Exhibitions

Women and gender nonconforming artists will take center stage at this year’s Venice Biennale exhibition, which is set to challenge the dominating role of men in society and consider relationships between humans, technology, and different life forms on earth.
“The Milk of Dreams,” the international art exhibition curated by Italian-born, New York-based curator Cecilia Alemani, will feature 213 artists from 58 countries, including 26 Italian artists, in what will be the most nationally diverse line-up of any edition of the show. Many featured artists come from countries or regions that were normally not represented at the Venice Biennale, Alemani told press during an online conference on Wednesday, February 2.
The exhibition will also address a post-pandemic future through a dialog between historic and contemporary artworks. The show is set to include scores of fresh positions spanning more than 150 years: a total of 180 artists, dead and alive, are taking part for the first time, and there will be 80 newly commissioned productions.
Nan Goldin, Barbara Kruger, and Lousie Lawler, are included among the 213 artists list, alongside rising stars Jamian Juliano-Villani, Tau Lewis, and Christina Quarles. Historic artists, including entertainer and activist Josephine Baker and 19th century painter Georgiana Houghton are also included.
“The presence of a large number of female and gender non-confirming artists challenge the figure of men as the center of the universe,” the curator told the press.
Alexandra Pirici Aggregate (2017–2019). Photo: Andrei Dinu. Courtesy the Artist. © Alexandra Pirici
Since she was appointed to spearhead the prestigious exhibition in January 2020, Alemani has been working on the preparation of the show remotely from her New York office. The content of the hotly anticipated exhibition is a result of many long and candid online conversations she had with artists over the past two years, after the exhibition was postponed from 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The research and learning stage had to be done remotely… but I met hundreds and hundreds of artists by Zoom. Not being able to be in their studios is sad. Not being able to see their works in person meant my senses couldn’t be activated,” Alemani said. On the other hand, she said the experience brought “strange feelings of intimacy” and “confessional” discussions.
These conversations were distilled into three major themes that are “intertwined” through out the show, which will be staged at the Arsenale and Giardini: “The representation of bodies and their metamorphosis,” “The relationship between individuals and technologies,” and “The connection between bodies and earth.” In each of the main sections, artworks will echo the mysterious depictions of mutant creatures featured in Surrealist artist Leonora Carrington’s book, The Milk of Dreams, which inspired the title of this year’s exhibition.
Ithell Colquhoun, The Pine Family, 1940. Photo © The Israel Museum Jerusalem. The Vera and Arturo Schwarz Collection of Dada and Surrealist Art in the Israel Museum. © SIAE
Alemani added the “transhistorical” exhibition will additionally have five “time capsules,” which each revolve around different themes: Historic and previously unseen artworks, loaned from major institutions and collections, will be installed here in parallel with the contemporary works on view in the show.
“What emerges is a historical narrative that is not built around systems of direct inheritance or conflict, but around forms of symbiosis, solidarity, and sisterhood,” she said in a statement.
This year’s Venice Biennale will also feature 80 national pavilions, including five countries participating for the first time: Cameroon, Namibia, Nepal, Oman, and Uganda. Kazakshstan, Kirghizistan, and Uzbekistan will also each stage their own pavilion for the first time.
See the full list of artists below: 
1. Noor Abuarafeh b. 1986, Jerusalem. Lives in Jerusalem and Maastricht, the Netherlands2. Carla Accardi b. 1924, Trapani, Italy–2014, Rome, Italy3. Igshaan Adams b. 1982, Cape Town. Lives in Cape Town, South Africa4. Eileen Agar b. 1899, Buenos Aires, Argentina–1991, London, U.K.5. Monira Al Qadiri b. 1983, Dakar, Senegal. Lives in Berlin, Germany6. Sophia Al-Maria b. 1983, Tacoma, U.S. Lives in London, U.K. Pavilion of Applied Arts7. Ozlem Altın b. 1977, Goch, Germany. Lives in Berlin, Germany8. Marina Apollonio b. 1940, Trieste, Italy. Lives in Padua, Italy9. Gertrud Arndt b. 1903, Ratibor (Racibórz), German Empire (present-day Poland)–2000, Darmstadt, Germany10. Ruth Asawa b. 1926, Norwalk, U.S.