LÃnea de Costa Contemporary Art & Culture Visual Magazine issue #17#
57 BIENNALE DI VENEZIA SPECIAL ISSUE
ISSN 2340-1 575
Línea de Costa Contemporary Art & Culture Visual Magazine issue #17#
EDITOR / PUBLISHER Asociación Cultural LINEA DE COSTA DIRECTOR / EDITOR Pablo Alonso de la Sierra Rocío Arévalo Vargas DISEÑO / DESIGN LosVendaval FOTOGRAFÍA / PHOTOGRAPHY La Biennale di Venezia / Pinea-Línea de Costa A.I.R. COLABORADORES / CONTRIBUTORS Nora Byrne Isabel Figueroa ISSN 2340-1 575 CÁDIZ (SPAIN) magazine@lineadecosta.net http://www.magazine.lineadecosta.net/
Linea de Costa Contemporary Art & Culture Visual Magazine es una publicación independiente. Publicación sujeta a licencia Creative Commons. Linea de Costa Contemporary Art & Culture Visual Magazine is an independent publication. Under Creative Commons License.
This is the fourth time we do it, and we are really glad to do it: we have landed in Venice to cover the opening days at the 57th Biennale di Venezia, Viva Arte Viva, whose orchestra director is, on this occasion, Christine Macel. We remain faithful to our mission and to the eminently visual spirit of the publication: therefore, the materials of this special issue have been organized as a graphic and chronological diary around the exhibitions which we had the pleasure to cover during those intensive and exciting days. Bellow, we show you our selection of national participants. Obviously, not everyone who is anyone is on our list, but everyone on it is a somebody: Our tour began in the acclaimed German Pavilion 'Faust' by Anne Imhof (curated by Susanne Pfeffer): The artist has worked on a site足specific work focused on the duality of the space in which breaks the borders between painting, performance, sculpture, and installation. Following we visited the Uruguay Pavilion 'La Ley del Embudo' by the artist Mario Sagradini and curated by Gabriel Peluffo Linari. The project is inspired in a XIX century farmyard called funnel. The empty space makes reference to the lost memory. Immediately we went into the Czech Republic Pavilion entitled 'Swan Song: Now', a project by the environmental artist Jana Zelibska curated by Gregorova Stach, in which confronts opposite concepts such as poetic vs banal. After a short break, we discovered the fabulous 'A way Out of the Mirror' at the Canadian Pavilion, by artist Geoffrey Farmer and curated by Kitty Scott and Carol & Morton Rapp. The artist makes use of drama techniques to create multi足layered works open to interpretations. In the Japan Pavilion, Takahiro Iwasaki presented 'Turned Upside Down, It's a Forest' (curated by Meruro Washida), in which, as usual in his works, transformed banal objects into amazing sculptures. From there we went to the British Pavilion, fully occupied by 'Folly', the sculptural installation by Phyllida Barlow, curated by Harriet Cooper & Delphine Allier. In this project, the artist provokes a sense of folly transforming low足cost materials into expansive installations,
confronting
space
and
objects.
At
the
Korean
Pavilion,
'Counterbalance: The Stone and the Mountain', a group exhibition featuring artist Cody Choi and Lee Wan. Curated by Daehyung Lee, in his words, the concept is to 'presenting semi足fictive worlds that reinvent reality and engage our imagination,
trigger our empathy, and pique our curiosity through understated means that overall emphasize our human nature and psychological complexity'. At the French Pavilion, artist Xavier Veilhan presented his project 'Studio Venezia' curated by Christian Marclay & Lionel Bouvier. The pavilion becomes a musical space for reflection and creation. The Spanish proposal, by artist Jordi Colomer and curated by Manuel Segade, invites the audience to explore the idea of nomadism through his project '¡Únete! Join Us!'. At the sober Belgium Pavilion, the monumentally scaled photographs by Dirk Braeckman dialogue with the recently renovated space. In 'Cinema Olanda', a project by artist Wendelien van Oldenborgh and curated by Lucy Cotter, various topics are discussed such as Netherlands' recent postcolonial history and its relationship with the present national identity. Hereafter we visited the Hungarian pavilion, represented by the acclaimed Gyula Varnai, in which project 'Peace on Earth!' he explores the relationship between past and future trying to shed light on the utopias. For its part, The Nordic Pavilion presents the group show 'Mirrored', exhibiting works by six multi generation artists. Curated by Mats Stiernstedt, the goal is to challenge their own stereotyped image.
