United Colors of Biennale – hard to believe that it’s been already one month ago that I’ve been to Venice on the occasion of the 57th Biennial.
Time passes so fast.
One of John Waters‘ three boards why studying art.
But it’s a good moment to look back on this marvelous and inspiring visit and show you my favorite works.
Hence, I put together my very personal collection of the works that I liked the best. Although I’ve sorted the works by country, they are not necessarily from the designated country pavilion.
For instance, France: At the Giardini’s French pavilion is an exhibition by Xavier Veilhan, but I liked french-born Kader Attia’s installation at the Arsenale much better so I included that one for France. When I like a certain national pavilion and then particularly liked another artist and piece from that country as well, I included both – as I did for instance with Albania.
In total, I’ve chosen 50 works. To make it more convenient for you, you can get to every country by clicking on the name in the following list:
Three blurry paintings by Leonard Qylafifrom the series Occurrence in Present TenseEdi Rama has been Albania’s prime minister since 2013 and besides being an artist, he’s also a writer and used to be a basketball player. I live in a country where the chancellor used to be a physicist; that’s only hot on ‘The Big Bang Theory’.
Andorra
Eve Arizanamed her installation Murmuri (Mutter). Each of the clay bowls has its own ‘voice’.
Antigua and Barbuda
Frank Walter was not only a painter, but he was also a poet and writer. To honor that I took a picture of his old typewriter in front of his naive, very Caribbean paintings.
Argentina
El hombre con el hacha y otras situaciones breves (The man with the ax and other short situations) Oh, el hombre con la hacha is a mean little man – and it’s amazing how you can change the scenery by just looking at it from different angles. This work by Argentinian artist Liliana Porter is in my personal top ten; for its originality and its beauty. A teeny tiny lady is fishing in a sea of…chiffon. Every single exhibit is made in such an ingenious fashion, every single one is a tender tale. These installations are like illustrations of life. Hardworking little lady – sweeping the fiery red dust. (The figurine is maybe 1.5 inches tall) The horse problem by Claudia Fontes at the Argentinian pavilion. Although it’s also meant to be poetic, it deems rather tacky – and it’s well beaten by Liliana Porter’s elaborated perspective and esthetics.
Australia
One of the many, many pieces referring to refugees coming ashore is the installation Vigil: using sequences from old Hollywood movies and documentary shots of refugees, Tracey Moffatt lets the film stars suspiciously observe the refugee’s arrival.
Austria
I already pointed out a couple of times how much I like Austrian enfant terrible Erwin Wurm; but to see his – admittedly iconic – One Minute Sculptures yet again…well….I enjoyed his “Drinking Sculptures” – and actually the entire exhibitions – on my art trip to the Ruhr much more.
Belgium
It’s funny – Dirk Braeckman is a reversed Gerhard Richter: While at Richter exhibitions people get really, really close to check whether the painting is not a photograph, at this show people get really, really close to check whether the photos are not actually paintings.
Bolivia
Bolivia participated for the first time in the Venice Biennale and presents artists Jose Ballivian, Sol Mateo and Jannis Markopoulos. Maybe it’s because of the debut that the topic is very ambitious and serious thematizing the development and tension of Latin America in relation to the Northern countries.
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Safet Zec: Exodus – scenes depicting different scenarios of refugee and the hardship of migration, painted in the narrative fashion of the old masters like e. g. Tintoretto or Veronese. Every single of these tableaus at the Chiesa de la Pietà tells you a story on the protagonists’ hardship and destiny.
Canada
Since the Canadian pavilion has to be renovated, anyway, Geoffrey Farmer was free to arrange his destructive yet fun – and literally refreshing – installation A way out of the mirror-like a demolition party. Water fountains are exploding entraining everything around.
Chile
Bernardo Oyarzun – from the Mapuche Indian tribe himself – is pointing in his installation Werken the oppression of Chile’s indigenous population. 1000 ceremonial masks, made by 40 Mapuche Indians, are standing in the center surrounded by 6907 illuminated still existing Mapuche family names.
China
Guan Xiao‘s video David is ironic and hysterical. It sketches the sell-out of national art symbols like the David statue from Florence – to be found on cups and towels and T-Shirts and degenerating to be a piece of tacky decoration or a marketing scheme. Showing this film nowadays at the Biennale where everybody is running around consuming art, taking pictures without even looking at the works is a slap in everyone’s face; my cheek is burning, too.
