Chianciano Terme – European sculptor Marita Vollborn is presenting her bronze sculpture “ARES” at the Chianciano Biennale 2026. In an interview, she linked the work to current political developments in the United States and said she is currently reviewing her participation in exhibitions there.
Named after the Greek god of war, the sculpture confronts militarism, profiteering from conflict, and the unchecked exercise of power. It forms part of her series “Sinn und Scherben” (Sense and Shards), which explores human and societal contradictions.
Vollborn stated that the democratic election result in the United States must be respected. At the same time, she warned against the erosion of institutional checks and balances and an increasingly unilateral foreign policy. She cited renewed discussions about Greenland as an example of returning imperial thinking that goes beyond resources and aims at signaling dominance. Wars and even the open threat of military options against sovereign territories, she said, are unacceptable.
As a European artist who grew up in the GDR and experienced the fall of the Berlin Wall, she sees a particular responsibility to critically examine power — in the tradition of artists such as Goya and Käthe Kollwitz. “ARES,” she emphasized, is not anti-American but directed against militarism and greed regardless of their origin.
Against this background, she is currently reconsidering participation in exhibitions in the United States. As long as institutional checks and balances do not function reliably and travel for critical voices does not feel safe and open, she prefers European and international platforms. This is not a hostile boycott, she said, but a decision based on principle. Genuine cultural exchange remains important to her.
At the Biennale in Tuscany, she hopes the work will challenge visitors to respect democratic majority decisions while continuing to question power when it threatens peace, international law, or the sovereignty of others.