–2013, San Francisco, U.S.11. Shuvinai Ashoona b. 1961, Kinngait. Lives in Kinngait, Nunavut12. Belkis Ayón b. 1967–1999, Havana, Cuba13. Firelei Báez b. 1981, Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic. Lives in New York City, U.S.14. Felipe Baeza b. 1987, Guanajuato, Mexico. Lives in New York City, U.S.15. Josephine Baker b. 1906, Saint Louis, U.S.–1975, Paris, France16. Djuna Barnes b. 1892–1982, New York City, U.S.17. Mária Bartuszová b. 1936, Prague, Czechoslovakia (present-day Czech Republic)–1996, Košice, Slovakia18. Benedetta b. 1897, Rome, Italy–1977, Venice, Italy19. Mirella Bentivoglio b. 1922, Klagenfurt, Austria–2017, Rome, Italy (In collaboration with Annalisa) Alloatti 1926–2000, Turin, Italy20. Merikokeb Berhanu b. 1977, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Lives in Silver Spring, U.S.21. Tomaso Binga b. 1931, Salerno, Italy. Lives in Rome, Italy22. Cosima von Bonin b. 1962, Mombasa, Kenya. Lives in Cologne, Germany23. Louise Bonnet b. 1970, Geneva, Switzerland. Lives in Los Angeles, U.S.24. Marianne Brandt b. 1893, Chemnitz, Germany–1983, Kirchberg, Germany25. Kerstin Brätsch b. 1979, Hamburg, Germany. Lives in New York City, U.S. and Berlin, Germany26. Dora Budor b. 1984, Zagreb, Croatia. Lives in New York City, U.S.27. Eglė Budvytytė b. 1981, Kaunas, Lithuania. Lives in Vilnius, Lithuania and Amsterdam, the NetherlandsIn collaboration with Marija Olšauskaitè and Julija Steponaitytė b. 1989, Vilnius. Lives in Vilnius, Lithuania and New York City, U.S. b. 1992, Vilnius. Lives in Vilnius, Lithuania and Amsterdam, the Netherlands28. Liv Bugge b. 1974, Oslo. Lives in Oslo, Norway29. Simnikiwe Buhlungu b. 1995, Johannesburg. Lives in Johannesburg, South Africa and Amsterdam, the Netherlands Biennale College Arte30. Miriam Cahn b. 1949, Basel, Switzerland. Lives in Stampa, Switzerland31. Claude Cahun b. 1894, Nantes, France–1954, Saint Helier, Jersey, U.K.32. Elaine Cameron-Weir b. 1985, Red Deer, Canada. Lives in New York City, U.S.33. Milly Canavero 1920–2010, Genoa, Italy34. Leonora Carrington b. 1917, Clayton-le-Woods, U.K.–2011, Mexico City, Mexico35. Regina Cassolo Bracchi 1894, Mede, Italy–1974, Milan, Italy b. 1981, Kaunas, Lithuania. Lives in Vilnius, Lithuania and Amsterdam, the Netherlands36. Ambra Castagnetti b. 1993, Genoa, Italy. Lives in Milan, Italy Biennale College Arte37. Giulia Cenci b. 1988, Cortona. Lives in Cortona, Italy and Amsterdam, the Netherlands38. Giannina Censi b. 1913, Milan, Italy–1995, Voghera, Italy39. Gabriel Chaile b. 1985, San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina. Lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Lisbon, Portugal40. Ali Cherri b. 1976, Beirut, Lebanon. Lives in Paris, France41. Anna Coleman Ladd b. 1878, Bryn Mawr, U.S.–1939, Santa Barbara, U.S.42. Ithell Colquhoun b. 1906, Shillong, India–1988, Lamorna, U.K.43. Myrlande Constant b. 1968, Port-au-Prince. Lives in Port-au-Prince, Haiti44. June Crespo b. 1982, Pamplona, Spain. Lives in Bilbao, Spain45. Dadamaino 1930–2004, Milan, Italy46. Noah Davis b. 1983, Seattle, U.S.–2015, Ojai, U.S.47. Lenora de Barros b. 1953, São Paulo. Lives in São Paulo, Brazil48. Valentine de Saint-Point b. 1875, Lyon, France–1953, Cairo, Egypt49. Lise Deharme b. 1898, Paris, France–1980, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France50. Sonia Delaunay b. 1885, Odessa, Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine)–1979, Paris, France51. Agnes Denes b. 1931, Budapest, Hungary. Lives in New York City, U.S.52. Maya Deren b. 1917, Kyiv, Ukraine–1961, New York City, U.S.53. Lucia Di Luciano b. 1933, Syracuse, Italy. Lives in Formello, Italy54. Ibrahim El-Salahi b. 1930, Omdurman, Sudan. Lives in Oxford, U.K.55. Sara Enrico b. 1979, Biella, Italy. Lives in Turin, Italy56. Chiara Enzo b. 1989, Venice. Lives in Venice, Italy57. Andro Eradze b. 1993, Tbilisi. Lives in Tbilisi, Georgia Biennale College Arte58. Jaider Esbell b. 1979, Normandia, Brazil–2021, São Sebastião, Brazil59. Jana Euler b. 1982, Friedberg, Germany. Lives in Frankfurt, Germany and Brussels, Belgium60. Minnie Evans b. 1892, Long Creek, U.S.–1987, Wilmington, U.S.61. Alexandra Exter b. 1882, Białystok, Russian Empire (present-day Poland)–1949, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France62. Jadé Fadojutimi b. 1993, London. Lives in London, U.K.63. Jes Fan b. 1990, Scarborough, Canada. Lives in New York City, U.S. and Hong Kong64. Safia Farhat b. 1924–2004, Radès, Tunisia65. Simone Fattal b. 1942, Damascus, Syria. Lives in Paris and Erquy, France66. Célestin Faustin b. 1948, Lafond, Haiti–1981, Pétion-Ville, Haiti67. Leonor Fini b. 1907, Buenos Aires, Argentina–1996, Paris, France68. Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven b. 1874, Swinemünde (Świnoujście), German Empire (present-day Poland)–1927, Paris, France69. Katharina Fritsch b. 1956, Essen, Germany. Lives in Wuppertal and Düsseldorf, Germany70. Ilse Garnier b. 1927, Kaiserslautern, Germany–2020, Saisseval, France71. Aage Gaup b. 1943, Børselv, Sápmi/Northern Norway–2021, Karasjok, Sápmi/Northern Norway72. Linda Gazzera b. 1890, Rome, Italy–1942, São Paulo, Brazil73. Ficre Ghebreyesus b. 1962, Asmara, Eritrea–2012, New Haven, U.S.74. Elisa Giardina Papa b. 1979, Medicina, Italy. Lives in New York City, U.S. and Palermo, Italy75. Roberto Gil de Montes b. 1950, Guadalajara, Mexico. Lives in La Peñita de Jaltemba, Mexico76. Nan Goldin b. 1953, Washington, D.C., U.S.. Lives in New York City, U.S.77. Jane Graverol b. 1905, Ixelles, Belgium–1984, Fontainebleau, France78. Laura Grisi b. 1939, Rhodes, Greece–2017, Rome, Italy79. Karla Grosch b. 1904, Weimar, Germany–1933, Tel Aviv, Mandatory Palestine (present-day Israel)80. Robert Grosvenor b. 1937, New York City, U.S.. Lives in East Patchogue, U.S.81. Aneta Grzeszykowska b. 1974, Warsaw. Lives in Warsaw, Poland82. Sheroanawe Hakihiiwe b. 1971, Sheroana, Venezuela. Lives in Mahekototeri and Caracas, Venezuela83. Florence Henri b. 1893, New York City, U.S.–1982, Compiègne, France84. Lynn Hershman Leeson b. 1941, Cleveland, U.S. Lives in San Francisco, U.S.85. Charline von Heyl b. 1960, Mainz, Germany. Lives in New York City and Marfa, U.S.86. Hannah Höch b. 1889, Gotha, Germany–1978, Berlin, Germany87. Jessie Homer French b. 1940, New York City, U.S. Lives in Mountain Center, U.S.88. Rebecca Horn b. 1944, Michelstadt, Germany. Lives in Odenwald, Germany89. Georgiana Houghton b. 1814, Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain–1884, London, U.K.90. Sheree Hovsepian b. 1974, Isfahan, Iran. Lives in New York City, U.S.91. Tishan Hsu b. 1951, Boston, U.S. Lives in New York City, U.S.92. Marguerite Humeau b. 1986, Cholet, France. Lives in London, U.K.93. Jacqueline Humphries b. 1960, New Orleans, U.S. Lives in New York City, U.S.94. Kudzanai-Violet Hwami b. 1993, Gutu, Zimbabwe. Lives in London, U.K. Biennale College Arte95. Tatsuo Ikeda b. 1928, Saga, Japan–2020, Tokyo, Japan96. Saodat Ismailova b. 1981, Tashkent. Lives in Tashkent, Uzbekistan and Paris, France97. Aletta Jacobs b. 1854, Sappemeer, the Netherlands–1929, Baarn, the Netherlands98. Geumhyung Jeong b. 1980, Seoul. Lives in Seoul, South Korea99. Charlotte Johannesson b. 1943, Malmö, Sweden. Lives in Skanör, Sweden100. Loïs Mailou Jones b. 1905, Boston, U.S.–1998, Washington, D.C., U.S.101. Jamian Juliano-Villani b. 1987, Newark, U.S. Lives in New York City, U.S.102. Birgit Jürgenssen 1949–2003, Vienna, Austria103. Ida Kar b. 1908, Tambov, Russia–1974, London, U.K.104. Allison Katz b. 1980, Montreal, Canada. Lives in London, U.K.105. Bronwyn Katz b. 1993, Kimberley, South Africa. Lives in Johannesburg, South Africa106. Kapwani Kiwanga b. 1978, Hamilton, Canada. Lives in Paris, France107. Kiki Kogelnik b. 1935, Graz, Austria–1997, Vienna, Austria108. Barbara Kruger b. 1945, Newark, U.S. Lives in Los Angeles, U.S.109. Tetsumi Kudo b. 1935, Osaka, Japan–1990, Tokyo, Japan110. Gabrielle L’Hirondelle Hill b. 1979, Comox, Canada. Lives on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil- Waututh peoples111. Louise Lawler b. 1947, Bronxville, U.S. Lives in New York City, U.S.112. Carolyn Lazard b. 1987, Upland, U.S. Lives in New York City and Philadelphia, U.S.113. Mire Lee b. 1988, Seoul, South Korea. Lives in Amsterdam, the Netherlands114. Simone Leigh b. 1967, Chicago, U.S. Lives in New York City, U.S.115. Hannah Levy b. 1991, New York City. Lives in New York City, U.S.116. Tau Lewis b. 1993, Toronto, Canada. Lives in New York City, U.S.117. Shuang Li b. 1990, Wuyi Mountains, China. Lives in Berlin, Germany and Geneva, Switzerland118. Liliane Lijn b. 1939, New York City, U.S. Lives in London, U.K.119. Candice Lin b. 1979, Concord, U.S. Lives in Los Angeles, U.S.120. Mina Loy b. 1882, London, U.K.–1966, Aspen, U.S.121. Antoinette Lubaki b. 1895, Bukama, Congo Free State (present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo)–?122. LuYang b. 1984, Shanghai. Lives in Shanghai, China123. Zhenya Machneva b. 1988, Leningrad (present-day Saint Petersburg), Russia. Lives in Saint Petersburg, Russia124. Baya Mahieddine b. 1931, Fort de l’Eau (present-day Bordj El Kiffan), Algeria–1998, Blida, Algeria125. Maruja Mallo b. 1902, Viveiro, Spain–1995, Madrid, Spain126. Joyce Mansour b.1928, Bowden, U.K.