Venice Biennale Arte
60th International Art Exhibition 2024
This was my third trip to Venice and second to specifically visit the Biennale; the first in 2005 – an accidental visit as part of a family holiday.
Above are a selection of images taken during my visit, including the work of Julien Creuzet in the French Pavilion (3rd and 4th images) and Marlene Gilson in the Arsenali -“Building the Stockade of Eureka” (final image).
Foreigners Everywhere
The theme of this year’s Biennale is “Foreigners Everywhere”, featuring 331 artists and collectives living in and between 80 countries. It is a testament to how artists have always travelled and moved about under various circumstances. It primarily focuses on artists who are foreigners, immigrants, expatriates, diasporic, exited or refugees, particularly those who have moved between the Global South and the Global North.
I felt a deep connection to the theme and the exhibits in this year’s Biennale as my parents were first generation Americans and I too am a displaced person – an American living in the UK. I walked around all the exhibits with my brain humming and heart swelling.
Venice Giardini or Giardini della Biennale
The Giardini is an area of parkland in Venice which hosts the Venice Biennale Arts Festival. It is the largest green space in Venice.
Korean Pavilion
Artist Koo Jeong delved into the nuances of our special encounters, investigating how we perceive and recollect spaces, with a particular emphasis on how scents, smell and odours contributes to these memories. This was a spacious pavilion, very calming and the scents were quite subtle. An excellent first stop to begin the Giardini pavilions.
US Pavilion
“The Space in Which to Place Me”, by Jeffrey Gibson transformed the U.S. Pavilion into a space in which Indigenous art and a broad spectrum of cultural expressions are central to the human experience. Jeffrey is a member of the Mississippi Choctaw Indians and of Cherokee descent.
He uses beadwork textiles, weaving, and found objects to make his work. He probes the ideals of democracy in the United States and its relationship to the Queer, Indigenous person. He uses his Art from a cultural critique that engages with the complex histories rather than erasing them.
Central Pavilion
Ione Saldanha’s “Bambus” – colourfully painted bamboos stood in formation and hung from the ceiling, subtly moving like mobiles, evoking a playful feel. I loved her use of bright colours and how some of my soft textile sculptures were similar in shape.
Arsenali
The Arsenali is a complex of former shipyards and armouries clustered together in the city of Venice. It was the heart of the Naval Industry of Venice and the buildings now house the Biennale.
Naminapu Maymuru-White is a Mangalili clan member and Senior Yolnu Elder with a contemporary art practice. She is known for representing the song lines of her clan, the Mongalili group. She depicts sprawling rivers that are intricately designed, using earth pigment on stringy bark. This was another favourite as it reminded me of the Kuba Cloth of the Congo made from handwoven strands of raffia palm leaves. Kuba cloth is an inspiration for many of my soft sculptures.
Emmi Whitehorse is a Dine (“Di Nay” – the name for Navajo people) Indigenous artist who works primarily in large-scale poetic landscapes of the US Southwest. She uses a traditional Navajo concept known as Hozho which emphasizes the connectedness of land and people to achieve harmony and beauty. I loved her paintings, especially her signature.
Nour Jaouda makes work with dyed textured cloth, stitched, sewn and re-assembled to form a landscape of movement and cultural history personal to her. Her work sits between sculpture and painting.
Gallerie dell’ Accademia
The Gallerie dell’ Accademia is an Art Museum in Venice which houses the largest collection of Venetian paintings in the world.
Willem de Kooning. It was about how de Kooning had spent some time in Venice and how the city inspired the paintings. The paintings were stunning with large colourful brushstrokes. but I couldn’t see the connection with Venice. I very much liked the sculptures and his painted face which reminded me of one of my pieces in the recent “Face” exhibition at Bannatyne in Hastings.
Willem de Kooning
Edith Pargh Barton
Final thoughts…
Textiles featured prominently this year with fabric dyed, sewn or woven. I was overwhelmed by their large scale. There was so much to take in/absorb in 4 days.
I carried away quite a lot of food for thought and inspiration for my own work; how I could move forward with my sculptures and textile work. I was also in awe of how connected the artists were with their work and the message they were sharing. It all seemed deep and serious and meaningful.