55th Venice Biennale opens, Japan earns special mention


Installation view, “The Encyclopedic Palace.” Photo ART iT.

The 55th edition of the Venice Biennale opened to the public Jun 1, with 88 national participations and a centerpiece exhibition curated by this year’s artistic director, Massmilioni Gioni.

Titled “The Encyclopedic Palace,” Gioni’s exhibition brings together 150 artists from 38 countries. The exhibition theme is inspired by the utopian vision of the Italian-born, US-based artist Marino Auriti, who in 1955 field a design with the US Patent Office for an imaginary museum meant to house all worldly knowledge. While the exhibition features familiar names to the international contemporary art circuit such as Carl Andre, Peter Fischli / David Weiss, Bruce Nauman and Rosemarie Trockel, it also expands the typical historical scope of the exhibition to artists like Hilma af Klint, born in 1862 in Solna, Sweden, and draws from a broad range of practices including Shaker gift drawings and anonymous Tantric paintings.

Auriti’s model for his “Encyclopedic Palace” is prominently displayed at the entrance to the Arsenale, with Gioni employing architect Annabelle Selldorf to give the massive exhibition space a stately, museum-like feel. Meanwhile, in the Central Pavilion of the Giardini, a performance by Tino Sehgal shares room with works by the sculptor René Iché, architect and artist Walter Pichler, and mystic philosopher and pedagogical theorist Rudulf Steiner.

From Japan, Gioni has invited Shinro Ohtake, whose Scrapbooks installation was also presented in Gioni’s 8th Gwangju Biennale, “10,000 Lives,” as well as voyeuristic photographer Kohei Yoshiyuki and the outsider artist Shinichi Sawada.

This year’s national representations include 10 debut participants, Angola, the Bahamas, Bahrain, Ivory Coast, Kosovo, Kuwait, Maldives, Paraguay and Tuvalu, as well as the Holy See. Additionally, France and Germany tested the well-worn concept of national representation by swapping pavilion structures. Japan is represented this year by multimedia artist Koki Tanaka, whose “abstract speaking – sharing uncertainty and collective acts” orchestrates collaborative actions initiated under extraordinary conditions, such as asking a group of potters to sculpt a pot at the same time, which are then recorded on video.

Awards for the exhibition were also announced Jun 1. The Golden Lion for best national participation went to “Luanda, Encyclopedic City,” by Angola’s Edson Chagas; while Tino Sehgal was recognized as best artist in the international exhibition. Additionally, special mentions were awarded to Sharon Hayes and Robert Cuoghi, in the international exhibition, and the collaborative presentation by Cyprus and Lithuania, “Oo / oO,” as well as Koki Tanaka’s Japan Pavilion, which was cited for its “poignant reflection on issues of collaboration and failure.” A Silver Lion for promising young artist in the international exhibition was presented to Camille Henrot. The multinational jury was chaired by Jessica Morgan (UK) and comprised Sofia Hernández Chong Cuy (Mexico), Francesco Manacorda (Italy), Bisi Silva (Nigeria) and Ali Subotnick (US).

The Biennale remains on view through Nov 24.

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