001 Inverso Mundus: AES+F
Magazzino del Sale n5, Fondamenta de le Zattere ai Saloni, Dorsoduro 265
07/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: Vitraria Glass +A Museum
The former salt warehouses at the Zattere play host to a show by the collective AES+F, formed in 1987 and composed of conceptual architects Tatiana Arzamasova and Lev Evzovich and multidisciplinary designer Evgeny Svyatsky. The group, who are known for their provocative and visually striking work, made a name for themselves with a multichannel video installation for the Russian pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2007. The show’s curator is Ewald Stastny, the art director of Venice’s Vitraria Glass +A Museum.
The Art of Dansaekhwa Palazzo Contarini-Polignac, Dorsoduro 874
07/05/2015–15/08/2015
Commissioner: The Boghossian Foundation
This show, conceived by the art historian and critic Yongwoo Lee and Seoul’s Kukje Gallery, explores the world of the Minimalist avant-garde movement Dansaekhwa, which reached its apex in Korea in the 1970s, through the works of Ha Chong Hyun, Chung Chang Sup, Chung Sang Hwa, Lee Ufan and Park Seo-Bo.
The Bridges of Graffiti
Terminal San Basilio, Fondamenta Zattere al Ponte Lungo, Dorsoduro
09/05/2015–22/11/2015 Commissioner: Associazione Culturale Inossidabile
The exhibition draws inspiration from “Arte di Frontiera: New York Graffiti”, the 1984 exhibition that introduced American graffiti to Italy. Ten international graffiti artists, who have evolved and developed a figurative style, have created pieces for the San Basilio terminal.
Catalonia in Venice: Singularity Arsenale Docks, Calle Quintavalle, Castello 40
09/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: Institut Ramon Llull
Fresh from his retrospective at Tate Modern in March this year, the Catalan film-maker and producer Albert Serra has created “Singularity”, a six-screen audiovisual work, narrated from six different angles but with a single audio track, that aims to conciliate the 20th and 21st centuries. Serra has stated that “like the writers of the 20th century who wrote with different words, the film-makers of the 21st century can work with different screens”. The project has been realised with the curator Chus Martínez, currently the director of the Art Institut at the FHNW Academy of Art and Design in Basel.
Country Gervasuti Foundation, Calle Longa S. Caterina, Cannaregio 4988
09/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: Gervasuti Foundation
This show was conceived as a collaboration between the Italian artist Giorgia Severi and a wide group of Aboriginal artists from different parts of Australia, and the resulting works of art look at the process of visual storytelling from different cultural perspectives.
www.project-australia.blogspot.com
The Dialogue of Fire: Ceramic and Glass Masters from Barcelona to Venice Palazzo Tiepolo Passi, San Polo 2774
06/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: ArsCulture, Fundaciò Artigas
This show contains contemporary works of art in ceramic and glass fabricated at the Artigas Foundation in Gallifa, Catalonia, and in Murano, through the collaboration between artists and artisans. It includes a collection of 30 ceramic plates made in Gallifa by artists such as Antoni Tàpies and Eduardo Chillida, and site specific works by Judi Harvest and Silvano Rubino.
Dispossession Palazzo Donà Brusa, Campo San Polo 2177
09/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: European Capital of Culture Wroclaw 2016
Ten artists from Poland, Ukraine and Germany—Manaf Halbouni, Susanne Keichel, Thomas Kilpper, Szymon Kobylarz, Michael Merkel, Dorota Nieznalska, Tomasz Opania, the Open Group, Andriy Sakhaydakovsky and Oksana Zabuzhko—will explore ideas of psychological and material “dispossession”, migration and conflict, taking their cues from the Polish city of Wroclaw’s post-war history of displacement. The show’s curators are Michal Bieniek and Malgorzata Misniakiewicz.
Doug Fishbone’s Leisure Land Golf Arsenale Docks waterfront, Castello 40
06/05/2015–26/07/2015
Commissioner: EM15
This is a fully playable mini-golf course conceived by Doug Fishbone, who has invited eight other artists—John Akomfrah, Yara El-Sherbini, Ellie Harrison, Candice Jacobs, Hetain Patel, Lindsay Seers, Yinka Shonibare and Eyal Weizman—to design a hole. Each hole is a stand-alone work of art that addresses consumerism and leisure culture, but is underpinned by darker notions of modern-day politics and war.
