Punj•AB – A Sublime Terrain

Opens Saturday, May 9 Punj•AB – A Sublime Terrain is a major solo exhibition by Faiza Butt curated by Beatriz Cifuentes Feliciano, to be presented at Ex Farmacia Solveni. The Ministry of National Heritage and Culture appointed Yaqoob Bangash as Commissioner of the National Participation. Conceived specifically for the pavilion, the project marks both a continuation of Butt's longstanding engagement with identity, memory, and representation, and a significant departure into new material and collaborative, spatial practices. Reflecting on the responsibility of representing Pakistan on an international stage, Butt notes: "To represent the national pavilion is a responsibility that really encouraged me to think in a way I've never thought before… I had to connect my thoughts and feelings with a bigger premise, with a broader view that represents the country in a way which is fitting." The exhibition takes the region of Punjab as its point of departure – both a deeply personal geography for the Lahore-born artist and a historically rich site shaped by trade, migration, and cultural exchange from the time of the Indus Valley Civilisation to the present day. Rather than offering a single narrative, the pavilion unfolds as a transhistorical, layered journey through "chapters" of history. In doing so, it positions Punjab as a generative terrain, where material abundance has driven cycles of invasion and encounter, producing continuous cultural cross-pollination and growth. Visitors will enter a space dominated by monumental textile works. Suspended like paintings, these tapestries transform traditional floor-based weaving practices into immersive visual fields. Combining dhurrie weaving, ikat, jacquard, and hand-spun cotton, the works are unified through symbolic colour, architectural motifs, and intricate compositions that map the rise and fall of civilisations. Alongside the tapestries, the pavilion brings together paintings, sculptures, and video, creating a multisensory environment that moves between historical reflection and contemporary life. A video installation, shot in Shergarh and a factory in Johar Town, introduces viewers to present-day Punjab – its rituals, labour, and communal life – juxtaposing rural traditions with the industrial rhythms of textile production. While one aspect captures the everyday and ceremonial life of a small town, another shifts to a factory, tracing the journey of textile production for local use and global export. A series of paintings further expands Butt's visual presentation, including a group of intimate portraits. These are presented alongside larger, "Phantasmagoric" paintings, weaving together migratory motifs, architectural fragments, and painterly traditions into richly imaginative compositions. Central to the project is collaboration. Several works are produced in partnership with Punjabi artisans whose inherited craft traditions, particularly textile weaving, form the foundation of the exhibition. Butt actively challenges the marginalisation of such practices within contemporary art discourse: "These are inherited craft traditions… but by changing the scale, the motifs, the way we think about them, we take this tradition one step forward and bring it into the contemporary arena." In this sense, Punj•AB – A Sublime Terrain is not only an exploration of history, but also a proposition. Curator Beatriz Cifuentes Feliciano states: "Practices often categorised as "craft" are not peripheral, but central to contemporary cultural production. By recontextualising these traditions within the Biennale, the pavilion asserts their place within global conversations on art, materiality, and knowledge." Balancing intellectual inquiry with sensory experience, the exhibition invites viewers to engage with the textures, rhythms, and stories embedded in its materials – offering both a reflection on Punjab's past and a reimagining of its presence within contemporary art. Commissioner: Yaqoob Khan Bangash Curator: Beatriz Cifuentes Feliciano

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Dorsoduro 993-994, Ex Farmacia Solveni

Venice, NY