This website places cookies on your computer to improve your experience. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. For more details, see our cookie policy.
Our adventure continued and we found ourselves on the beautiful island of San Giacomo
Curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, the Brazillian artist Jota Mombaça presented a great performance which was connected to the cultural past of the island
Then we went back to the Arsenale to finish our tour. We were very excited to see LuYang’s work ‘Doku The Self’. The film is built around memories and lived experience
The work of Tishan Hsu was exceptional. Technology is central to his artistic practice, and he explores the effects of technology on the human body in his work
It was great to see another cyborg in the work by Lynn Hershman Leeson, not to dissimilar to the work of Hsu. Lynn’s work is currently part of ‘Among the Machines’ at the Zabludowicz Collection. The cyborg depicted in Lynn’s presentation is the same age as me!
Emma Talbot’s work was a world within itself and took me to a fantasy universe. She articulates a feminist artistic language marked with post human thought. Her work incorporates simplified figuration, mythological motifs, rhythmic patterns and calligraphic texts to express her interaction with topics ranging from technology, nature, urbanism, aging and politics including the pandemic
In the centre of the Arsenale was a film created by Marianna Simnett, which draws on the mythic structures of fairy tales and fables. ‘The Severed Tail’ explores the tail as the lost link between animal and human, and examines hybridity as a state of being
I continue to be fascinated by the work of Jes Fan who produces hand blown glass globules injected with melanin. Fan, like other artists in ‘The Milk of Dreams’ is exploring identity and biology
It is almost time to leave when I am confronted by Precious Okoyomon’s organic bodies. The use of the plant kudzu and sugar cane are both saturated with politically charged connotations
In the gardens of the Giardini we come across another wonderful work by Simone Leigh
Then in contrast, spot a work a little less serious by Carole A. Feuerman
At lunch time, we dropped by to Sprüth Magers’ warm and delicious lunch where I met up with Monika Sprüth and Sterling Ruby
There was much to see outside the Biennale. My favourite was Marlene Dumas in Palazzo Grassi. The show is called ‘open-end’ which provides an insight into the artist’s world
The works were strong and full of pain. There was a great deepness of emotion around the building with a hint of humour
As we visit the great Louise Nevelson in front of her portrait stood the photographer Lynn Gilbert who is 84 and photographed Louise when she was 74- 40 years earlier!
The works were so strong and dramatic. Louise was looking at immersive art before any other artist of her time using unconventional materials. Louise was born near Kiev and moved with her family to US in 1905 where they settled in NYC in 1920. She was deeply engaged with cubism and constructivism
Kehinde Wiley’s haunting series of classical pictorial forms was a contemporary take on portraiture. In this work, he looks at the global colonial past using the language of the fallen hero
My hat goes off Beatrice Bulgari whose ‘Fondazione In Between Art Film’ was outstanding. I loved the film by Brazilian artist Jonathas de Andrade who was also in the Biennale
Marc Quinn’s show juxtaposed he past two years’ topology with the old in ‘HISTORYNOW’ at the Museo Archeologico. He has captured some key moments from the past couple of years such as Donald Trump’s presidency and the storming of the Capital, represented on large two metre canvases representing the iPhone. The works are incredibly kitsch but at the same time fascinating
It was lovely to bump into old friends along the way!
