(Event Ticker Requires JavaScript and Flash) Download the latest Flash player
Report From Venice: Day 3
The Venice Biennial's central exhibition, its 77 national pavilion exhibitions, and its dozens of ancillary exhibitions (or "collateral projects") are accompanied by an equally copious number of events, performances and conversations that unfold during the preview days of the Biennial before it opens to the public tomorrow. For two days, I raced from one exhibition hall to another, trying to view as many of the performances as possible, before coming to the realization that it's best to let happenstance guide one's way. If you have the good fortune to be at the right place at the right time, a performance may sweep you up in its embrace.Read More
Report From Venice: Day 2
One of the most memorable works displayed in Robert Storr's exhibition for the 52nd Venice Bennale was a double-headed fountain sculpture by artist Bruce Nauman. Recalling the beautifully sculpted marble fountains that feed water to Venetian piazzas and streets, the piece managed to resonate more profoundly with its site than many of the others in the exhibition. Nauman's sculpture made direct reference to his seminal performance work, the photograph of which, Self Portrait as a Fountain (1966-67/70/2007), documents his seamless incorporation of the public realm (the Venetian streets) and the private realm of one's own body. I was therefore delighted when Nauman was announced as the U.S. representative for this year's Biennale. An ambitious undertaking organized by the Philadelphia Museum of Art in collaboration with two universities in Venice, and spans three different locales, the U.S. Pavilion doesn't disappoint.
Report From Venice: Day 1
Curator Daniel Birnbaum's exhibition Fare Mondi/Making Worlds forms the centerpiece of the 53rd Venice Biennale, which brings together 90 chosen artists who lend narrative or representational forms to their own imagined worlds. It's a fittingly expansive thematic choice for the global reach of the Venice Biennial, where work from every corner of the globe is assembled in one locale. The show's breadth may be its shortcoming. After all, don't most artists usher in alternate realities or unfettered modes of existence? If so, then how does a curator set parameters for such a high-profile platform?Read More
Or
Butt Johnson's "Untitled Floral Pastiche" series consists of four drawings, each of which is organized around a different flower. Johnsons had long co
