The Venice Biennale is an annual event that takes place in the city of Venice in Italy and is, on alternate years, an art exhibition and then an architectural exhibition, with art being on odd years and architecture on even years. It is an international showcase of the best and brightest design talents from all around the world and attracts around 300,000 tourists from all over the globe to Italy. If you have always wanted to visit the city, now is a great time to book a Venice vacation rental and to head to the city to experience the 58th edition of the Biennale International Art Exhibition. Entitled, “May You Live In Interesting Times,” it will be open to the public until the 24th of November 2019 and was inaugurated on the 11th of May. Venice and the wider Veneto region always have abundant charms to offer but with the Biennale taking place, it is all just that much more colourful, exciting and fascinating.
“May You Live In Interesting Times”, has been curated by Ralph Rugoff and was organised by La Biennale di Venezia, chaired by Paolo Baratta. The title is a phrase of English invention that has “long been mistakenly cited as an ancient Chinese curse that invokes periods of uncertainty, crisis and turmoil,” times like those we are currently living in. However, it “could also simply be an invitation to always see and consider the course of human events in their complexity, an invitation, thus, that appears to be particularly important in times when, too often, oversimplification seems to prevail, generated by conformism or fear.”
The Exhibition is centred around the Central Pavilion in a park called the Giardini and is set in various locations around the historical centre of the city and in the Arsenale, in particular. This year’s edition sees 79 representatives from all over the world participate in the exhibition with Rugoff noting that many “reflect upon precarious aspects of existence today, including different threats to key traditions, institutions and relationships of the “post-war order”” but also may prove to be “a kind of guide for how to live and think in ‘interesting times.’” This emphasis on art’s social function has already captured hearts, attentions, and headlines around the globe with lots of exciting pieces and pavilions to check out.
The Exhibition is centred around the Central Pavilion in a park called the Giardini and is set in various locations around the historical centre of the city and in the Arsenale, in particular. This year’s edition sees 79 representatives from all over the world participate in the exhibition with Rugoff noting that many “reflect upon precarious aspects of existence today, including different threats to key traditions, institutions and relationships of the “post-war order”” but also may prove to be “a kind of guide for how to live and think in ‘interesting times.’” This emphasis on art’s social function has already captured hearts, attentions, and headlines around the globe with lots of exciting pieces and pavilions to check out.
Lithuania’s “Sun & Sea (Marina)” Pavilion has been one of the most talked about works and was the winner of the prestigious Golden Lion this time around. It sees a historic quayside building in the Marina Militare complex transformed by artists Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė (the director), Vaiva Grainytė (the composer), and Lina Lapelytė (the writer) into an artificially lit beach scene – sand, towels, sun hats, brightly coloured beach balls, bottles of sunscreen, and more included – and is a grand performance piece that has performers frolic on the fake strand. The cast sings joyously about being alive in a world that has been deeply wounded by climate change and it is a surreal and grand piece that deeply unsettles and sticks in the minds of visitors.
Another of the highlights of this year’s Biennale is the Ghana Pavilion called “Ghana Freedom,” in the Arsenale, which takes place in a subterranean space plastered by Venetian experts with soil imported from West Africa and was designed by the Tanzanian-born architect David Adjaye. It displays the work of six artists – British painter Lynette Yiadom-Boakye and the celebrated Ghanaian sculptor El Anatsui among them – and is named after the song composed by E.T. Mensah when Ghana gained independence and became a new nation in 1957. It explores how that freedom has played out and the culture of Ghana and its diasporas and is a wonderful insight into the country in its first entry into the Biennale.
Another of the highlights of this year’s Biennale is the Ghana Pavilion called “Ghana Freedom,” in the Arsenale, which takes place in a subterranean space plastered by Venetian experts with soil imported from West Africa and was designed by the Tanzanian-born architect David Adjaye. It displays the work of six artists – British painter Lynette Yiadom-Boakye and the celebrated Ghanaian sculptor El Anatsui among them – and is named after the song composed by E.T. Mensah when Ghana gained independence and became a new nation in 1957. It explores how that freedom has played out and the culture of Ghana and its diasporas and is a wonderful insight into the country in its first entry into the Biennale.
Iceland’s astoundingly beautiful, “Chromo Sapiens” is an impressive large-scale multisensory installation by Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir’s. The main medium is synthetic hair that has been utilised using her signature and personally developed textile techniques. Enter into this magical world and head on the labyrinthine journey through an incredible multicoloured tangle of synthetic hair that looks like something from an alternative reality – certainly nothing you’ve ever seen before.
Another multi-coloured gem is Sean Scully’s “Human” in the church of San Giorgio Maggiore. It is a towering sculpture that looks not unlike a Jenga tower and stands out starkly like something you mistakenly thought you saw out of the corner of your eye, but is, indeed, actually really there amidst the gorgeous historic surroundings of the beautiful church. Comprised of dozens of square frames wrapped in different bright shades of felt, it has a doorway cut into it that allows visitors to step inside the installation and experience a magical moment of silence and reflection as they are shaded from the rest of the world and directed to look up towards the lantern in Andrea Palladio’s 16th century cupola above. In addition, throughout the church you will find other little works by Scully dotted around such as paintings, pastels, an illuminated manuscript, and much more besides.
There is, of course, much more to see and take in at the Biennale di Venezia but the best way to do so is by finding your perfect apartment in Venice in the historical centre of the city or villa in Italy today and heading there this year to explore it all for yourself!
Biennale Arte 2019
“May You Live In Interesting Times”
11th of May – 24th of November 2019
Closed on Mondays (except 13th of May, 2nd of September, 18th of November)
Giardini: open 10am to 6pm
Arsenale: open 10am to 6pm
Arsenale: on Fridays and Saturdays, until 5th of October, open 10am to 8pm
Tickets:
Regular full price tickets start at €25 but check online for more details.
Another multi-coloured gem is Sean Scully’s “Human” in the church of San Giorgio Maggiore. It is a towering sculpture that looks not unlike a Jenga tower and stands out starkly like something you mistakenly thought you saw out of the corner of your eye, but is, indeed, actually really there amidst the gorgeous historic surroundings of the beautiful church. Comprised of dozens of square frames wrapped in different bright shades of felt, it has a doorway cut into it that allows visitors to step inside the installation and experience a magical moment of silence and reflection as they are shaded from the rest of the world and directed to look up towards the lantern in Andrea Palladio’s 16th century cupola above. In addition, throughout the church you will find other little works by Scully dotted around such as paintings, pastels, an illuminated manuscript, and much more besides.
There is, of course, much more to see and take in at the Biennale di Venezia but the best way to do so is by finding your perfect apartment in Venice in the historical centre of the city or villa in Italy today and heading there this year to explore it all for yourself!
Biennale Arte 2019
“May You Live In Interesting Times”
11th of May – 24th of November 2019
Closed on Mondays (except 13th of May, 2nd of September, 18th of November)
Giardini: open 10am to 6pm
Arsenale: open 10am to 6pm
Arsenale: on Fridays and Saturdays, until 5th of October, open 10am to 8pm
Tickets:
Regular full price tickets start at €25 but check online for more details.