–1986, Paris, France127. Britta Marakatt-Labba b. 1951, Idivuoma, Sápmi/Northern Sweden. Lives in Övre Soppero, Sápmi/Northern Sweden128. Diego Marcon b. 1985, Busto Arsizio, Italy. Lives in Milan, Italy129. Sidsel Meineche Hansen b. 1981, Ry, Denmark. Lives in London, U.K.130. Maria Sibylla Merian b. 1647, Frankfurt am Main, Free Imperial City of the Holy Roman Empire (present-day Germany)–1717, Amsterdam, Dutch Republic (present-day the Netherlands)131. Vera Molnár b. 1924, Budapest, Hungary. Lives in Paris, France132. Delcy Morelos b. 1967, Tierralta, Colombia. Lives in Bogotá, Colombia133. Sister Gertrude Morgan b. 1900, LaFayette, U.S.–1980, New Orleans, U.S.134. Sandra Mujinga b. 1989, Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Lives in Oslo, Norway, and Berlin, Germany.135. Mrinalini Mukherjee b. 1949, Bombay (present-day Mumbai), India–2015, New Delhi, India.136. Nadja b. 1902, Saint-André-lez-Lille, France–1941, Bailleul, France137. Louise Nevelson b. 1899, Pereiaslav, Poltava Governorate of the Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine)–1988, New York City, U.S.138. Amy Nimr b. 1898, Cairo, Egypt–1974, Paris, France139. Magdalene Odundo b. 1950, Nairobi, Kenya. Lives in Farnham, U.K.140. Precious Okoyomon b. 1993, London, U.K. Lives in New York City, U.S.141. Meret Oppenheim b. 1913, Berlin, Germany–1985, Basel, Switzerland142. Ovartaci b. 1894, Ebeltoft, Denmark–1985, Risskov, Denmark143. Virginia Overton b. 1971, Nashville, U.S. Lives in New York City, U.S.144. Akosua Adoma Owusu b. 1984, Alexandria, U.S. Lives in New York City and Cambridge, U.S.145. Prabhakar Pachpute b. 1986, Sasti, India. Lives in Pune, India146. Eusapia Palladino b. 1854, Minervino Murge, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (present-day Italy)–1918, Naples, Italy147. Violeta Parra b. 1917, San Fabián de Alico, Chile–1967, Santiago, Chile148. Rosana Paulino b. 1967, São Paulo. Lives in São Paulo, Brazil149. Valentine Penrose b. 1898, Mont-de-Marsan, France–1978, Chiddingly, U.K.150. Elle Pérez b. 1989, New York City. Lives in New York City, U.S.151. Sondra Perry b. 1986, Perth Amboy, U.S. Lives in Newark, U.S.152. Solange Pessoa b. 1961, Ferros, Brazil. Lives in Belo Horizonte, Brazil153. Thao Nguyen Phan b. 1987, Ho Chi Minh City. Lives in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam154. Julia Phillips b. 1985, Hamburg, Germany. Lives in Chicago, U.S. and Berlin, Germany155. Joanna Piotrowska b. 1985, Warsaw. Lives in Warsaw, Poland and London, U.K.156. Alexandra Pirici b. 1982, Bucharest. Lives in Bucharest, Romania157. Anu Põder b. 1947, Kanepi, Estonia–2013, Tallinn, Estonia158. Gisèle Prassinos b. 1920, Constantinople (present-day Istanbul), Ottoman Empire (present-day Turkey)–2015, Paris, France159. Christina Quarles b. 1985, Chicago, U.S. Lives in Los Angeles, U.S.160. Rachilde b. 1860, Cros, France–1953, Paris, France161. Janis Rafa b. 1984, Athens. Lives in Athens, Greece and Amsterdam, the Netherlands162. Alice Rahon b. 1904, Chenecey-Buillon, France–1987, Mexico City, Mexico163. Carol Rama 1918–2015, Turin, Italy164. Paula Rego b. 1935, Lisbon, Portugal. Lives in London, U.K.165. Edith Rimmington b. 1902, Leicester, U.K.–1986, Bexhill-on-Sea, U.K.166. Enif Robert b. 1886, Prato, Italy–1974, Bologna, Italy167. Luiz Roque b. 1979, Cachoeira do Sul, Brazil. Lives in São Paulo, Brazil168. Rosa Rosà b. 1884, Vienna, Austria–1978, Rome, Italy169. Niki de Saint Phalle b. 1930, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France–2002, La Jolla, U.S.170. Giovanna Sandri 1923–2002, Rome, Italy171. Pinaree Sanpitak b. 1961, Bangkok. Lives in Bangkok, Thailand172. Aki Sasamoto b. 1980, Kanagawa, Japan. Lives in New York City, U.S.173. Augusta Savage b. 1892, Green Cove Springs, U.S.–1962, New York City, U.S.174. Lavinia Schulz and Walter Holdt b. 1896, Lübben (Spreewald), Germany–1924, Hamburg, Germany 1899–1924, Hamburg, Germany175. Lillian Schwartz b. 1927, Cincinnati, U.S. Lives in New York City, U.S.176. Amy Sillman b. 1955, Detroit, U.S. Lives in New York City, U.S.177. Elias Sime b. 1968, Addis Ababa. Lives in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia178. Marianna Simnett b. 1986, London, U.K. Lives in Berlin, Germany179. Hélène Smith b. 1861, Martigny, Switzerland–1929, Geneva, Switzerland180. Sable Elyse Smith b. 1986, Los Angeles, U.S. Lives in New York City, U.S.181. Teresa Solar b. 1985, Madrid. Lives in Madrid, Spain182. Mary Ellen Solt b. 1920, Gilmore City, U.S.–2007, Santa Clarita, U.S.183. P. Staff b. 1987, Bognor Regis, U.K. Lives in London, U.K. and Los Angeles, U.S.184. Sophie Taeuber-Arp b. 1889, Davos, Switzerland–1943, Zürich, Switzerland185. Toshiko Takaezu b. 1922, Pepeekeo, U.S.