September 5, 2024
Various Artists
Foreigners Everywhere
Venice Biennale 2024
April 20 - November 24, 2024
Foreigners Everywhere
The joy of visiting Venice during the Biennale is twofold: the city and all its treasures as well as the insertion of contemporary art in venues that are off the beaten path.
The more days in Venice the better, as it is not really possible to see the Biennale in its entirety— both official and collateral events and exhibitions— in just a couple of days.
Planning a route across the island takes one on a journey, literally seeing "Foreigners Everywhere" as Venice is overpopulated in the Spring and Summer months with both Biennale viewers and regular tourists. This years theme focuses on ideas around displacement and includes many more women and artists of color than in years past, as well as curated selections featuring artists who are under-recognized and who have not been invited to participate in the past.
Highlights of collateral events viewed around the Dorsodoro include an animated panoramic video installation by Josefa Ntjam. Installed in a blue triangle shaped pavilion in the courtyard of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia, swell of spaec(i)es features sea creatures meeting the apocalypse. Also of note was an installation by one of the most celebrated and internationally recognized Indian artists of the 20th century M.F. Husain (1915-2011). The Rooted Nomad included his paintings, as well as a video installation that filled the space with dynamic and ever-changing colorful floral arrangements and animated figures. Other big name shows that were not to be missed were Pierre Huyghe at the Pinault Collection, Jean Cocteau at Peggy Guggenheim and Jim Dine at Palazzo Rocca Contarini Corfu. Another installation that resonated was Dare To Dream from Ukraine. Here, the Puerto Rican artists Allora & Calzadilla presented a new iteration of their piece Graft where flower petals were strewn across the floor beneath delicate and evocative hand-painted figurative murals by Kateryna Lysovenko.
Moving across the Grand Canal to the Castello began with visits to the Querini Stampalia and the Museo di Palazzo Grimani. The Querini Stampalia is an amazing space combining contemporary architectural works within a sixteenth-century palace. It hosts contemporary exhibitions that often play off the rooms and furnishings. To coincide with the 2024 Biennale, on view were installations by Ilya and Emilia Kabakov and works by Yoo Youngkuk.
In addition to having a room filled with classical sculptures and one of the most magnificently detailed ceilings anywhere in Venice, the Museo di Palazzo Grimani also hosts contemporary exhibitions. On view for the Biennale was an exhibition of abstract paintings by the Texas based artist Rick Lowe, as well as a video installation and associated sculptural props by Wael Shawky (whose work was also on display in the Egyptian Pavilion at the Giardini).
The Arsenale was next on the agenda.
First impressions are meaningful so the artist/artwork chosen for the entry room of the Arsenale is significant. For 2024, it was filled with a criss-cross of fabric tie downs or security straps by the Mataaho Collective (New Zealand). They created a shimmering pattern and grid-like structure across the walls and ceiling. Further into the space, the Disobedience Archive organized a display of videos — more than one could ever see in a single sitting — installed on monitors within the curved walls of a semi-circular space. A full day or more would be required to watch these films and videos, so rather than catching glimpses here and there, many people walked right by.
Some highlights and memorable works seen on the long trek through the Arsenale include:
Kiuanji Kia Henda is an artist from Angola who presented three different closely connected works made over a span of seven years. These include a grid of nine color photographs of facades seen through the different geometries of white protective railings, as well as a sculpture comprised of the actual metalwork.
Dalton Paula (Brazil) exhibited paintings that celebrated historical figures of African descent involved with anti-slavery movements in Brazil. The beautiful combination of under and overpainting emphasized the span of time from past to present.
Bouchra Khalili is a French Moroccan artist now residing in Vienna. In The Mapping Journey Project, she presents a series of projected videos that trace the stories of those who were forced to travel illegally due to political and economic circumstances. The imagery consists of fingers tracing routes on a map while the narration recounts the different journeys through North Africa, the Middle East and the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.
In contrast to the more didactic multiple screens in the The Mapping Journey Project, Ana Segovia's (Mexico City) single channel video filmed in bright pink hues features two Charros (Mexican cowboys). The work is meant to undermine traditional male-centric attitudes and spaces.
Toward the back of the Arsenale's long first section are large-scale site-specific colorful painted murals by the Aravani Art Project, a collective based in Bangalore, India that celebrate life choices trans people should have but are often denied.
Numerous special and country pavilions are also housed within the Arsenale grounds.