Czech Republic and Slovakia
“Plavala husička po dunaji” – there was a goose swimming on the Danube river with her goslings in tow. Seeing Jana Želiská‘s installation, this old Czech children’s song came to mind – although hers are swans: Swan Song Now. And yes, that’s all that there is with this work, and Želiská was criticized for the banality of her installation.
Denmark
The audience is invited to assemble, together with migrants participating in Ólafur Eliásson‘s project Green Light – An artistic workshop lamps from wood, recycled yogurt cups, plastic bags, and green LEDs. For a contribution of at least € 250, you can take your lamp home. The money doesn’t go into Mr. Eliásson’s piggy bag, but will be donated to a good cause.
England
Especially at this year’s Biennale, I realized what an adequate art venue churches are: the light, the sound, the atmosphere – all this puts the works into a special space. And Paul Benney, creator of somber paintings (he calls them night paintings), shows his impressive chiaroscuro paintings Speaking in Tongues in the murky Chiesa di San Gallo.
France
In this work, the voices of female Arabic singers bring sand to vibration under glass globes. And it actually works only with the voices, the sand does not vibrate when there are instruments. Absolutely fascinating! And a clear feminist message, too.
Germany
Although the German entry by Anne Imhof even won 2017’s Golden Lion prize, I cannot include her since unfortunately I didn’t get to see it. There was only one performance on the day of my visit and as I got there it was already over. So I pick Fiete Stolte’s copper feet on raw wood called Printed my Steps. I discovered Stolte only recently but must say: way to go, Fiete (pun intended).
Grenada
There were many really good works at the pavilion of Grenada – many beautifully Ocean related. But I picked Jason de Caires Taylor who created the first under water sculpture park off the West Coast of Grenada in 2006. Especially since this year Damian Hirst causes a sensation with his exhibition ‘Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable’ – irritatingly similar to de Caires Taylor’s much older project that in addition was meant to raise awareness for the endangered oceans.
Guatemala
Sabrina Bertolelli, one of about a dozen artists exhibiting at the pavilion of Guatemala, ‘plants’ unique CONTEMPORARY-FLOWER…!, indeed.
Hongkong
Too bad it’s not possible to show the crazy, colorful, hysterical installation Songs for Disaster Relief by Samson Young. Installed in tacky sitting areas songs like “We are the World” or “Do They Know it’s Christmas” are blaring from tube TVs while lights are flashing in bright colors – it’s a zoo; and it’s great!
Hungary
I guess Hungarian artists don’t have it easy – just like e. g. Hungarian journalists. So why not sticking with peace? It deems political yet doesn’t offend anybody – everyone likes peace, it’s safe. Peace on Earth by Gyula Várnai deems a bit haphazardly, yet I liked the rainbow made of these tacky socialist breast pins. However, the art nouveau facade of the Hungarian pavilion is at least as nice as the art shown inside.
Israel
Gal Weinstein used rather unusual materials like mildew, stale coffee, and sugar to decorate the pavilion of Israel. It’s said that the installation Sun Stands Still is a critique of civilization – I don’t know, I just found it unusual and interesting how something usually considered ugly all of a sudden becomes beautiful and decorative.
Italy
Jesus industries – from creation to decay: It’s huge, it’s creepy, it’s art; it’s Imitazione di Cristo by Roberto Cuoghi
Ivory Coast
Photographer Joana Choumali lets people migrate from one place to another by cutting and pasting. This way she points out in a very touching way how these individuals leave gaps in the original spots and look out of place in the new one. A very emphatic way of sketching the problem and a very interesting artistic translation.
Japan
Spoiler Alert: Before entering the Japanese pavilion to see Takahiro Iwasaki‘s installation Turned Upside Down, It’s A Forest, make sure to climb the ladder underneath and stick your head in the hole. I don’t tell you more.
Korea
Cody Choi decorated the Korean pavilion’s facade so you can’t miss it – and cannot avoid it, either. His Venetian Rhapsody – The Power of Bluff is as flashy as can be. The absurdity continues inside with Lee Wan‘s work For a Better Tomorrow amidst Proper Time – Though the Dreams Revolve with the Moon
Kosovo
Petrit Halilaj‘s wallpaper installation Abetare made of old school books also made it from the Biennale to the exhibition Art and Alphabet in Hamburg.
Latvia
The motives are downright crazy and that they are lustrous woodcarvings makes the whole appearance even wackier. Thank you, Mikelis Fišers, for your exhibition What can go wrong, based on tin foil hat theories. We have for instance Giant Grasshoppers Massacre Tourists by the Pyramids of Giza… …or The Last Yeties Protest Against CO Emmission by the Great Wall of China
Lebanon
Of course, it’s daring and a feminist act when Lebanese artist Huguette Caland paints nudity and public display of affection on traditional Arabic clothing.