–2011, Honolulu, U.S.186. Emma Talbot b. 1969, Stourbridge, U.K. Lives in London, U.K.187. Dorothea Tanning b. 1910, Galesburg, U.S.–2012, New York City, U.S.188. Bridget Tichenor b. 1917, Paris, France–1990, Mexico City, Mexico189. Tecla Tofano b. 1927, Naples, Italy–1995, Caracas, Venezuela190. Josefa Tolrà b. 1880–1959, Cabrils, Spain191. Tourmaline b. 1983, Boston, U.S. Lives in New York City, U.S.192. Toyen b. 1902, Prague, Austro-Hungarian Empire (present-day Czech Republic)–1980, Paris, France193. Rosemarie Trockel b. 1952, Schwerte, Germany. Lives in Berlin, Germany194. Wu Tsang b. 1982, Worcester, U.S. Lives in Zürich, Switzerland195. Kaari Upson b. 1970, San Bernardino, U.S.–2021, New York City, U.S.196. Andra Ursuta b. 1979, Salonta, Romania. Lives in New York City, U.S.197. Grazia Varisco b. 1937, Milan. Lives in Milan, Italy198. Remedios Varo b. 1908, Anglès, Spain–1963, Mexico City, Mexico199. Sandra Vásquez de la Horra b. 1967, Viña del Mar, Chile. Lives in Berlin, Germany200. Marie Vassilieff b. 1884, Smolensk, Russia–1957, Nogent-sur-Marne, France201. Cecilia Vicuña b. 1948, Santiago, Chile. Lives in New York City, U.S.202. Nanda Vigo 1936–2020, Milan, Italy203. Marianne Vitale b. 1973, East Rockaway, U.S. Lives in New York City, U.S.204. Raphaela Vogel b. 1988, Nuremberg, Germany. Lives in Berlin, Germany205. Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller b. 1877, Philadelphia, U.S.–1968, Framingham, U.S.206. Laura Wheeler Waring b. 1887, Hartford, U.S.–1948, Philadelphia, U.S.207. Ulla Wiggen b. 1942, Stockholm. Lives in Stockholm, Sweden208. Mary Wigman b. 1886, Hanover, Germany–1973, Berlin, Germany209. Müge Yilmaz b. 1985, Istanbul, Turkey. Lives in Amsterdam, the Netherlands210. Frantz Zéphirin b. 1968, Cap-Haïtien, Haiti. Lives in Port-au-Prince, Haiti211. Zheng Bo b. 1974, Beijing, China. Lives on Lantau Island, Hong Kong212. Unica Zürn b. 1916, Berlin, Germany–1970, Paris, France213. Portia Zvavahera b. 1985, Harare. Lives in Harare, Zimbabwe
The Venice Biennale’s 59th International Art Exhibition, “The Milk of Dreams,” will be on view at the Giardini della Biennale, C. Giazzo, 30122 Venice, April 23–November 27, 2022.
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Kazakhstan is taking a second try at launching a pavilion during the Venice Biennale in April.
The plans were announced at an in-person press conference on Tuesday at the A. Kasteyev Museum of Arts in the city of Almaty, which has also been the site of bloody protests in recent weeks.
The pavilion’s new organizers are taking an optimistic tone in spite of ongoing social unrest. They have chosen art collective ORTA to represent the Central Asian country with a project inspired by the Almaty artist and polymath Sergey Kalmykov.
The 2019 pavilion was called off just two months before the opening of the 57th edition of the biennale in spring 2019. The cancelation—announced by officials over Facebook—caught the exhibition’s two hired organizers, curator Nadim Julien Samman and Roza Abenova, the former head of contemporary art at the National Museum, by surprise. (Samman was informed that he would not be paid for his work in the comments section.)
Meruyert Kaliyeva, the commissioner of this year’s Kazakhstan pavilion, told Artnet News that 2022 marks a “fresh start” for the country. “It’s hard to compare to previous years as it’s a completely different commissioning body for 2022, and our team had no involvement in the 2019 pavilion,” she said.
One of the biggest changes is that, this year, the commissioner will not accept funding from the government. Instead, the pavilion will receive support from the Saby Charitable Foundation, the Nurlan Smagulov Foundation, the clothing distributor G&G, and the Marusya Assaubayeva Foundation. The pavilion will maintain official support from Kazakhstan’s Culture Minister Dauren Abayev.
News of the new pavilion comes after a month of deadly protests, the largest uprising in the country’s 30-year history. In early January, what began as a peaceful demonstration against government corruption amid rising oil prices devolved into violence and reports of abuses by security forces; the Russian military was called in for “peacekeeping.”
The country’s Venice pick, the art collective ORTA, was founded in 2015 by director Rustem Begenov and actor Alexandra Morozova. They will consider the work of surrealist avant-garde artist and inventor Sergey Kalmykov who, despite dying in obscurity, was hugely influential to contemporary artists in and around Kazakhstan .
