JR’s living tapestry on the Grand Canal

JR transforms the façade of The Venice Venice Hotel into a vast, temporary narrative surface from 5 to 9 May, turning Palazzo Ca’ da Mosto into a living canvas that rewrites its own architecture. Il Gesto, his monumental installation, reimagines Veronese’s Wedding at Cana with 176 contemporary subjects from the Refettorio Paris community – guests, volunteers, cooks – placing at the center those rarely represented in official imagery. Faces emerge from windows, blending with stone and opening a dialogue between centuries. Each portrait is paired with a sound recording, creating an archive that can be listened to and traversed. The work becomes a shared ritual, an invitation to recognize the other through a simple, essential gesture. When the installation disappears, its memory endures in a 4.30×7.80 m tapestry woven by Giovanni Bonotto from recycled and natural fibers, permanently housed in the hotel’s art collection.

Featured image: Il Gesto, Facade Artwork