Art takes to the sea and the rhythm of the Adriatic

A voyage conceived by the Pinault Collection and PONANT EXPLORATIONS

In association with the Pinault Collection and to celebrate the Venice Biennale of Contemporary Art 2026, PONANT EXPLORATIONS offers an Adriatic cruise dedicated to creation. Emma Lavigne, who directs the Collection, looks back on this unique experience and its various exhibitions and exchanges in the company of artist Édith Dekyndt.

What was the reasoning behind choosing to invite the artist Édith Dekyndt on board this PONANT EXPLORATIONS cruise?

Sometimes, as was the case with Edith, an emotional response to a work of art provided the spark for a moving encounter. In our case, that bond turned into a friendship. Édith Dekyndt is an artist very dear to the Collection. Her work is fuelled by movement, the objects she collects, and the places she passes through. The sea, sails and materials in motion occupy an important place in her practice.

Even without any knowledge of contemporary art, travelling in her company and discovering her work allows us to grasp how a motion, a light or a silence nourishes the imagination.

Edith Dekyndt, Song to the Siren, 2022 (detail), video (colour, sound), 15 min. (on repeat). Performer: Margherita D’Amo.

What inspires you about spending several days at sea?

On board, you reconnect with the elements, with the cycle of day and night, with air and water, with the feeling of being almost suspended between sea and sky. It’s an experience that nourishes the imagination and dreams, and offers a rare moment of contemplation. A sea voyage is an opportunity to rediscover a habit that we no longer have: the time to pause, to dream, to simply watch the sky.

What particularly moves you when travelling at sea?

What moves me about these crossings is the photogenic quality of the journey; the landscape unfolds like a living painting, a spectacle that changes from moment to moment. You feel the urge to take a photograph, or to imagine that an artist could turn it into a watercolour. You then realise that art is not only in museums, but also in what you see from the deck.

For many works, everything seems to originate from the sea. Venice itself emerged from water. The alchemy between the sea, the light, the architecture and art history is unique.

Credits: ©Claire Dorn; ©Furio Ganz / Pierre Henri Leman; Pinault Collection ©Edith Dekyndt.; ©Studio PONANT/Laurence Fischer.

Private visits, conferences, meetings with artists…