Brazil's Beatriz Milhazes created new pieces for the Applied Arts Pavilion and also exhibited vitrines filled with traditional woven textiles from different cultures that inspired her. In the Mexican Pavilion, Erick Meyenberg presented the installation As we marched away, we were always coming back featuring a long table set for a grandiose meal accompanied by projections of a family gathering in the countryside. The work elegantly explores issues of displacement and ideas related to losing one's ancestral homeland. Other memorable installations include Luciana Lamothe's Hope the Doors Collapse (Argentina), Robert Zhao Renhui's, Seeing Forest (Singapore) and Matthew Attard's, I will Follow The Ship (Malta), an installation that intertwined drawing and digital technologies to explore the legacy and symbolism of maritime graffiti. Usually, the pavilion for Italy is a large (regional) group exhibition, but this year it features To Hear an installation by Massimo Bartolini that fills several spaces with intriguing sculptures that comprise a range of visual and acoustic experiences.
Outside the actual buildings one happens upon large sculptures by Los Angeles based Lauren Halsey, as well as neon works suspended above and reflecting in the water by the docks at the back of the Arsenale by Claire Fontaine with the slogan "Foreigners Everywhere" in many different languages. This installation seemed like an afterthought and not a very imaginative use of this unique location. The small bunkers at the very back of the Arsenale grounds should always be visited as here one finds dark dilapidated spaces filled with mixed media sculptures or projected videos.
On the way to the Giardini, one cannot ignore a collateral exhibition by the magnificent William Kentridge at the Arsenale Institute for Politics of Representation. Self-Portrait as a Coffee-Pot was a site specific installation of projections, drawings and ephemera. Here, Kentridge sequentially presented nine videos on two different sized screens in the otherwise small and very cluttered space. These videos depicted his interactions with props and himself and explored themes of the studio, politics, isolation, memory and self-portraiture. To view all nine episodes would take more than four hours— hard to do with limited days in Venice.
Not far away from the Arsenale Institute is the Giardini where over 30 countries are represented in national pavilions, each with its own unique architecture. Some highlights include Archie Moore whose installation kith and kin won the Golden Lion Award for the Australia Pavilion. Moore covered the black walls with a map of relations drawn in white chalk bubbles. Jeffrey Gibson represented the United States with a colorful mixed media installation titled the space in which to place me. Yuko Mohri's installation of wired fruits was a crowd pleaser in the Japanese Pavilion, as was the video by Wael Shawky representing Egypt. This was a historical rendition of Egypt's seminal Urabi revolution (1879-1882) against imperial rule using both actors and puppets. John Akomfrah's ambitious installation Listening All Night to the Rain in the Great Britain Pavilion was an investigation presented on numerous video screens of issues of contemporary life, such as memory, migration, racial injustice and climate change. The work in the lower level was organized into cantos (song like movements) that beautifully juxtaposed images from art history and nature with an evocative undulating soundtrack.
At the Palazzo Vendramin Grimani on San Polo, there was an exhibition So As Not To Lose The Thread of works by Karine N'guyen Vann Tham and Parul Thacker who were inspired by the ornate textiles and wall tapestries that make up the permanent collection and made pieces that played off what they saw in situ. Nearby was the transformed Prada Foundation housing an ambitious and over-the-top installation by Swiss provocateur Christoph Buchel. For Monte di Pietà, Buchel filled the building — including exhibition galleries, hallways and in between spaces of the foundation — with "junk." Be it found objects merchandise purchased from pawn shops or valuable collectables, Buchel's installation looks at the nuances of commerce and exchange.
In a space that was once a hospital was the exhibition Nebula commissioned by the Fondazione In Between Art Film. This is the second Biennale that this disused space has been transformed into an exhibition hall for video installations. Here one finds a provocative video by Giorgio Andreotta Calo that follows a sheep through the former hospital, as well as a haunting video of a life-sized puppet hanging from a noose by Diego Marcon.
The Julie Mehretu exhibition at the Palazzo Grassi was a delight and a perfect place to end the day. It unexpectedly combined her work with seven artist friends often using different media to create intriguing relationships and conversations that carried into the night.
The last day in Venice took us to the famed Venetian Opera House La Fenice. Nearby was Victoria Miro Gallery with an exhibit by Sarah Sze and next door at Ateneo Veneto (the oldest cultural institute still operative in Venice housed in a sixteenth-century building: the Scuola dei Picai) was an exhibition by Walton Ford. His installation of paintings were on view with the added benefit of a Tintoretto.
A surprise was Andrzej Wroblewski (1927-1957) at Procuratie Vecchie presented by the Starak Family Foundation. These works on paper and paintings depicted occupied Poland during World War II.
The installation Above Zobeide by Wong Weng Cheong from Macao, China was inspired by the fictional city of Zobeide in Italo Calvino's novel Invisible Cities. In this installation, Cheong juxtaposes a recreation of the fictional city with a hall of video monitors with delayed footage of viewers traveling through the space.
Last stop was an exhibition of works by Willem DeKooning curated by Gary Garrels at the Gallerie Accademia. All that was left to see were the numerous treasures housed in the museum.
