Protocol Art lands in Venice and transforms Palazzo Diedo

Palazzo Diedo in Venice is preparing to host Strange Rules, a new interdisciplinary project promoted by Berggruen Arts & Culture and conceived by Mat Dryhurst, Holly Herndon and Hans Ulrich Obrist. It is scheduled to open on May 4, 2026, in conjunction with the 61st International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale. Curated in collaboration with Adriana Rispoli, the project represents an evolution for Palazzo Diedo, which is confirmed as a center where the humanities and science confront each other in a constant dialogue. The initiative emphasizes Protocol Art, an emerging discipline that analyzes the rules and structures that determine the production and perception of culture in the digital age, and marks the first curatorial reflection of its kind in Italy.

Protocol Art, at the heart of the project, is distinguished by an approach that goes beyond the creation of images or artistic objects, focusing on the invisible processes and systems that regulate aesthetic experience. Algorithms, artificial intelligence models, platforms and digital infrastructure thus become artistic material. The practice highlights the hidden instructions and architectures that make the work possible, shifting the perspective from the object to the system and from the individual author to forms of human-machine collaboration and co-creation. In this sense, Strange Rules fits into a research territory that reflects on the most urgent transformations in contemporary art. A publication accompanies the project, offering the first organic analysis of Protocol Art as a field of study.

Picbreeder, developed by Kenneth O. Stanley and collaborators.

The historic architecture of Palazzo Diedo thus becomes a dynamic space for production and reflection. The ground floor hosts a previously unseen work commissioned from Mat Dryhurst and Holly Herndon in collaboration with SUB studio, while the area also serves as a hub for temporary interventions, including lectures, performances, screenings and podcast productions with active visitor participation. The second floor features site-specific installations and a selection of video works that explore the themes of Protocol Art, creating a direct dialogue with the activities on the ground floor.

“In the age of artificial intelligence, what is the active role of art and artists? Palazzo Diedo, together with Mat Dryhurst, Holly Herndon and Hans Ulrich Obrist and Adriana Rispoli, is trying to answer this question,” says Nicholas Berggruen, founder of Berggruen Arts & Culture.

Strange Rules runs parallel to Unfinished, an exhibition curated by Ann Gallagher and Jonathan Watkins that pays tribute to Ceal Floyer, a British artist who passed away in December 2025. Unfinished offers a journey through video, photography, sound installations, readymades and sculpture, revealing a subtle humor derived from unprecedented perspectives, wordplay and reinterpretations of everyday reality. The exhibition highlights how creativity can manifest itself in ordinary circumstances through minimal conceptual details, creating an interesting dialogue with Strange Rules’ systemic approach. The interaction between the two exhibitions shows two different approaches to reality: on the one hand, the analysis of invisible digital protocols that structure culture; on the other, the ability to subvert the everyday through minimal conceptual variations.

Berggruen Arts & Culture, a global organization active in promoting interdisciplinary projects that integrate art, science and the humanities, confirms with Strange Rules its mission to explore new boundaries of artistic practice. Palazzo Diedo, located in the center of Venice, hosts exhibitions and commissions that challenge traditional approaches and open to innovative theoretical research. Previous site-specific commissions over the years include works by Carsten Höller(Staircase of Doubt), Urs Fischer(Omen and Good Luck Peanuts), Piero Golia(Untitled Floor), Ibrahim Mahama(Three Little Birds), Mariko Mori(Great Light), Sterling Ruby(Lanterns), Jim Shaw(The Alexander Romances), Hiroshi Sugimoto(Enlightening), Aya Takano(Happy and joyous days), Lee Ufan(Response), and Liu Wei(Throw a Dice).

Protocol Art lands in Venice and transforms Palazzo Diedo

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