Central Asia is increasingly visible on the contemporary art map, and few events carry more symbolic weight than the Venice Biennale, often described as the Olympics of the art world. In recent years, Kazakhstan’s privately funded art scene and Uzbekistan’s state-backed art scene have often led the region’s international push. This year, Kyrgyzstan is is determined not to lag behind. The country’s pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale marks its second dedicated national participation. Kyrgyzstan first appeared in this format in 2022 with Gates of Turan, a state-commissioned installation by Firouz FarmanFarmaian on the Venetian island of Giudecca that drew on nomadic heritage and local craft traditions. At the center of the 2026 pavilion is Alexey Morosov, a Bishkek-born artist who has lived and worked in Italy for years. He chose the former church of Santa Caterina at Convitto Foscarini, in Venice’s Cannaregio district, as the setting for BELEK, the Kyrgyz word for “gift.” Curated by art historian Geraldine Leardi, the exhibition reflects on water and Kyrgyzstan’s tradition of generosity. The works are in close dialogue with the space that hosts them. The former church, founded in the 14th century, still carries traces of a fire during restoration work in the 1970s. “You can almost smell the burn,” Morosov said at the opening, standing in the presbytery. “For me, it’s very important to pay attention to the genius loci, the spirit of the place,” the artist added. “In a place like this, you have to understand precisely how to use space as a tool, while also respecting it.” Artistic Nomadism Born in Bishkek in 1974, Morosov was trained in the traditions of classical Western art and developed a deep interest in Greek and Roman archaeology, Renaissance painting, and medieval architecture. At 17, he began traveling. He has lived and worked in Lucca, Tuscany, since 2015. “In his practice, the artist naturally bridges Eastern and Western cultures,” Leardi said. “By birth, the original content of his art is Central Asian. His training and artistic education, however, developed in a Western direction.” BELEK, she said, represents a synthesis of those backgrounds. Morosov himself frames it in terms of nomadism. " It's my land, my blood, because my family is originally from Kyrgyzstan, from the middle of the 18th century. I’d describe my mode as meta-nomadismo," he said. “And in my mind, Kyrgyz tradition, Kyrgyz soul, are absolutely in harmony with the Italian conception of art and style of life.” Leardi came to the project as a Byzantinist with no previous deep engagement with Central Asian art. She describes her research for the pavilion as its own kind of journey, traveling to Kyrgyzstan via Mongolia and Korea, “like Marco Polo,” she said, laughing. What she found was a country of extreme contrasts. “It’s not a quiet land. You feel a lot when you’re there. It’s very challenging,” she said. Her task was to “find the channels, find the paths to communicate in the right way between the country and Venice, because there are...