In a statement about the show, curators noted that Kalmykov’s oeuvre fits well with the theme of this year’s Biennale group exhibition, which is entitled “The Milk of Dreams” after a book by Surrealist painter Leonora Carrington.
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Matthew Wong was a voracious painter. After trying his hand at photography, poetry, and even Chinese scroll painting, the young artist began working with oil paint in 2013. Entirely self-taught, he created more than 1,000 works before his death in 2019, at the age of 35.
At the time of Wong’s death, he was building a formidable profile in the art world, but had never been the subject of a museum exhibition. That changes with “Blue View” at the Art Gallery of Ontario in the artist’s native Canada. The show (on through April 18, 2022) presents 40 of the roughly 60 works in Wong’s “Blue Series,” which the artist worked on from 2017 until his death.
The images are a symphony of indigo, turquoise, azure, and inky-black blues, all depicting quiet scenes that the artist said were gleaned from a trip he took with his mother to Sicily. There are long winding roads and intimate glimpses into darkened rooms. The compositions bring to mind Erik Satie’s Trois Gymnopédies—melancholy but also serene.
Like the variations of Satie’s minimalist piano pieces, Wong’s pictures are variations on a theme. The artist once said they are meant to “activate nostalgia, both personal and collective.” The presence of lone individuals, almost always without identifying features and rendered in blurred outline, underscores this effect.
In an essay for the show’s catalogue, former Guggenheim curator Nancy Spector describes Wong’s work as “Fauvist at heart with an overlay of pointillist patterning.”
His paintings, she writes, “are remarkable for the brilliance of their palettes.” Even when defined by their blueness, they manage to incorporate every shade and are punctuated at times with lilac, silvery white, vermillion, and peach.
Although Wong’s work has drawn comparisons to artists as varied as Edouard Vuillard and Yayoi Kusama, he was able to build a mood in paint that was entirely his own.
See more images from “Matthew Wong: Blue View,” below. “Matthew Wong: Blue View” is on view at the Art Gallery of Ontario through April 18, 2022. 
Matthew Wong, Meanwhile… (2018).© 2019 Matthew Wong Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS) New York. Image courtesy of Karma, New York.
Matthew Wong, A Dream (2019).© 2019 Matthew Wong Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS) New York. Image courtesy of Karma, New York.
Matthew Wong, Autumn Nocturne (2018).© 2019 Matthew Wong Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS) New York. Image courtesy of Karma, New York.
Matthew Wong, Blue Night (2018). © 2019 Matthew Wong Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS) New York. Image courtesy of Karma, New York.
Matthew Wong, Untitled (2018). © 2019 Matthew Wong Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS) New York. Image courtesy of Karma, New York.
Matthew Wong, Starry Night (2019). © 2019 Matthew Wong Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS) New York. Image courtesy of Karma, New York.
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The Whitney Biennial, one of the most closely watched—and fiercely debated—exhibitions in America, has revealed the lineup for its next edition, which opens in April. The 63-strong list of artists and collectives chosen by curators David Breslin and Adrienne Edwards encompasses three generations and suggests that the first pandemic-era iteration of the show will have a decidedly conceptual and interdisciplinary bent.
In addition to the participants, the curators have also revealed the show’s title: “Quiet as It’s Kept.” The colloquial term—invoked in the work of novelist Toni Morrison, jazz drummer Max Roach, and artist David Hammons—usually precedes a statement that is traditionally left unsaid.
The show, originally due to open in 2021, was pushed back one year. It will now run from April 6 through September 5, 2022.
Coco Fusco, still from Your Eyes Will Be An Empty Word (2021). Image courtesy the artist and Alexander Gray Associates, New York.
The show will continue its tradition of questioning what it means to be an “American artist,” placing special emphasis on creators from Mexico, specifically Ciudad Juárez and Tijuana, First Nations artists in Canada, and artists born outside of North America.
While the Whitney Biennial has sometimes served to introduce a slate of new talent, this edition is decidedly intergenerational. The oldest artist is Puerto Rican choreographer Awilda Sterling-Duprey, born in 1946; the youngest is Mexican artist Andrew Roberts, born in 1995, whose work draws on technology used in war and the entertainment industry.
This year’s biennial will also integrate performance and film into the galleries, placing it on equal footing with the rest of the work rather than siloing it in separate programs. The curators promise that the show will evolve throughout its run, and that its two main floors are designed to act as counterpoints: one, a contained, dark labyrinth; the other, open and light-filled.
Whitney Curators Adrienne Edwards and David Breslin. Photo by Bryan Derballa.
“We began planning for this exhibition, originally slated to open in 2021, almost a year before the 2020 election, before the pandemic and shutdown with their reeling effects, before the uprisings demanding racial justice and before the questioning of institutions and their structures,” the curators said in a statement. “While many of these underlying conditions are not new, their overlapping, intensity, and sheer ubiquity created a context in which past, present, and future folded into one another. We’ve organized the exhibition to reflect these precarious and improvised times.”