Eredità e Sperimentazione Grande Hotel Hungaria & Ausonia, Viale Santa Maria Elisabetta 28, Lido di Venezia
09/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: Istituto Nazionale di BioArchitettura—Sezione di Padova
Frontiers Reimagined Palazzo Grimani, Ramo Grimani, Castello 4858
09/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: Polo Museale del Veneto,Tagore Foundation International
This show, conceived as a joint project between the New York-based Tagore Foundation and Venice’s Polo Museale, addresses the theme of cultural boundaries and globalised perspectives through new and recent works by more than 40 contemporary artists, including Edward Burtynsky, Christo, Vik Muniz, Robert Rauschenberg and Sebastião Salgado. The curator of the show is Sundaram Tagore.
Glasstress 2015: Gotika
Fondazione Berengo, Campiello della Pescheria 15, Murano; Santa Maria della Visitazione, Fondamenta Zattere Ai Gesuati, Dorsoduro; Istituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere ed Arti, Palazzo Cavalli Franchetti, Campo Santo Stefano, San Marco
09/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: State Hermitage Museum
Promoted by St Petersburg’s State Hermitage Museum and conceived by Berengo Studio, this show explores the impact of Gothic and Medieval ideas on modern conscience and contemporary art. It combines historical Medieval glass and objects from the museum’s vast collections with works in glass by more than 50 contemporary artists who were invited to work in the famous furnaces of Murano. The show is split between three venues and also includes a site-specific installation, titled “Towards the Light”, by the British artist Mat Collishaw in the church of Santa Maria della Visitazione.
Graham Fagen: Scotland + Venice 2015 Palazzo Fontana, Strada Nova, Cannaregio 3829
09/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: Scotland + Venice
Curator: Hospitalfield Arts
This exhibition is classified as a collateral event but considered by most as a of a national pavilion for Scotland. Graham Fagen is presenting an entirely new body of work, including sculptures, drawings and a five-channel audiovisual installation commissioned and curated by Hospitalfield in Arbroath, Scotland. Known for his use of different media and art forms, Fagen is collaborating with the composer Sally Beamish, the musicians of Scottish Ensemble, the reggae singer and musician Ghetto Priest and music producer Adrian Sherwood.
Grisha Bruskin: an Archaeologist’s Collection Santa Caterina, Fondamenta Santa Caterina, Cannaregio 3829
07/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: Centro Studi sulle Arti della Russia, Università Ca’ Foscari
The Russian artist Grisha Bruskin has created a complex and large-scale installation that draws from a vast pool of inspiration—from the artist’s early large-scale paintings, which gained him international fame during the collapse of the Soviet Union, to major figures in 20th-century thought, such as Jorge Luis Borges, Michel Foucault and Yuri Lotman.
Helen Sear: ...the Rest is Smoke
Santa Maria Ausiliatrice, Fondamenta San Gioacchin, Castello 450
09/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: Arts Council of Wales (Cumru yn Fenis/Wales in Venice)
Officially classed as a collateral event, this is Wales’ national pavilion, handed over for the first time to a female artist. Sear’s work focuses on the co-existence of the human, animal and natural world.
Highway to Hell Palazzo Michiel, Strada Nuova, Cannaregio 4391A
09/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: Hubei Museum of Art
Humanistic Nature and Society (Shan-Shui): an Insight into the Future Palazzo Faccanon, San Marco 5016
07/05/2015–14/08/2015
Commissioner: Shanghai Himalayas Museum
Presented by the Shanghai Himalayas Museum and organised by Wong Shun-kit, this exhibition uses works by around 15 Chinese artists to juxtapose China’s contemporary reality with the ancient concept of shan-shui, or “mountain and water”, which signifies harmony between humans and nature. The show questions whether the two can coexist and asks artists to envision a future shan-shui society.
In the Eye of the Thunderstorm: Effervescent Practices from the Arab World and South Asia Zattere, Dorsoduro 417
06/05/2015–15/11/2015
Commissioner: ArsCulture
This show presents works by nine mid-career artists from the Arab world, and aims to show the cultural variety and richness, but also the similarities, that bind the large and often volatile region together. Using different media, the artists will address such issues as war and women’s rights.
