SAN MARINO – After the success at the 2026 Venice Art Biennale, the “Sea of Sound” exhibition by Northern Irish artist Mark Francis arrives in San Marino. From 5 December 2026 to 28 February 2027, Palazzo SUMS will host all the works presented in the Pavilion of the Republic at the 61st International Art Exhibition, in an exhibition itinerary curated by Luca Tommasi.
The San Marino Pavilion, set up in the Tana Art Space in Venice and open to visitors until 22 November, recorded an average of over 100 visitors per day and around 20,000 total visits, almost double compared to San Marino’s participation in the previous 2024 edition.
The exhibition at Palazzo SUMS is promoted by FR Istituto d’Arte Contemporanea, in collaboration with the Secretariat of State for Education and Culture and with the support of Cultural Institutes.
“It is essential for us to continue this path also in San Marino”, declared the Secretary of State for Education and Culture Teodoro Lonfernini, underlining the importance of making the exhibition accessible also to citizens who have not been able to visit Venice and to tourists interested in the cultural offer of the Titan.
The Commissioner of the Pavilion Valentina Garavini also highlighted the value of the transfer of the exhibition to the Republic, defining it as a way to transform the international experience of the Biennale into a concrete legacy for the territory.
Satisfaction was also expressed by Roberto Felicetti, Vincenzo Rotondo and Alessandro Bianchini of FR Istituto d’Arte Contemporanea. Those responsible recalled how the results obtained in Venice confirm the value of institutional collaboration and the possibility of bringing contemporary art closer to an increasingly wider audience.
Mark Francis himself defined it as an honor to have represented San Marino at the Biennale, recalling his bond with Venice and expressing satisfaction at the possibility of presenting the works also in the Republic.
The artistic project develops around the relationship between art, science and sensorial perception. Francis, who lives and works in London, has built his research mainly through abstract painting, translating sound suggestions and frequencies into shapes, colors and visual compositions. The title “Sea of Sound” recalls the vastness of the sounds in which we are immersed and their interpretation through individual sensitivity.
The exhibition itinerary at Palazzo SUMS includes eleven medium and large format paintings, made in oil on canvas and on aluminium. The works will be presented in a new context compared to the Venetian exhibition, interacting with the spaces characterized by dark tones of the San Marino palace.
The exhibition will be inaugurated by invitation on Friday 4 December at 6pm. The subsequent opening to the public is scheduled from 5 December 2026 to 28 February 2027, every day from 9am to 5pm.
Palazzo SUMS is located in via Piana 1, in the City of San Marino. The full ticket costs 11 euros, the reduced one 8 euros; Free tickets are also available. For information and reservations the number 0549 909421 is available.