Here is the full list of artists participating:
Lisa AlvaradoBorn 1982 in San Antonio, TXLives in Chicago, IL
Harold AncartBorn 1980 in Brussels, BelgiumLives in New York, NY
Mónica ArreolaBorn 1976 in Tijuana, MexicoLives in Tijuana, Mexico
Emily BarkerBorn 1992 in San Diego, CALives in Los Angeles, CA
Yto BarradaBorn 1971 in Paris, FranceLives in Brooklyn, NY, and Tangier, Morocco
Rebecca BelmoreBorn 1960 in Upsala, CanadaLives in Vancouver, CanadaAnishinaabe
Jonathan BergerBorn 1980 in New York, NYLives in New York, NY, and Glover, VT
Nayland BlakeBorn 1960 in New York, NYLives in Brooklyn and Queens, NY
Cassandra PressFounded 2016 by Kandis Williams
Theresa Hak Kyung ChaBorn 1951 in Busan, South KoreaDied 1982 in New York, NY
Raven ChaconBorn 1977 in Fort Defiance, Navajo NationLives in Albuquerque, NMDiné
Leidy ChurchmanBorn 1979 in Villanova, PALives in New York, NY, and West Tremont, ME
Tony CokesBorn 1956 in Richmond, VALives in Providence, RI
Jacky ConnollyBorn 1990 in New York, NYLives in Brooklyn, NY
Matt ConnorsBorn 1973 in Chicago, ILLives in New York, NY, and Los Angeles, CA
Alex Da CorteBorn 1980 in Camden, NJLives in Philadelphia, PA
Aria DeanBorn 1993 in Los Angeles, CALives in New York, NY
Danielle DeanBorn 1982 in Huntsville, ALLives in Los Angeles and San Diego, CA
Jane DicksonBorn 1952 in Chicago, ILLives in New York, NY
Buck EllisonBorn 1987 in San Francisco, CALives in Los Angeles, CA
Alia FaridBorn 1985 in Kuwait City, KuwaitLives in San Juan, PR, and Kuwait City, Kuwait
Coco FuscoBorn 1960 in New York, NYLives in Brooklyn, NY
Ellen GallagherBorn 1965 in Providence, RILives in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and Brooklyn, NY
A Gathering of the Tribes /Steve CannonFounded 1991Steve Cannon: Born 1935 in New Orleans, LADied 2019 in New York, NY
Cy GavinBorn 1985 in Pittsburgh, PALives in New York State
Adam GordonBorn 1986 in Minneapolis, MNLives in Jersey City, NJ
Renée GreenBorn 1959 in Cleveland, OHLives in Somerville, MA, and New York, NY
Pao Houa HerBorn 1982 in LaosLives in Blaine, MN
EJ HillBorn 1985 in Los Angeles, CALives in Los Angeles, CA
Alfredo JaarBorn 1956 in Santiago, ChileLives in New York, NY
Rindon Johnson Born 1990 in San Francisco, CALives in Berlin, Germany
Ivy Kwan Arce and Julie TolentinoIvy Kwan Arce: Born 1965 in Salinas, CALives in New York, NYJulie Tolentino: Born 1964 in San Francisco, CALives in Joshua Tree, CA
Ralph LemonBorn 1952 in Cincinnati, OHLives in Brooklyn, NY
Duane LinklaterBorn 1976 in Treaty 9 Territory (Northern Ontario, Canada)Lives in North Bay, Canada (Robinson Huron Treaty Territory)Omaskêko Ininiwak
James LittleBorn 1952 in Memphis, TNLives in New York, NY
Rick LoweBorn 1961 in rural AlabamaLives in Houston, TX
Daniel Joseph MartinezBorn 1957 in Los Angeles, CALives in Los Angeles, CA, and Paris, France
Dave McKenzieBorn 1977 in Kingston, JamaicaLives in Brooklyn, NY
Rodney McMillianBorn 1969 in Columbia, SCLives in Los Angeles, CA
Na MiraBorn 1982 in Lawrence, KS, on Kickapoo, Osage, Kansa, and Sioux landsLives in Los Angeles, CA, on Tongva, Gabrielino, Kizh, and Chumash lands
Alejandro “Luperca” MoralesBorn 1990 in Ciudad Juárez, MexicoLives in Monterrey, Mexico
Moved by the MotionFounded 2016 by Wu Tsang and Tosh Basco
Terence NanceBorn 1982 in Dallas, TXLives in America
Woody De OthelloBorn 1991 in Miami, FLLives in Oakland, CA
Adam PendletonBorn 1984 in Richmond, VALives in New York, NY
N. H. PritchardBorn 1939 in New York, NYDied 1996 in eastern Pennsylvania
Lucy RavenBorn 1977 in Tucson, AZLives in New York, NY
Charles RayBorn 1953 in Chicago, ILLives in Los Angeles, CA
Jason RhoadesBorn 1965 in Newcastle, CADied 2006 in Los Angeles, CA
Andrew RobertsBorn 1995 in Tijuana, MexicoLives in Mexico City and Tijuana, Mexico
Guadalupe RosalesBorn 1980 in Redwood City, CALives in Los Angeles, CA
Veronica RyanBorn 1956 in Plymouth, MontserratLives in London, United Kingdom, and New York, NY
Rose SalaneBorn 1992 in New York, NYLives in Queens, NY
Michael E. SmithBorn 1977 in Detroit, MILives in Providence, RI
Sable Elyse SmithBorn 1986 in Los Angeles, CALives in New York, NY
Awilda Sterling-DupreyBorn 1947 in San Juan, PRLives in San Juan, PR
Rayyane TabetBorn 1983 in Beirut, LebanonLives in Beirut, Lebanon, and San Francisco, CA
Denyse ThomasosBorn 1964 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and TobagoDied 2012 in New York, NY
Trinh T. Minh-haBorn in Hanoi, VietnamLives in Berkeley, CA
WangShuiBorn 1986 in USALives in New York, NY
Eric WesleyBorn 1973 in Los Angeles, CALives in Los Angeles, CA
Dyani White HawkBorn 1976 in Madison, WILives in Minneapolis, MNSičangu Lakota
Kandis WilliamsBorn 1985 in Baltimore, MDLives in Los Angeles, CA and Brooklyn, NY
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Thierry Mugler, the French fashion designer who married camp, couture, steampunk, science fiction, and S&M, all with his trademark sensuality, died on Sunday, January 23, age 73.
