After a delay by the pandemic, the art world’s most prominent, global gathering is back. The 59th International Art Exhibition opened to the public in Venice on the 23rd of April under the title, “The Milk of Dreams,” curated this year, by Cecilia Alemani. After a 3-year hiatus and as the art world and global travel simultaneously picked up again, Venice was flooded with a mass of people for the preview and opening, which seemingly left the locals underwhelmed and unimpressed. As a hot tip, according to Italian media reports, travellers planning to visit the city will be required to book and pay for the “Venice Pass” starting this summer to ease the crowds and keep the residents happy.
This edition takes its title from a children’s book, created by English Surrealist artist Leonora Carrington, much known for its drawings. The exhibition captivates through its lavish visual narrative as it unfolds through themes that question the representation of the body and delving into metamorphosis, or the idea of the cyborg, bringing together contemporary works along with historical positions from museum loans, tracing affinities between artistic practices across generations. This year’s biennale is regarded to be particularly historical, as the curator reminded us, “it was conceived and organised in a period of enormous instability and uncertainty.” Moreover, for the first time in 127 years of the Venice Biennale, the vast majority of participants are women and “gender non-conforming artists who are challenging the figure of the man as the centre of the universe,” says Alemani.
The biggest attraction this year is “The Milk of Dreams,” along with the 80 National Participations divided across the historic Pavilions of Giardini, Arsenale, and the city centre. Additionally, 30 Collateral Events take place in several locations around the Lagoon. Nevertheless, Venice Biennale is more than just the national pavilions and the central exhibition. The city museums and galleries host major exhibitions planned to coincide with the main event, while smaller shows pop up around the city.
It’s an ambitious pursuit to see everything, much as one may attempt. To help you with the “what to see?” dilemma, see the curated list of the most exciting exhibitions, pavilions, and off-site projects for a successful biennale:
Central Exhibition
Cecilia Alemani, the first female Italian director to curate a Biennale, brings together 1433 works from 58 nations, of predominately female-identifying and non-binary artists, featuring contemporary works and 80 new projects conceived specifically for this occasion. This was a welcomed change for the Biennale, notoriously known for poor gender representation. The exhibition narrative is both divided and shaped by colour, separated into three parts: “The representation of bodies and their metamorphosis,” “The relationship between individuals and technologies,” and “The connection between bodies and earth.”
In each section, there are contemporary works responding to the 1950s children’s book by Leonora Carrington installed in conjunction with 5 so-called time capsules that showcase historic works, borrowed from museums and collections. At Giardini the exhibition opens with a sculpture by Katharina Fritsch (b. 1956), installed in the historical room with frescoes by Galileo Chini: “I’ve always dreamed of including this artwork in an exhibition” says Alemani.
Fritsch was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement along with Cecilia Vicuña (b. 1948), who presents a series of fantastical paintings, and NAUfraga (2022), a site-specific installation.
An entire room is dedicated to Paula Rego (b. 1935) at Giardini, in tandem with other outstanding works by Barbara Kruger (b. 1945), Ali Cherri (b.1976) – awarded the Silver Lion for a promising young participant, Marguerite Humeau (b. 1986), Simone Leigh (b. 1967) – awarded the Golden Lion for the best participant, and she is also the first Black female artist to represent the U.S. Pavilion with a solo show; Andra Ursuta (b. 1979), Nan Goldin (b. 1953), Delcy Morelos (b. 1967) presenting a large-scale immersive installation made of earth mixed with hay, cassava flour, cacao powder, and spices; Marianna Simnett (b. 1986) with a bizarre and hilarious video installation exploring boundaries between species and gender, transformation and desire, or the film with Josephine Baker (b.1906), where the actress is dancing and performing clowning facial expressions for the camera. By including the silent footage of the 20th-century icon, Alemani restores Baker’s creative work as a dancer, performer, and activist.
