On the island of Giudecca, during Biennale Arte 2026, the third chapter of FORTUNY + CHAHAN opens at Palazzina Fortuny—where textile, design, and art speak a common language.

Step inside and experience a collaborative installation where Fortuny’s POLPO collection meets Chahan Minassian’s curatorial eye, alongside works by Joana Vasconcelos, Arne Quinze, and a curated selection of vintage masterpieces by Paul Evans and Vladimir Kagan. Throughout the Biennale season, private tours are available by appointment for design professionals, collectors, and connoisseurs.

GALLERY: Sébastien Veronese

The Legacy

Construction of the Fortuny Palazzina, circa 1958

While visiting the Carnavalet Museum in Paris in 1927, New York interior designer Elsie McNeill Lee encountered Fortuny’s fabrics covering the walls of the portrait gallery. Captivated by their beauty, she believed they would be perfect for interior designers and architects in the United States. Upon traveling to Venice, she met and convinced Mariano Fortuny of her vision and became his sole distributor. After his passing in 1949, Elsie managed the company for over forty years at the request of his widow, Henriette Negrin.

Elsie moved to Venice, making her home in a building facing the canal on the island of Giudecca, adjacent to the iconic Fortuny Factory and headquarters. She married Italian Count Alvise Gozzi in 1959, becoming Countess Elsie Lee Gozzi. The Palazzina, connected to the Factory that remains the heart of the Fortuny ecosystem, was built as her home between 1958 and 1961.

Friction & Harmonies

True to the spirit of FORTUNY + CHAHAN, this chapter is conceived as a living interior. Tribal art and contemporary works meet on equal ground. Art and design collapse into one another, and each piece acts on the next. Friction is held just long enough to become harmony.

PHOTO by Sébastien Veronese

The Entrance—Fragment

A fragmented entrance. Geometry and reflection move across Chahan’s Rectangular Mirage mirror, breaking and recomposing the space. A totemic presence grounds the room. A Paul Evans metal table faces a cabinet sculpted by the same master hand, while Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin armchairs in Fortuny hold the masks, vessels, Murano glass pieces, and ceramic lamps in a quiet, deliberate tension on the table.

GALLERY: bRENDA NUSENOVICH

The Hallway—Matter

A space grounded in material. Pierre Sabatier’s Froissé wall sets the tone: folded and geological. In front, objects sit with weight: Eric Croes’ Singe coquillage on a Silas Seandel console, a Mangbetu slit drum, Dornach Design chairs from the 1920s upholstered in Fortuny, and Chahan’s bronze Let’s X stools. Raw and refined are both held in place with clarity.

GALLERY: bRENDA NUSENOVICH

The Boudoir—Flow

A room shaped by water. Fortuny’s POLPO runs across walls and onto a Vladimir Kagan sofa, creating a continuous surface. Forms drift around it. Vasconcelos’ Waterfall, Peter Lane’s mineral Seabed, Chahan’s Canal Grande, until Quinze’s Annihilation introduces a flash of heat. Marie Khouri’s flame-like bronze leaves mirror breaks the silence of the still tide. A space suspended between deep waters and erosion, as if it was briefly submerged in water, then held still.

GALLERY: bRENDA NUSENOVICH

The Bedroom—Softness

A room defined by fabric. Fortuny covers walls, seating, and bed, softening the space into one continuous layer. Garo Minjassian’s work cuts through it. Glass, bronze, and ceramic pieces bring points of light. Tribal objects add height and presence. Calm, comfortable but never still, and never tense.

GALLERY: bRENDA NUSENOVICH

The Fumoir—Vertical

Built on vertical lines, the fumoir opens like a cabinet of curiosities. Paul Evans’ candelabra—continuing the presence of Chahan’s rare collector pieces unfolding throughout the Palazzina—and LINEA from Fortuny’s Armonia collection rise together, structuring the space. Around them, tribal works, Dominique Zimbacca’s carved wood chairs, and a rare Saint-Just glass table establish a steady rhythm. Then Quinze’s Annihilation interrupts it. The space feels brief, intense, contained.

GALLERY: bRENDA NUSENOVICH

The Mirror Room

Room of tones. Grey, silver, oxidized surfaces. At the center, Uyuni Salt by Vasconcelos holds a dense, tactile presence, with fragments of Fortuny fabric in bone, and creamy tones woven into its salty flats. Across it the soft tones of Vescovi’s work caress the walls. Around it, stone, glass, and bronze gather—a black and white Canal Grande desk, a Chahan and Peter Lane credenza cabinet, and unique seating pieces such as Fortuny’s POLPO on a Kagan daybed, and on Milo Baughman’s pair of armchairs. Chahan’s Canal Grande Nickel Bonbon tables introduce a new palette. Matte meets reflection and weight meets light.

GALLERY: bRENDA NUSENOVICH

The Penthouse—Expansion

A room in motion. Vasconcelos’ Scheherazade spreads across the wall: full-bodied, layered and alive—with Fortuny fabric woven into its surface. Also Fortuny’s Hexa from the Armonia collection, designed in collaboration with Chahan, upholsters his Crescent three-seater, set in dialogue with Kagan’s curved sofa. Peter Lane’s Sylphion columns rise, structuring and dividing the space. The monumental Paul Evans table anchors the composition. On the wall, Otis Jones’ black circle draws the eye inward—an opening, almost a passage. Croes and Quinze introduce moments of release—matter opening, color emerging. The room expands as you move through it.

GALLERY: bRENDA NUSENOVICH