World-famous satirical artist Maurizio Cattelan will headline the second edition of the Malta Biennale in March.

The Italian artist is known for his satirical artworks, such as ‘America’, a fully functioning toilet made of 18-karat solid gold, and ‘Comedian’, a banana duct-taped to a wall.

His pieces are designed to critique wealth excess and the absurdity of the art market.

Quite ironically, they were both auctioned off for massive sums of money – the banana was sold for $6.2 million while the toilet fetched the tidy sum of  $12.1 million last year.

Mr Cattelan is one of eight artists who will participate at the Malta Biennale, which will unfold across 11 venues managed by Heritage Malta in Valletta, Birgu, Xagħra and Rabat (Gozo).

Under the artistic direction of Rosa Martínez, the Biennale will bring together over 130 Maltese and international artists, who were selected from some 3,200 applications.

The Malta Biennale will feature a total of 27 pavilions, including eight national pavilions (Malta, Poland, Spain, Finland, Armenia, China, Serbia, and France) and 19 thematic pavilions. These include notable collaborations with other international biennales such as the Gwangju Biennale in South Korea and the Çanakkale Biennial Initiative (CABANIN).

Following three preview days from 11th-13th March, the Malta Biennale 2026 will open to the public on 14th March.

Photo of Maurizio Cattelan -  Alberto Zanetti, photo of Comedian  - Photo: Sarah Cascone, Photo of America MossAlbatross