Foreigners Everywhere
Venice Biennale 2024
April 20 - November 24, 2024
Foreigners Everywhere
The joy of visiting Venice during the Biennale is twofold: the city and all its treasures as well as the insertion of contemporary art in venues that are off the beaten path.
The more days in Venice the better, as it is not really possible to see the Biennale in its entirety— both official and collateral events and exhibitions— in just a couple of days.
Planning a route across the island takes one on a journey, literally seeing "Foreigners Everywhere" as Venice is overpopulated in the Spring and Summer months with both Biennale viewers and regular tourists. This years theme focuses on ideas around displacement and includes many more women and artists of color than in years past, as well as curated selections featuring artists who are under-recognized and who have not been invited to participate in the past.
Highlights of collateral events viewed around the Dorsodoro include an animated panoramic video installation by Josefa Ntjam. Installed in a blue triangle shaped pavilion in the courtyard of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia, swell of spaec(i)es features sea creatures meeting the apocalypse. Also of note was an installation by one of the most celebrated and internationally recognized Indian artists of the 20th century M.F. Husain (1915-2011). The Rooted Nomad included his paintings, as well as a video installation that filled the space with dynamic and ever-changing colorful floral arrangements and animated figures. Other big name shows that were not to be missed were Pierre Huyghe at the Pinault Collection, Jean Cocteau at Peggy Guggenheim and Jim Dine at Palazzo Rocca Contarini Corfu. Another installation that resonated was Dare To Dream from Ukraine. Here, the Puerto Rican artists Allora & Calzadilla presented a new iteration of their piece Graft where flower petals were strewn across the floor beneath delicate and evocative hand-painted figurative murals by Kateryna Lysovenko.
Moving across the Grand Canal to the Castello began with visits to the Querini Stampalia and the Museo di Palazzo Grimani. The Querini Stampalia is an amazing space combining contemporary architectural works within a sixteenth-century palace. It hosts contemporary exhibitions that often play off the rooms and furnishings. To coincide with the 2024 Biennale, on view were installations by Ilya and Emilia Kabakov and works by Yoo Youngkuk.
In addition to having a room filled with classical sculptures and one of the most magnificently detailed ceilings anywhere in Venice, the Museo di Palazzo Grimani also hosts contemporary exhibitions. On view for the Biennale was an exhibition of abstract paintings by the Texas based artist Rick Lowe, as well as a video installation and associated sculptural props by Wael Shawky (whose work was also on display in the Egyptian Pavilion at the Giardini).
The Arsenale was next on the agenda.
First impressions are meaningful so the artist/artwork chosen for the entry room of the Arsenale is significant. For 2024, it was filled with a criss-cross of fabric tie downs or security straps by the Mataaho Collective (New Zealand). They created a shimmering pattern and grid-like structure across the walls and ceiling. Further into the space, the Disobedience Archive organized a display of videos — more than one could ever see in a single sitting — installed on monitors within the curved walls of a semi-circular space. A full day or more would be required to watch these films and videos, so rather than catching glimpses here and there, many people walked right by.
Some highlights and memorable works seen on the long trek through the Arsenale include:
Kiuanji Kia Henda is an artist from Angola who presented three different closely connected works made over a span of seven years. These include a grid of nine color photographs of facades seen through the different geometries of white protective railings, as well as a sculpture comprised of the actual metalwork.
Dalton Paula (Brazil) exhibited paintings that celebrated historical figures of African descent involved with anti-slavery movements in Brazil. The beautiful combination of under and overpainting emphasized the span of time from past to present.
Bouchra Khalili is a French Moroccan artist now residing in Vienna. In The Mapping Journey Project, she presents a series of projected videos that trace the stories of those who were forced to travel illegally due to political and economic circumstances. The imagery consists of fingers tracing routes on a map while the narration recounts the different journeys through North Africa, the Middle East and the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.
In contrast to the more didactic multiple screens in the The Mapping Journey Project, Ana Segovia's (Mexico City) single channel video filmed in bright pink hues features two Charros (Mexican cowboys). The work is meant to undermine traditional male-centric attitudes and spaces.
Toward the back of the Arsenale's long first section are large-scale site-specific colorful painted murals by the Aravani Art Project, a collective based in Bangalore, India that celebrate life choices trans people should have but are often denied.
Numerous special and country pavilions are also housed within the Arsenale grounds.
