Often dubbed “the Olympics of the art world”, the Venice Biennale is one of the most important events on the art world’s calendar. Organised every two years, it has been held since 1895 with very few interruptions.
The 60th edition of the Biennale, which will last until 24 November, features eight artists in the Bank’s collection, a record-breaking number. This includes both established names as well as a former artist in residence, highlighting the Bank’s role as a premier scouter and accelerator of emerging artistic talent.
Teresa Margolles and Evelyn Taocheng Wang, among the most recent artists to join the collection, feature in the main exhibition, titled Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere, curated by Adriano Pedrosa.
For over 25 years, Margolles has investigated the social and aesthetic dimensions of conflict, creating sculptural installations, photographs, films, and performances imbued with material traces of death. In her arresting work La Huella, 2019, the artist visually renders the continuously unfolding story of violence, disappearance, and unrest along the Colombian and Venezuelan border, a turbulent region to which Margolles has devoted years of work. Rotterdam-based Evelyn Taocheng Wang presents a series of paintings uniting Canadian-born American painter Agnes Martin’s work with Taoist and Zen principles from Asia.
Former ADP laureate Nikolay Karabinovych (ADP 2022) features in Dare to Dream, an ancillary exhibition hosted by the Pinchuk Art Centre. A large-scale textile work by Otobong Nkanga also features in Dare to Dream, highlighting the universality of the exhibition’s themes.
Mounira Al Solh takes over the Lebanon pavillion, exploring ancient Phoenicia via modern techniques, celebrating freedom and emancipation.
Kapwani Kiwanga represents her native Canada at this year’s Biennale, creating immersive installations centred around the significance of beads.
As part of this year’s Vatican pavilion, Simone Fattal created bronze plaques in collaboration with female inmates, who provided poetry. The exhibition takes place in the Giudecca Women’s Prison and centers on the theme of human rights.
Last but not least, Louise Bourgeois is included in the collateral show “Breasts”, which seeks to unpack the representation of breasts over time, as well as in politics.
The EIB art collection offers a unique window on contemporary European creativity, serving EU and EIB objectives. It is made up of more than 1,000 artworks and is supplemented by active Arts & Culture programming. The collection supports living European/Europe-based artists, enriches the knowledge economy, promotes social integration, and encourages innovation. It also provides staff and stakeholders with an opportunity to engage with, and derive value from, the dynamic and evolving EU artistic landscape.