Italia Docet: Laboratorium: Artist, Participants, Testimonials and Activated Spectators Palazzo Barbarigo Minotto, Fondamenta Duodo, San Marco 2504
09/05/2015–30/06/2015, and 11/09/2015–31/10/2015
Commissioner: Italian Art Motherboard Foundation (i-AM Foundation)
www.laboratorium-venice2015.org
Jaume Plensa: Together San Giorgio Maggiore, Island of San Giorgio Maggiore
06/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: Abbazia di San Giorgio Maggiore Benedicti Claustra Onlus
The Spanish artist Jaume Plensa, known for his art for public spaces, has created a series of new sculptural installations for the Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore, as well as an installation of drawings and a group of luminous alabaster portraits in the nearby Manica Lunga building.
Jenny Holzer: War Paintings
Museo Correr, Piazza San Marco, San Marco 52
06/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: Museo Correr, Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, The Written Art Foundation
The works on show were sel ected from a decade of the artist’s war paintings, which drew inspiration from declassified US government documents concerning the global “war on terror” after 11 September 2001, as well as the US military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Holzer’s work uses autopsy reports, planning maps, diplomatic communiqués and interrogation records, as well as the handwritten notes of detainees, which were heavily redacted by censors before they were released to the public.
Jump Into the Unknown Palazzo Loredan dell’Ambasciatore, Dorsoduro 1261-1262
09/05/2015–18/06/2015
Commissioner: Nine Dragon Heads
This show presents the site-specific works, installations, videos, sculptures, photography and performances from around 40 international artists assembled by Nine Dragon Heads, a South Korean interdisciplinary platform, founded in 1995, that helps artists to work in environmentally, economically or politically troubled sites.
Learn from Masters Palazzo Bembo, Riva del Carbon, San Marco 4793
09/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: Pan Tianshou Foundation
www.pantianshou.caa.edu.cn/foundation_en.html
My East is Your West Palazzo Benzon, Calle Benzon, San Marco 3927
06/05/2015–31/10/2015
Commissioner: Gujral Foundation
For the first time at the Biennale, the two historically conflicting nations of India and Pakistan are staging a collaborative exhibition. The show of works by the internationally renowned artists Shilpa Gupta and Rashid Rana was conceived by Feroze Gujral, the director and founder of the Gujral Foundation, and it is considered more of a national pavilion than a collateral event.
Ornamentalism: the Purvitis Prize Tesa 99, Arsenale Nord
09/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: The Secretariat of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2015
www.purvisabalva.lv/en/ornamentalism
Path and Adventure: Mio Pang Fei Macao, Campo della Tana, Castello 2126/A
09/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: Cultural Affairs Bureau, Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau, Macao Museum of Art
Though classified as collateral, this exhibition is effectively seen as Macao’s national pavilion. The prolific Chinese-born artist Mio Pang Fei has been granted a retrospective to cover more than six decades of work, during which the artist lived through the enormous political and social upheavals of China’s Cultural Revolution.
Patricia Cronin: Shrine for Girls, Venice San Gallo, Campo San Gallo, San Marco
09/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: Brooklyn Rail Curatorial Projects
The New York-based conceptual artist Patricia Cronin is presenting a site-specific work in the church of San Gallo that addresses the issues faced by women around the world, especially in developing countries. For this work, Cronin has assembled hundreds of items of girls’ clothing to symbolise students kidnapped in Nigeria by Boko Haram and girls raped in rural parts of India.
www.curatorialprojects.brooklynrail.org
Personal Structures Palazzo Bembo, Riva del Carbon, San Marco 4793
European Cultural Centre, Palazzo Mora, Cannaregio 3659
09/05/2015–22/11/2015
This show groups together more than 100 established and lesser-known artists from around 50 countries, working with video, sculptures, paintings, drawings, photographs and installations. Split between two venues, the exhibition aims to ask big questions about time, space and existence, which act as the common ground for all the works that will be on show.
The Question of Beings Istituto Santa Maria della Pietà, Calle della Pietà, Castello 3701
09/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei
Recycle Group: Conversion Sant’Antonin, Campo Sant’Antonin, Castello
09/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: Moscow Museum of Modern Art
Curated by James Putnam, “Conversion” presents the work of Recycle Group, a Russian collective founded in 2006 by Andrey Blokhin and Georgy Kuznetsov, and winner of the Kandinsky Prize (young artists category) in 2010. Taking their cue from the world of technology, smartphones, data transmission and globalised information networks, the artists have created the ruins of a “sanctuary” of the 21st century inside the main hall of the ancient church of Sant’Antonin, which will contain a curious mix of Christian iconography with contemporary objects and motifs.