Macao
All sculptures of Wong Cheng Pou‘s A Bonsai of My Dream are very tender and poetic. The one where two guys actually carry the one in the middle through the wall is my favorite.
Mexico
For his installation The Life in the Folds, Mexican Carlos Amorales developed his own alphabet (interestingly the clay letters are pipes) and arranges the letters on big white tables to a story of immigrants; in the video screened in the back, the letters come to life and tell a refugee story, too.
Monaco
Michel Blazy recycles. And by recycling he creates art. In Venice, he planted a Foret de Balais, a broom forest.
Mongolia
A very artistic alternative to swords to plowshares: just turn them into graceful cranes like Chimeddorj Shagdarjav did: I’m bird – a truly inspiring installation.
New Zealand
When it isn’t about migration and refugees, it often is on colonization (also some sort of migration, though) and oppression of native culture, customs, and traditions just like in Lisa Reihana‘s video installation Emissaries.
Peru
A banner denouncing the leak of progress referring to ‘mañana’ was made by Juan Javier Salazar, calling it sarcastically Land of Tomorrow. Salazar sadly died last year at the age of 61.
Poland
Well, to be honest, the exhibit is not that great, but anything that puts Janusz Korczak and his wonderful and sacrificing work for children into focus deserves at least to be mentioned. Sharon Lockhart arranged her installation around the newspaper by and for children called Little Review initiated by this great man.
Russia
They remind me of the first epic films from the twenties – the deployment of the masses, the esthetics of the totalitarian, the scary play of lights and shadows, Grisha Bruskin arranged his scenes in an extremely theatric fashion.
It’s certainly the interaction between the abandoned, ruinous hall and the screening of a door obviously moved by the breeze filmed by Vadim Fiškin. Together this creates an atmosphere of slow, poetic decay.
Scotland
In Rachel Maclean‘s super fun movie Spite Your Face Pinocchio is trapped in a world of pretentiousness and consumption.
Serbia
On the facade is still written ‘Yugoslavia’ and inside three artists are showing their work at the Serbian pavilion. I’ve picked two extremes: Dragan Zdravkovic‘s ironic, hilarious self-staging… …and Vladislav Šcepanovic‘s upsetting compositions that he calls ‘Political Pop Art’, depicting – in the fashion of traditional pop art – logos and slogans on one hand, on the other horrific scenes from the world’s trouble spots.
Singapore
With the sizable ship Zai Kuning focuses on the Malay ethnicity: the orang laut, water people, living on and of the water – nowadays of course endangered by pollution and tourism. Dapunta Hyang: Transmission of Knowledge reminds of the former emperor Hyang.
South Africa
Also dealing with the topic of migration, Candice Breitz‘ installation is one of the most touching works: Hollywood stars Julienne Moore and Alec Baldwin are sitting in front of a camera telling atrocious stories of their escape, the way across deserts and waters. In the adjacent room, you can see the real narrators on screens. A puzzling effect, that the actors’ tales touch you partly more.
Switzerland
Called after his work Women of Venice that he showed in 1956 at the French pavilion, the Swiss pavilion is all about Giacometti: Teresa Hubbard and Alexander Birchler are showing simultaneously two films dealing with Giocometti’s love affair with American artist Flora Mayo – which is controversial given the fact that Giacometti denied all his life to participate in the Biennale at the Swiss pavilion and now there is shown this work of high intimacy.
Tehching Hsieh is famous for his extremely long term performances. This is a video on his project One Year Performance 1980-1981 (Time Clock Piece). Over one year he hourly clocked in and took a picture. Hourly. Day and night. Looking back at his project he stated that “wasting time is my concept of life (…) Living is nothing but consuming time until you die.”
Tunisia
I love art that invites me to participate, indeed. Whereby I still wonder what happened to me participating in Adrian Piper’s project The probable trust registry from 2015 – never heard from them again. Anyway, at the Tunisian pavilion, you had to answer a couple of questions and were then supplied with a Universal Passport. The Absence of Paths – a beautiful idea – and we Germans are lucky to have such a universal passport, and, obviously, it’s not just an art project…
Turkey
As a matter of fact, one of the most surprising exhibitions was Synesthesia by a team of Turkish designers. Albeit, neither the design exhibition at the Palazzo Michiele nor this Turkish section is officially part of the Biennale, but the works by the team TRUE-TREU – exclusively dealing with immigration and refugees – are so unique that a place in this list is well deserved. A Life Vest? by Argun Dağçınar is the most flashy piece.
