At the 2026 edition of the Venice Biennale, Lebanon presents one of its most compelling national pavilions in recent years through “Don’t Get Me Wrong,” a monumental installation by Lebanese-American artist Nabil Nahas. Presented at the historic Arsenale, the exhibition transforms painting from a traditional visual medium into a fully immersive sensory and spiritual experience. Organized by the Lebanese Visual Art Association under the patronage of the Lebanese Ministry of Culture, the pavilion remains open to the public until 22 November 2026.

Spanning forty-five meters, the installation consists of twenty-six monumental acrylic-on-canvas panels, each standing three meters high. Installed side by side, the paintings form a continuous visual frieze that visitors move through rather than simply observe. Through this spatial experience, Nahas creates an environment built on rhythm, repetition, and contemplation, where geometric structures, spirals, and organic forms evoke ideas of infinity, cosmic movement, and the relationship between humanity and nature.

The exhibition draws from a rich combination of artistic and cultural influences. Nahas references Islamic ornamentation, Byzantine aesthetics, Mediterranean visual traditions, and contemporary Western abstraction to construct a layered visual language shaped by plurality and coexistence. In this sense, the Lebanese Pavilion does not present identity as fixed or singular, but rather as an evolving intersection of histories, cultures, and human experiences.

Born in Beirut in 1949, Nahas lived between Lebanon and Cairo before eventually settling in New York. This personal journey is deeply embedded within the work, transforming the exhibition into a meditation on memory, migration, belonging, and continuity. Rather than relying on narratives of war or nostalgia, the pavilion proposes a vision of Lebanon rooted in vitality, openness, and cultural dialogue.

Among the many national pavilions participating in this year’s Biennale, Lebanon distinguishes itself through emotional depth, visual stillness, and immersive scale, offering an experience that privileges reflection and human connection over spectacle.