His death was announced by House of Mugler, his eponymous brand.
After declining invitations for several retrospectives, Mugler agreed to a 2019 show, “Thierry Mugler, Couturissime,” at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. The traveling exhibition is now on view at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris through April.
Anniversaire des 20 ans collection, Haute couture fall/winter 1995-1996 © Patrice Stable, courtesy of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs.
When it first opened in Montreal in 2019, it coincided with the designer’s return to public life.
At that year’s Grammy awards, rapper Cardi B donned the Mugler’s “Venus” gown (from his 1995/1996 collection), with her pale pink torso surrounded by petals, the rest of the gown encased in black.
At that same year’s Met Gala, Kim Kardashian, who often mined the Mugler archives, appeared on the red carpet in the first new Mugler-made wear in 20 years: a one-of-a-kind latex corset dress dripping in crystals that took eight months to complete.
The exhibition traces Mugler’s career and myriad roles within the art and fashion worlds. (Before he founded his brand in 1974, he created stage costumes for Macbeth, directed films and a music video, published books of photography, and was even a dancer.)
Les Insectes collection, haute couture spring/summer 1997. © Patrice Stable, courtesy of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs.
Organized, like an opera, into multiple acts, the show touches on the milestones of his career: from his heyday in the 1980s (when his trademark “Glamazon” design, with its exaggerated silhouette and torpedo-like bustier, defined pop culture); to his more fantastical collections of the 1990s, when he drew inspiration from insects, birds, nymphs, and, in one case, cyborgs.
In addition to Cardi B and Kim Kardashian, Mugler found a new audience with pop stars including Lady Gaga and Beyoncé, who hired him to design the looks for her 2009 I Am… world tour.
French fashion designer Thierry Mugler. (Photo: Britta Pedersen/DPA/AFP via Getty Images.)
“Fashion is still a great tool, because it’s a three-dimensional art,” he told Women’s Wear Daily in 2019. “It’s the most feral form of art, in the best sense of the word, meaning that it touches on the human, and that’s interesting.”
See images from the exhibition below.
‘Thierry Mugler : Couturissime’ exhibition at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris. (Photo by CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT/AFP via Getty Images)
‘Thierry Mugler : Couturissime’ exhibition at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris. (Photo by CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT/AFP via Getty Images)
‘Thierry Mugler : Couturissime’ exhibition at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris. (Photo by CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT/AFP via Getty Images)
‘Thierry Mugler : Couturissime’ exhibition at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris. (Photo by CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT/AFP via Getty Images)
‘Thierry Mugler : Couturissime’ exhibition at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris. (Photo by CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT/AFP via Getty Images)
‘Thierry Mugler : Couturissime’ exhibition at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris. (Photo by CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT/AFP via Getty Images)
‘Thierry Mugler : Couturissime’ exhibition at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris. (Photo by CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT/AFP via Getty Images)
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In a 2014 article for New York magazine, critic Jerry Saltz described Artforum‘s ads as “the porn of the art world.” The glossy promotions comprised around 70 percent of the magazine’s pages. But these weren’t your typical ethereal, aspirational ads for perfume or jewelry. These are ads for art, after all.
Artforum ads are often confrontational, cheeky, even raunchy. They are designed to start a conversation—and some have even earned their own places in art history.
The Brooklyn-based Gallery 98, which specializes in art-world ephemera like announcement cards and gallery posters, recently got ahold of a cache of old Artforum magazines, from which they culled some of the most interesting and emblematic ads over the decades. Now available online to peruse or purchase is a wide swathe from 1970 to 2010 that feature portraits of artists.
The resulting images are a delightful time capsule of different decades in the art market: there’s a then-considerably-less-successful Ed Ruscha in bed with two women, shot by Jerry McMillan in 1967; Judy Chicago’s debut both in Artforum and the broader art world under her new name, in 1970; and an ad for a show of then 25-year-old Dash Snow at Peres Projects two years before he died.
See more selections from Gallery 98 below.
Ed Ruscha, Wedding Announcement (Ed Ruscha Says Goodbye to College Joys), Artforum Advertisement, 1967. Courtesy online Gallery 98.
Absolut Vodka, Nam June Paik, Absolut Paik, Artforum Advertisement, 2002. Courtesy online Gallery 98.
Cindy Sherman, A Play of Selves, Artforum Advertisement, Metro Pictures, 2006. Courtesy online Gallery 98.
Matthew Barney, Cremaster 5, Artforum Advertisement, Barbara Gladstone Gallery, 1997. Courtesy online Gallery 98.
Dash Snow, Artforum Advertisement, Peres Projects Los Angeles, Artforum Advertisement, 2007. Courtesy online Gallery 98.
Judy Chicago, One Woman Show, Artforum Advertisement, Jack Glenn Gallery (California), 1970. Courtesy Gallery 98 online.
Kara Walker, Sikkema Jenkins & Co, Artforum Advertisement, 2006. Courtesy online Gallery 98.
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