Artist Jewel debuts ‘Matriclysm’ exhibition in Venice
Visual artist and singer-songwriter Jewel has opened her latest exhibition, Matriclysm: An Archaeology of Connections Lost, at the Salone Verde in Venice. The presentation, held in association with the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, is curated by Joe Thompson and will remain on view through Nov. 22, 2026.
The exhibition features previously unseen paintings, sculptures, tapestries, and sound works that explore themes of motherhood, feminine power, and the consequences of its loss.
Nearly 200 people attended the opening celebration on May 7, which included a special performance by the artist. Jewel performed a melody from the installation Seven Sisters, an immersive work utilizing hand-blown glass orbs and a 12-minute meditative soundscape. The audio was created by converting light wavelength data from the Pleiades constellation, gathered by NASA and the University of California, Berkeley, into sound.
The exhibition also features Heart of the Ocean, an eight-foot sculpture that translates real-time oceanic data—including temperature variations and migratory patterns—into a visual and auditory display. Jewel collaborated with scientists from NASA, NOAA, Stanford University, and UC Berkeley to develop the piece.
Among the sculptural highlights is First Mother, a monumental work of a pregnant kneeling woman created in collaboration with Congolese artist Patrick Bongoy. The sculpture, woven from hessian thread, references the “mitochondrial mother” to whom all human chromosomal threads can be traced. It is designed to remain outdoors for the duration of the exhibition, allowing its organic elements to grow and decay.
The gallery includes a series of realist and surrealist paintings, including a portrait of the artist and her son, and works depicting crone-like figures with “trees of life” sprouting from their heads.
Jewel, a four-time Grammy-nominated musician who trained at the Interlochen Arts Academy, made her art world debut earlier in 2024 with The Portal: An Art Experience by Jewel at Crystal Bridges in Bentonville, Arkansas. Matriclysm represents the largest presentation of her fine art practice to date.
The exhibition is accompanied by a full-color catalog featuring an introduction by Susan Magsamen and an interview between Jewel, Bongoy, and Nigerian curator Azu Nwagbogu.
