The Brazilian National Pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia
La Biennale di Venezia 2026, Venice, Italy
May 09 – November 22, 2026

The Fundação Bienal de São Paulo presents Comigo ninguém pode at the Brazilian Pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, an exhibition curated by Diane Lima that brings together, in an unprecedented dialogue, the artists Rosana Paulino and Adriana Varejão. 

The show takes an installation-based approach that challenges the modern architecture of the Brazilian Pavilion. Breaking with the linearity of time, the exhibition brings together historical works from more than three decades of production by the two artists, in which both address colonial wounds and traumas, while highlighting how this rewriting of history also manifests itself through processes of metamorphosis and dialogue with the performance of materialities in space. Comigo ninguém pode is carried out in partnership with the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and is presented by Petrobras.

Taking as its starting point and state of mind the syncretic and ambiguous characteristics of the plant popularly known as comigo-ninguém-pode, a species that, due to its toxicity, has become a symbol of protection and resilience, the project invites the public to a sensitive experience that proposes new ways of perceiving the relationships between nature, history, and spirituality. Comigo ninguém pode comes from the Portuguese name for the plant known in English as dumb cane or leopard lily (Dieffenbachia), a species widely used in front of houses or doors in Brazil as a symbol of spiritual protection and ancestral resilience.

The ambiguity and syncretism of the term, which also became a popular saying, can be understood as “Nobody can handle me”, “Nobody can defeat me”, or even “Don’t mess with me!”, a meaning that alludes to the plant’s toxicity and poison. The title also refers to a drawing from Paulino’s Senhora das plantas (Lady of the Plants) series. In addition, Varejão uses painting to simulate different materialities, such as concrete, flesh, Baroque woodcarving, and ceramics, culminating in the botanical element.

“The project invites us to connect to a frequency that opens up the possibility of seeing the transcendent in the visible. By evoking this energy, Comigo ninguém pode reflects on the manifestations of faith and spirituality in Brazilian culture, highlighting its close relationship with nature, with more-than-human dimensions and, above all, in the construction of a complex public imagination. These elements constitute everyday practices that allow us to glimpse a reality that is sometimes broader or deeper than what we perceive in the visible world. By rewriting history, Comigo ninguém pode reconstructs the walls of memory and assigns new meanings to colonial ruins and wounds through fantastic, celestial, and magical beings”, says Diane Lima.

The curatorial approach was designed to emphasise the dialogues that run through the prolific careers of both artists. The exhibition brings together historical and previously unseen paintings, sculptures, and drawings, as well as new large-scale works developed especially for this encounter. The works were chosen based on overlaps, tensions, and symbolic, chromatic, material, and iconographic similarities that constitute this national historical and cultural repertoire.

more. www.brazilfoundation.org