Thom Yorke and Stanley Donwood Are Bringing Their "No Go Elevator" Exhibit to Venice

Summary

• Artists Thom Yorke and Stanley Donwood will present a new exhibition titled “No Go Elevator (not without no keycard)” in Venice from May 6 to June 7
• The show features fresh ink drawings and large-scale paintings, marking a striking evolution in the duo’s three-decade collaborative partnership
• Located at Castello 2432, the project emphasizes cryptic textual elements and unnerving terrains that evolve from their iconic visual work for Radiohead and the Smile

Coinciding with the atmosphere of the 2026 Venice Biennale, Radiohead‘s Thom Yorke and Stanley Donwood‘s “No Go Elevator (not without no keycard)” will open at a dedicated gallery space on Fondamenta dei Penini. The highly anticipated show runs from May 6 to June 7, inviting attendees into a bleak yet captivating universe. The body of work includes delicate inkwork often marked by abrupt blots and corrective Wite-Out, depicting isolated, sprawling landscapes and ziggurat-like structures. According to Donwood, the textual component remains vital to the experience. Visitors will encounter a curated list of words on the exhibition flyer that functions as a conceptual tracklist, guiding them through the cryptic terrain.

This Venetian takeover follows the pair’s major 2025 retrospective at the Ashmolean Museum, titled “This Is What You Get.” That expansive institutional showcase surveyed over three decades of their partnership, tracing a creative timeline that began with Radiohead’s 1995 breakthrough album, The Bends. Meeting originally as art students at Exeter University, the two creatives have continuously pushed the boundaries between sonic and visual arts. Early collaborations heavily relied on digital manipulation and scanning dynamic actions. However, pandemic lockdowns prompted a dramatic shift in their shared process. The duo began painting side-by-side in a shipping container located in Yorke’s Oxford garden, trading digital tablets for tactile gouache and massive canvases.

While earlier collaborations focused on simultaneous composition during recording sessions for the Smile, the Radiohead frontman describes these latest pieces as a definitive move toward a new visual language shown without previous sonic context. The renowned musician openly acknowledges his initial resistance to the “visual artist” label, citing the rigid divides of the 1990s music industry. Now fully embracing the medium, Yorke and Donwood approach the blank canvas as an equal battleground. Taking turns manipulating the same physical space until one creator definitively takes control, they build profound, textured landscapes. Hosted at Castello 2432, this latest exhibition strips away the safety of album packaging, thrusting their complex, collaborative mythos directly into the global fine art sphere.

Castello 2432
Fondamenta dei Penini, Venice