National Pavilions
A much-needed change of wind set through the Pavilions of Giardini, as for the first time in the history of the biennale, a Roma artist represents a national pavilion. Małgorzata Mirga-Tas is “Re-enchanting the World” with her manifesto, a monumental installation prepared specifically for the Polish pavilion. This is an attempt by Wojciech Szymański and the Berlin-based curator, Joanna Warsza to reposition Roma individuals’ cultural heritage in the history of art. They have been living in Europe for hundreds of years, but in their home countries they are minorities often discriminated against, excluded from community life, or victims of genocides. Their position in the art world has been no exception. This exhibition consists of large-format vividly coloured hand-stitched fabric installation, alluding to the astrological frescos of the grandiose “Hall of the Months (Salone dei Mesi),” one of the masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance at Palazzo Schifanoia in Ferrara.
This is such a critical topic that not one, but two pavilions deal with Romani history. The Greek pavilion presents a 15-minute surrealist 360-degree VR movie by the artist and filmmaker Loukia Alavanou, which transports the audience on a journey through time via a Romani ghetto, in the outskirts of Athens, “one of the toughest places in Greece,”states the artist.
Another significant national and cultural representation this year took place in the building that normally hosts the Nordic Pavilion, transformed into “The Sámi Pavilion,” the Indigenous population of Northern Europe (Fenno-Scandinavia) whose ancestral lands include Norway, Sweden, Finland, and part of Russia. The pavilion space was conceded for the first time to native Sámi artists: Pauliina Feodoroff, Máret Ánne Sara, and Anders Sunna. Their project is directly linked to Sámi culture, long colonised people, living at the sharp end of the climate crisis. The Sámi speak a variety of languages and inhabit different landscapes, but what unites them is a uniquely close relationship to nature. At the heart of their culture is the reindeer, representing a significant part of their art, language, and identity. For Máret Anne Sara, the reindeer are both the subject and the material of her work. Her installation is a call to climate justice, to “protect the reindeer from forced slaughtering.”
Next door, Denmark unveils Uffe Isolotto’s haunting transhuman installation “We Walked the Earth.” The artist imagines a hyper-realistic world, a drama of life and death that focuses on a family of three centaurs, one giving birth and another hanging from a noose, reflecting on the ambiguity of today’s world.
The French pavilion received a special mention this year for the “Dreams Have No Title” project. The French artist with a plural identity, Zineb Sedira transformed the space into a film studio, interlacing fiction and reality with personal and collective memory. Sedira is the first artist of Algerian descent to represent the country and through her series of installations she reflects on how aspects of Algerian culture and artifice associated with cinema are marketed lies to the audience
At the Romanian pavilion, the body appeared to be an important theme. The film director and screenwriter, Adina Pintilie (awarded the Golden Bear at the 68th Berlin International Film Festival) offered via a multi-channel installation called “You Are Another Me – A Cathedral of the Body” an unabashed look at intimacy, exploring the ways we connect to each other and our own bodies.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has not been forgotten at the prestigious art event. The Ukrainian pavilion curatorial team, Borys Filonenko, Lizaveta German, and Maria Lanko have produced the “Piazza Ucraina,”an open-air exhibition in collaboration with the Ukrainian Emergency Art Fund (UEAF), the Victor Pinchuk Foundation, and architect Dana Kosmina. A tower of sandbags, suggesting the protective measures taken to preserve Ukrainian statues from damage stands at the centre of Giardini della Biennale.
In Arsenale, the New Zealand pavilion stands out with Yuki Kihara’s “Paradise Camp,” curated by Natalie King. This exhibition is narrated through the unique lens of Fa’afafine and draws attention to the marginalised histories of the Faʻafafine community in Sāmoa, emphasising New Zealand’s historical, political, social, and cultural relationship with the Pacific.
Yuki Kihara is an interdisciplinary artist of Japanese and Pacific descent, the first one to represent the country at the Biennale. “Paradise Camp” presents twelve tableau photographs, an archive section of research upcycled images, and a single-channel video, “First Impressions:” Paul Gauguin (2018), in which a group of Fa’afafine discusses Gauguin paintings. Kihara, imagines a utopia, creating an alternate, queer world where sexuality is no longer judged by humanity.
