Mare Karina is a gallery opened in 2024, located between St Mark’s Square and the Biennale’s Arsenale and Giardini.
Since its opening it has developed a programme of exhibitions and events dedicated to fostering contemporary culture, working with both international and national artists and curators. The programme ranges from site-specific installations by emerging practitioners to niche archival presentations featuring institutional and historical materials.

The gallery focuses primarily on solo exhibitions, often presenting international artists showing for the first time in Italy alongside emerging Italian voices. Solo presentations include Hanna Rochereau (2026), Danny Leyland (2025), Simona Pavoni (2025), and Beatrice Favaretto (2024). On the occasion of its first Architecture Biennale in the city, the gallery presented an exhibition about Bruno Alfieri, created by Chiara Carrera and Mario Lupano, highlighting Alfieri’s pioneering role in Italian cultural and editorial production of the 1970s.
Alongside its independent exhibition programme, Mare Karina also operates as a cultural production studio, providing project development and art direction services for brands, institutions, and cultural and creative players.
Mare Karina was founded by Marta Barina after ten years working in London across blue-chip galleries and leading high-level artists’ studios.