Why I’m Returning to Venice
A new chapter at the 17th-century Palazzo Pisani.
My first Venice exhibition allowed me to see my paintings inside a palace. My return will bring the larger creative world of Ourea Luna into the space.
When I left Venice in July, I believed I was carrying home the memories of one extraordinary exhibition. I did not realize I was also carrying the beginning of the next invitation.
During my time in the city, conversations began about returning with a larger presentation—one that would bring together my original paintings, hand-painted dresses, wearable art, live creation, and movement throughout the gallery.
For the first time, the different parts of my work were being viewed as one complete experience.
I will return to Venice for the Venice International Art Fair at Palazzo Pisani, a 17th-century palace, from September 17 through September 24, 2026.
This exhibition will be a collaboration among a small group of artists sharing the room. My portion of the presentation is being designed as a focused Ourea Luna installation, with four original paintings and three hand-painted dresses displayed on mannequins in front of the artwork.
I have requested a corner facing the balcony so the paintings and dresses can feel connected rather than separated into different areas of the palace.
Opening night will allow the work to move beyond a traditional display. Instead of holding a formal runway, I plan to paint a dress live while models wearing my hand-painted designs mingle with guests throughout the rooms.
They will not simply walk past the audience and disappear. They will become part of the atmosphere, allowing people to see the artwork moving, changing, and interacting with the palace around it.
After opening night, the dresses will be placed on mannequins and remain beside the paintings for the full seven-day exhibition. Visitors will be able to experience the relationship between the original artwork and the wearable pieces it inspires.
That relationship is central to what I am building.
A painting does not have to end at the edge of a canvas. It can become fabric, movement, a room, a conversation, or a memory someone carries home. The September exhibition gives me the opportunity to present that idea in a way I have never done before.
The exhibition closes on September 24—my birthday.
There is something deeply symbolic about completing this chapter on the same day another year of my life begins. I will be turning 39 in a palace in Venice, surrounded by art that began on my porch in South Carolina.
This return is exciting, but it is also real work. Behind the beauty are planning, production, shipping, travel, models, materials, communication, and the financial responsibility of building something before the world can see it.
I am learning how to create the structure that allows a dream to keep growing without losing the soul that started it.
I am not returning to repeat what happened in July.
I am returning because the vision has expanded.
The first trip allowed me to see my paintings inside Venice. This time, I want Venice to step inside the world of Ourea Luna.
From the porch to the palace—and now, back again.
Patricia Graham
International Contemporary Artist and Founder of Ourea Luna
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The September exhibition is where painting meets movement, fabric, and presence. If you would like to wear a piece of this world, explore the hand-painted dresses or commission an original painting of your own.