We are proposing a weekend trip in October to the 55th edition of the Venice Biennale following on from our successful visits in 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2011.
The Venice Biennale is the oldest and most prestigious contemporary art festival in the world and was established in 1895. Held every two years, the Biennale is an excellent opportunity to see works by leading, international and up-and-coming artists. Over 70 countries are taking part including first-time participations from the Bahamas, Kingdom of Bahrain, Republic of Kosovo, Kuwait, Maldives, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Paraguay.
There are two main strands to the Venice Biennale: the Giardini which houses 30 permanent national pavilions and a curated exhibition by the Biennale’s appointed director. This time it’s the turn of critic and contemporary art curator, Massimiliano Gioni. He previously curated the 8th Art Biennale of Gwangju, South Korea, and since December 2006, he has been on the curatorial team of the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York.
The title for Gioni’s curated exhibition is Il Palazzo Enciclopedico / The Encyclopedic Palace and will be presented in the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in the Giardini and the Arsenale – the buildings of the adjacent formal naval dockyard.
Il Palazzo Enciclopedico / The Encyclopedic Palace evokes the self-taught Italian-American artist Marino Auriti who on 16 November 1955 filed a design with the US Patent office depicting his ‘Palazzo Enciclopedico’. This imaginary museum was meant to house all worldly knowledge, bringing together the greatest discoveries in a 136-story building that would stand 700 meters tall and take up over 16 blocks in Washington, D.C.
As Massimiliano Gioni explains:
‘Auriti’s plan was never carried out, of course, but the dream of universal, all-embracing knowledge crops up throughout history, as one that eccentrics like Auriti share with many other artists, writers, scientists, and prophets who have tried – often in vain – to fashion an image of the world that will capture its infinite variety and richness.’
‘Today, as we grapple with a flood of information, such attempts to structure knowledge into all-inclusive systems seem even more necessary and even more desperate. The 55th International Exhibition of Art will explore these flights of the imagination in a show that – like Auriti’s Encyclopedic Palace – will combine works of contemporary art with historical artefacts and found objects.’
Artist Jeremy Deller has been chosen to represent Great Britain in the Giardini. Deller often works in collaboration with others (including artists, makers, musicians, members of the public), to create films, installation, performances and events which are often humorous. If you attended Glasgow International Festival of Contemporary Art (Gi) last year, you may remember Deller’s Sacrilege – his interactive public artwork situated on Glasgow Green which took the form of a life-size blow up model of Stonehenge which doubled up as a giant bouncy castle!
Other confirmed artists include Simryn Gill who will be representing Australia, Alfredo Jaar for Chile and France and Germany are swopping pavilions with France showing the work of Anri Sala and Germany’s selection including Ai WeiWei.
Collateral exhibitions take place in venues across the city of Venice. Scotland will be presenting the work of three artists – Corin Sworn, Hayley Tompkins and Duncan Campbell – in an exhibition curated by Glasgow’s Common Guild. It will be housed in the Palazzo Pisani. Duncan Campbell is known for his film works that blend archive, documentary material with fictional, imaginary elements. Corin Sworn creates atmospheric installations that weave fiction and history through film and objects. And finally, Hayley Tompkins makes delicate paintings and painted objects.
In a labyrinthine city like Venice and given the sheer number of artworks to see, it is impossible to visit everything. So that’s where we come in. We will be going on a research trip during the opening week in June to come up with an itinerary which will select and showcase the very best of this year’s Biennale.
We very much hope you will be tempted to come along.
For more details email spin@nationalgalleries.org
