like a gift that lan and Patrik gave themselves – a moment of complete creative freedom, freed from the usual dependencies of design, and situated in its own purely expressive space.
The Species seating forms were the crucial lynchpin of the project. Though they recall
earlier works such as the breakthrough Pyrenees sofa (which is in the permanent collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum), Species has an exciting sculptural boldness, a release from apparent functional constraint. The impression that one is looking at organic specimens, rather than the handcrafted objects they actually are, perfectly captured the spirit of the Momentum show, with its subtext of growth and rebirth.
Even the title of the series relates to the concept of evolution: it was inspired by Charles Darwin’s seminal book Origin of Species.
The Species works are made of foam covered with a densely textured surface which is unexpectedly comfortable. The result is sublime. It evokes ancientness and depth, in a way that Fredrikson Stallard associate with the red and black Rothko paintings in the Tate Modern.
Ian and Patrik’s bet with Momentum paid off. Species is now in the permanent collection of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Taking place in Venice from 9 May to 22 November 2026, the exhibition will be hosted at Palazzo Bembo, Palazzo Mora and the Marinaressa Gardens, featuring 150+ artists from over 30 countries.
Personal Structures – Confluences focuses on points of encounter, where artistic practices, cultures and disciplines meet and evolve, connecting personal narratives with collective perspectives.
As Sara Danieli, Head of Art at ECC Italy, notes:
“In an era characterised by profound global transformations, Personal Structures – Confluences explores how personal narratives build ties with collective ones, shaping an ever-evolving cultural landscape”. Artistic practices thus converge into a single flow, transforming and resonating with one another in a conscious dialogue with time and memory. “An invitation to rediscover the value of sharing and to imagine more open, sensitive, and sustainable forms of coexistence”.
EXHIBITED WORKS