Brazil's Beatriz Milhazes created new pieces for the Applied Arts Pavilion and also exhibited vitrines filled with traditional woven textiles from different cultures that inspired her. In the Mexican Pavilion, Erick Meyenberg presented the installation As we marched away, we were always coming back featuring a long table set for a grandiose meal accompanied by projections of a family gathering in the countryside. The work elegantly explores issues of displacement and ideas related to losing one's ancestral homeland. Other memorable installations include Luciana Lamothe's Hope the Doors Collapse (Argentina), Robert Zhao Renhui's, Seeing Forest (Singapore) and Matthew Attard's, I will Follow The Ship (Malta), an installation that intertwined drawing and digital technologies to explore the legacy and symbolism of maritime graffiti. Usually, the pavilion for Italy is a large (regional) group exhibition, but this year it features To Hear an installation by Massimo Bartolini that fills several spaces with intriguing sculptures that comprise a range of visual and acoustic experiences.
Outside the actual buildings one happens upon large sculptures by Los Angeles based Lauren Halsey, as well as neon works suspended above and reflecting in the water by the docks at the back of the Arsenale by Claire Fontaine with the slogan "Foreigners Everywhere" in many different languages. This installation seemed like an afterthought and not a very imaginative use of this unique location. The small bunkers at the very back of the Arsenale grounds should always be visited as here one finds dark dilapidated spaces filled with mixed media sculptures or projected videos.
On the way to the Giardini, one cannot ignore a collateral exhibition by the magnificent William Kentridge at the Arsenale Institute for Politics of Representation. Self-Portrait as a Coffee-Pot was a site specific installation of projections, drawings and ephemera. Here, Kentridge sequentially presented nine videos on two different sized screens in the otherwise small and very cluttered space. These videos depicted his interactions with props and himself and explored themes of the studio, politics, isolation, memory and self-portraiture. To view all nine episodes would take more than four hours— hard to do with limited days in Venice.
Not far away from the Arsenale Institute is the Giardini where over 30 countries are represented in national pavilions, each with its own unique architecture. Some highlights include Archie Moore whose installation kith and kin won the Golden Lion Award for the Australia Pavilion. Moore covered the black walls with a map of relations drawn in white chalk bubbles. Jeffrey Gibson represented the United States with a colorful mixed media installation titled the space in which to place me. Yuko Mohri's installation of wired fruits was a crowd pleaser in the Japanese Pavilion, as was the video by Wael Shawky representing Egypt. This was a historical rendition of Egypt's seminal Urabi revolution (1879-1882) against imperial rule using both actors and puppets. John Akomfrah's ambitious installation Listening All Night to the Rain in the Great Britain Pavilion was an investigation presented on numerous video screens of issues of contemporary life, such as memory, migration, racial injustice and climate change. The work in the lower level was organized into cantos (song like movements) that beautifully juxtaposed images from art history and nature with an evocative undulating soundtrack.
At the Palazzo Vendramin Grimani on San Polo, there was an exhibition So As Not To Lose The Thread of works by Karine N'guyen Vann Tham and Parul Thacker who were inspired by the ornate textiles and wall tapestries that make up the permanent collection and made pieces that played off what they saw in situ. Nearby was the transformed Prada Foundation housing an ambitious and over-the-top installation by Swiss provocateur Christoph Buchel. For Monte di Pietà, Buchel filled the building — including exhibition galleries, hallways and in between spaces of the foundation — with "junk." Be it found objects merchandise purchased from pawn shops or valuable collectables, Buchel's installation looks at the nuances of commerce and exchange.
In a space that was once a hospital was the exhibition Nebula commissioned by the Fondazione In Between Art Film. This is the second Biennale that this disused space has been transformed into an exhibition hall for video installations. Here one finds a provocative video by Giorgio Andreotta Calo that follows a sheep through the former hospital, as well as a haunting video of a life-sized puppet hanging from a noose by Diego Marcon.
The Julie Mehretu exhibition at the Palazzo Grassi was a delight and a perfect place to end the day. It unexpectedly combined her work with seven artist friends often using different media to create intriguing relationships and conversations that carried into the night.
The last day in Venice took us to the famed Venetian Opera House La Fenice. Nearby was Victoria Miro Gallery with an exhibit by Sarah Sze and next door at Ateneo Veneto (the oldest cultural institute still operative in Venice housed in a sixteenth-century building: the Scuola dei Picai) was an exhibition by Walton Ford. His installation of paintings were on view with the added benefit of a Tintoretto.
A surprise was Andrzej Wroblewski (1927-1957) at Procuratie Vecchie presented by the Starak Family Foundation. These works on paper and paintings depicted occupied Poland during World War II.
The installation Above Zobeide by Wong Weng Cheong from Macao, China was inspired by the fictional city of Zobeide in Italo Calvino's novel Invisible Cities. In this installation, Cheong juxtaposes a recreation of the fictional city with a hall of video monitors with delayed footage of viewers traveling through the space.
Last stop was an exhibition of works by Willem DeKooning curated by Gary Garrels at the Gallerie Accademia. All that was left to see were the numerous treasures housed in the museum.