In the Russian pavilion, 'Theatrum Orbis', a voyage across
contemporary Russia’s icons, fears, metaphors, and obsessions, curated by Semyon Mikhailovsky, include works by The Recycle Group, Sasha Pirogova, and Grisha Bruskin. On the other side of the Rio dei Giardini, in the Romanian Pavilion, 'Apparitions' by Geta Bratescu and curated by Magda Radu, shows a body of work made during the whole career of the artist. 'Laboratory of Dilemmas', by artist George Drivas and curated by Orestis Andreadakis, represents Greece at the Biennale. The project put the focus on distress and chaos in today's society. The Austrian Pavilion, entitled 'Licht Pavilion', shows works by Erwin Wurm and Brigitte Kowanz, while the Finnish one hosts 'The Aalto Natives', curated by Xander Karskens, by artists Erkka Nissinen & Nathaniel Mellors, an exhibition focused on commonplaces surrounding Finnish history and identity. On the other hand, inside the Arsenale, our tour began at the Irish Pavilion, where we had the opportunity to Know the terrific 'Tremble Tremble' by Jesse Jones, a political project focussed on feminist archetypes. From there, we moved to visit the Italian
Pavilion: 'Il Mondo Magico', curated by Cecilia Alemani, featuring sitespecific works by Roberto Cuoghi, Adelita HusniBey, and Giorgio Andreotta Calò. The Chinese Pavilion, curated by artist and curator Qiu Zhijie, is entitled 'Continuum, Generation by Generation', a collective creative process that has lasted over 5000 years. The exhibition includes the works of Tang Nannan, Wang Tianwen, Yao Huifen, and Wu Jian'an. Tunisian participation, under the title 'The Absence of Paths', curated by Lina Lazaar, is distributed in three venues. Clearly, the title speaks for itself, we visited the kiosk in Arsenale, where we got our universal travel documents. At the South African Pavilion, curated by Lucy MacGarry, 'Candice Breitz & Mohau Modisekeng' (the names of the participants is the title it self)
is
focused
on
the
notion
of
selfhood
within
a
context
of
global
marginalization. The Peru Pavilion showcases 'Land of Tomorrow' in which the curator Rodrigo Quijano, presenting works of the recently deceased artist Juan Javier Salazar, the artist who narrated Peru. Our selection ends on the Luxembourg Pavilion. Artist Mike Bourscheid presents his project 'Thank You So Much for the Flowers', and pursues to transform the role of art and creative activities in our daily life. Come and see! And enjoy it!
Anne Imho Faust German Pavilion
Mario Sagradini La Ley del Embudo Uruguay Pavilion
Jana Zelibska Swan Song: Now Czech Republic Pavilion
Geoffrey Farmer A way out of the mirror Canadian Pavilion
Takahiro Iwasaki Turned Upside Down, It's a Forest Japan Pavilion
FONDAZIONE QUERINI STAMPALIA Jacob Hashimoto GAS GIANT
Phyllida Barlow Folly British Pavilion
Cody Choi / Lee Wan Counterbalance: The Stone and the Mountain Korean Pavilion
Xavier Veilhan Studio Venezia French Pavilion
Jordi Colomer ยกร nete! Join Us! Spanish Pavilion
Dirk Braeckman Belgium Pavilion
Wendelien van Oldenborgh Cinema Olanda Netherlands Pavilion
Gyula Varnai Peace on Earth! Hungarian Pavilion
Mirrored Nordic Pavilion
The Recycle Group / Sasha Pirogova / and Grisha Bruskin. Theatrum Orbis Russian Pavilion
Geta Bratescu Apparitions Romanian Pavilion
George Drivas Laboratory of Dilemmas Greece Pavilion
Cinthia Marcelle Hunting Ground Brazilian Pavilion
Erwin Wurm and Brigitte Kowanz Licht Pavilion Austrian Pavilion
Jesse Jones Tremble Tremble Irish Pavilion
Lisa Reihana Pursuit of Venus New Zealand Pavilion
Roberto Cuoghi, Adelita Husni-Bey, and Giorgio Andreotta Calò Il Mondo Magico Italian Pavilion
Continuum, Generation by Generation Chinese Pavilion
The Absence of Paths Tunisian Pavilion
Carlos Amorales Life in the Folds Mexican Pavilion
Candice Breitz & Mohau Modisekeng South African Pavilion
BGL Art Collective Canadissimo Canada Pavilion (Giardini)
Juan Javier Salazรกr Land of Tomorrow Peru Pavilion
Samson Young Songs for Disasters Hong Kong Pavilion
Erkka Nissinen & Nathaniel Mellors Aalto Natives FInnish Pavilion
Mike Bourscheid Thank You So Much for the Flowers Luxembourg Pavilion
LĂnea de Costa Contemporary Art & Culture Visual Magazine