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from the structure (R. Stackhouse, 1942), a continuous drawing with brushes on huge sheets of paper forming a circular space (Pat Steir, 1940), and a structure of woods and natural stones (M. Singer, 1945) are the entries from the United States. With the exception of the work by Singer, the exhibit is uninteresting and frankly mediocre. Although all the pieces were specially done for the Biennial and located in prime areas, they hardly constitute more than an enormous “brincadeira”. The same comment can be applied to the two pictures presented by the North American artist Donald Baechler invited to the Biennial. He sent two large canvases with infantile images, in almost flat colors, with elements of collage beneath the painting, like spots on the canvas. Most of the six Canadian artists represented at the Biennial work with machines or rather, anti-machines. Absurd apparatus à la Tinguely, although with a more sophisticated technology. Would these works not have been better placed at the recent Venice Biennial, where the main theme was precisely art and science? Another entry which combines the two fields are the holograms of the Australian artist Alexander (1927), three panels with the allegoric theme of censure, prison or repression. The installation of Alfredo Jaar (1956), a Chilean resident in New York and another invited artist of the Biennial, appears to establish a bridge between the two poles of the American continent. Jaar made his installation by setting face to face two photomurals illuminated from behind by neon light; one shows a Cascabel tank made in Brazil and the other a wheat field. A thick black tube extends the cannon of the tank, directed against the wheat. Empty gilt frames hang from the tube. “Utopia and Reality”, which is the title of the work and the theme of the Biennial itself, find their best expression in the work of Jaar, confirming the validity, intelligence and extraordinary vigor of this artist. Europe European art is fully represented in this XIXth edition of the Biennial. The best countries are the Federal Republic of Germany, England, Greece, Switzerland and Spain, and the worst, France. A disciple of Beuys, Anselm Kiefer (1945) is the only artist representing the Federal Republic of Germany. He has brought four
Remedios Varo. The Escape. Detail No. 3 of a triptych. 1961. Oil on wood. Antonio Maro. Chronic-Cosmos, 1986. Mixed media on canvas. 118 x 157 2/5 in.