Turkmenistan/Kazakhstan
Shhh, the artist is asleep: At the ‘Pavilion of Artists and Books’ the bi-national couple from the Caucasus Yelena Vorobyeva and Viktor Vorobyev installed a…sleeping artist.
United States of America
Art that speaks for itself: Shown at the ‘Pavilion of Colors’ – what could be more iconic than Sheila Hicks‘ Escalade Beyond Chromatic Lands?!
So these were some of the highlights of the 57. Biennial that took place in Venice in 2017.
The Biennale is always from May till November, so there is quite a long time to go. Maybe I'll see you in 2019 (yes, now we have to wait for two years 🙁 ). Happy travels to you, Neha.
Wow..the work of art are all so impressive. I wish I were there around this time. I visited Venice in April. Next time I will plan the visit accordingly
Such a beautiful compilation of post, and thanks for sharing those beautiful exhibits from around the world. I myself is a decor designer by profession and also love to check out those artwork and art pieces, but the one you shared is really so amazing. So many beautiful figurines 🙂
What a creative and beautiful idea for a post! You have seen a lot of fantastic exhibits during your travels! I would like to see a few of these for myself.
Thank you, Krupa, thank you, Marvi! Yes, visiting this event – of course in combination with the old gorgeous structures of Venice – is mesmerizing me every time. Happy travels, ladies!
Ohhh.. This is an awesome collection of great artworks! Argentina's exhibit is very unique. Imagine the details of a 1.5 inch figurine! Nevertheless, the talent and the passion each artist has put on their respective exhibit is truly remarkable. Would definitely love to see this in person! 🙂
In this case, Julie: What are you waiting for!? The Biennale is still on till end of November, and Venice is getting emptier (and cheaper) in autumn. ???
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Thanks, Paula. It's been sooo much work, so I don't blame anybody refraining from composing a post like that. But I'm glad you appreciate it.
Such interesting art installations! Such a great way to experience countries and cultures, so thanks so much for making me aware of Biennale
Very cool idea for a pots. I have seen few of these alphabet posts in other blogs and they are great! So many great places to see art. I love it.
The Biennale is always from May till November, so there is quite a long time to go. Maybe I'll see you in 2019 (yes, now we have to wait for two years 🙁 ).
Happy travels to you, Neha.
Wow..the work of art are all so impressive. I wish I were there around this time. I visited Venice in April. Next time I will plan the visit accordingly
Wow! So many cool art works!! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Anushka, glad you like it! Maybe we'll run to each other at an exhibition somewhere 😉 – anyways, happy travels, Renata
Such a beautiful compilation of post, and thanks for sharing those beautiful exhibits from around the world. I myself is a decor designer by profession and also love to check out those artwork and art pieces, but the one you shared is really so amazing. So many beautiful figurines 🙂
Yes, I think there is hardly a gallery that I haven't paid a visit. Thanx for your comment <3
What a creative and beautiful idea for a post! You have seen a lot of fantastic exhibits during your travels! I would like to see a few of these for myself.
Wow! This post is so extensive! I'm sure it took a lot of work. I loved seeing art highlighted from all of the different countries.
Thank you, Krupa, thank you, Marvi! Yes, visiting this event – of course in combination with the old gorgeous structures of Venice – is mesmerizing me every time. Happy travels, ladies!
Ohhh.. This is an awesome collection of great artworks! Argentina's exhibit is very unique. Imagine the details of a 1.5 inch figurine! Nevertheless, the talent and the passion each artist has put on their respective exhibit is truly remarkable. Would definitely love to see this in person! 🙂
What a wonderful peice of information this is. Love each n every picture in this post and i wonder how beautiful this art is. thanks for sharing.
You're very welcome. Although it's quite exhausting racing from venue to venue, it's so inspiring! Hope you'll get there soon. Happy travels, Renata
Thanks a lot for sharing the post. I came to know a lot about the different art forms. Would love to visit The Biennale sometime.
Thanks a lot, Gavin, this post was so much more work than I expected it to be, so I really appreciate your response!
Thanks for sharing. I love seeing the amazing creative spirit around the world, such beauty and imagination.
In this case, Julie: What are you waiting for!? The Biennale is still on till end of November, and Venice is getting emptier (and cheaper) in autumn. ???
One of my favourite things to do is to discover art from different countries. What a great way to showcase the world of art.