Just across the room, Albania is represented by a dead artist this year, Lumturi Blloshmi, the first female artist to represent the country. Unfortunately, she passed away a year ago from COVID-19. Her life’s work is honoured posthumously by the curator Adela Demetja, one of her close collaborators until the end of her life. Blloshmi has a remarkable biography and was one of the most significant Albanian visual artists of her time.
The pavilion of Chile presents an immersive installation that takes you on a journey to the centre of the Earth. Once inside, viewers are walked up a ramp with a panoramic screen showing a film focused on the peatlands of Patagonia. It can be described as a multidisciplinary, multimedia, and multi-sensory experience, making use of sound bath and scent among other elements.
Under the name “Turba Tol Hol-Hol Tol” Chilean researchers and creators have conceived this small sample of nature for the audience to understand how essential peatlands are for the planet and the importance of conserving them to successfully reduce the CO2.
Another pavilion addressing the senses is the one of Saudi Arabia, presenting a large-scale installation entitled, “The Teaching Tree,” that explores themes of creation, regeneration, nature, and mythology by multidisciplinary artist Muhannad Shono. The 40-meter-long, organically formed structure made of palm fronds painted in black is animated by pneumatics. The artist’s work symbolises the Kingdom’s great change, trying to escape its walls.
Off-site Projects
At the Venice Biennale, award-winning artist and filmmaker, Wu Tsang is showing “Of Whales,” an immersive large-scale digital installation in a stunning location, just by the water under the arcades of the historic structure of the Giaggiandre, where the installation is reflected by the water. Supported by VIVE Arts, the artist explores the ocean as described in Melville’s classic tale, Moby Dick. Tsang immerses the audience in a sensory experience through his audiovisual artwork.
Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista hosts a major solo exhibition of Ugo Rondinone, entitled “burn shine fly.” With two bodies of new work and the gilded bronze sculpture “the sun II “(2018) which occupies the courtyard.
There are a few major exhibitions not to be missed, among them: Anselm Kiefer at Palazzo Ducale, Louise Nevelson at Procuratie Vecchie, Anish Kapoor at Gallerie dell’Accademia and Palazzo Manfrin, The Peggy Guggenheim Collection (teamed up with the Museum Barberini in Germany) or “Bruce Nauman: Contrapposto Studies” at Punta della Dogana – the solo exhibition curated by Carlos Basualdo, Keith L., Katherine Sachs, and Caroline Bourgeois (curator at Pinault Collection), focuses on a series of recent video installations that he developed over the last five years.
Pinault Collection brings a major monographic exhibition dedicated to Marlene Dumas in Venice at Palazzo Grassi, “open-end,” curated by Caroline Bourgeois who defines her as “one of the most radical artists of today.” The exhibition compiles over 100 works highlighting her whole pictorial production, from paintings and drawings produced between 1984 and today, including unseen recent works. ”Blue is a very important colour in Dumas’s work,” says Bourgeois:
Fondazione Prada undertakes a multidisciplinary project, curated by Udo Kittelmann and Taryn Simon, dedicated to brain studies: “Human Brains,” at Ca’ Corner della Regina. Through a diverse scientific approach and art, the exhibition navigates a history of neuroscientific knowledge, opening a broad understanding of the human brain.
Not just institutions and organisations were present in Venice, but also brands showed their support for art. For example, Diesel made possible the “AllTogether” group show, presenting the Tom of Finland Foundation’s permanent collection to the public for the first time outside of Los Angeles. The aesthetic impact of this exhibition draws on the unique spirit of artists who have passed through Tom House in the past three decades along with pioneers of the foundation, who’s focus is to both preserve the work of queer artists and inspire a new generation to embrace the erotic in their own life and work.
Durk Dehner (co-founder of the foundation) says that the main challenge while preparing this exhibition was to select works from the foundation’s vast collection, but ”with the Tom of Finland community’s help and the sponsorship of Diesel this exhibition its been able to take place, and that’s remarkable,” on the other hand Glenn Martens (Creative Director of Diesel) mentions that “the history of the foundation is just something that has to be spoken out loud, and I think it’s such an honour that it can be given a platform to tell the story,” to be seen until June 26th at Studio Cannaregio.
Venice Biennale 2022 23 April – 27 November 2022