The Revenge of the Common Place Universita Ca’ Foscari, Calle Larga Foscari, Dorsoduro 3246
09/05/2015–30/09/2015
Commissioner: Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Francis Alÿs, Song Dong and Rinus van de Velde have been sel ected by curator Hans De Wolf to represent the Ministry of the Flemish community. De Wolf has developed a controversial and humorous exhibition, constructed around some of the most fundamental misunderstandings between Western tradition and the Far East.
Roberto Sebastian Matta: Sculture Palazzo Soranzo Cappello, Fondamenta Rio Marin, Santa Croce 770
09/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: Fondazione Echaurren Salaris
An important figure in 20th-century art history, the Chilean artist Roberto Sebastian Matta’s sculpture is subject to analysis here, especially his mastery of bronze and metalwork, for which he was praised by André Breton. Matta’s works range from the primitive to the surreal, and are rich with historical and cultural references.
www.fondazioneechaurrensalaris.it/home
Salon Suisse: SOS Dada: the World is a Mess Palazzo Trevisan degli Ulivi, Campo Sant’Agnese, Dorsoduro 810
09/05/2015; 04-06/06/2015; 10-12/09/2015; 15-17/10/2015; 19-21/11/2015
Commissioner: Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetica
The Dada-specialists Juri Steiner and Stefan Zweifel are hosting a platform for exchange on contemporary art by inviting a range of international guests to talk about the Dada movement.
Sean Scully: Land Sea Palazzo Falier, San Marco 2906
09/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: Fondazione Volume!
The show, which is curated by Danilo Eccher, includes a broad selection of recent and new works by the Irish abstract painter Sean Scully, many of which are large-scale and conceived specifically for this event. Also on view are pieces from his “Doric” and “Landline” series.
Sepphoris Molino Stucky, Giudecca 812
09/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: Satellite Berlin, A Sidereal Space of Art, Assessorato alla Cultura del Comune di Narni
Sepphoris is a project initiated in 2011 when the photographer Alessandro Valeri made a trip to the orphanage of Tzipori, near Nazareth, Israel, where children of all ethnic groups and religions are taken care of. The resulting images and large-scale installations capture the contradictions and singularities of the orphanage and its surrounding area.
The Silver Lining: Contemporary Art from Liechtenstein and other Microstates Palazzo Trevisan degli Ulivi, Campo Sant’Agnese, Dorsoduro 810
24/10/2015–01/11/2015
Commissioner: Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein
Around 37 young artists from Liechtenstein, Iceland, Luxembourg and Montenegro have been invited to work together for this show; its starting point is Walter Benjamin’s “On the Concept of History”. In line with the author’s ideas of cause and effect, chains of events and historical catastrophes, the artists will address how past events have shaped their current situations.
The Sound of Creation: Paintings and Music by Beezy Bailey and Brian Eno Conservatorio Benedetto Marcello, Palazzo Pisani, Campo Santo Stefano, San Marco 2810
07/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: ArsCulture
The result of a collaboration between the South African artist Beezy Bailey and the celebrated producer and musician Brian Eno, painted works of art are paired with corresponding musical tracks that aim to stimulate a greater interaction between sight and sound. Starting in the courtyard of the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory moving up the grand staircase and culminating in the small rooms at the top of the building are more than 40 works of art by the pair.
Tesla Revisited Palazzo Nani Mocenigo, Fondamenta Nani, Dorsoduro 960
09/05/2015–18/10/2015
Commissioner: Vitraria Glass +A Museum
Artists including Chris Burden and Lawrence Weiner are taking part in this show, which addresses the relationship between science and art as embodied by the work of Nikola Tesla, who worked independently of the mainstream scientific community and who placed a high value on aesthetics and form, as well as content.
The Union of Fire and Water Palazzo Barbaro, San Marco 2840
09/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: YARAT Contemporary Art Organisation
This exhibition, curated by Suad Garayeva, draws on the rich historical links between Venice and Baku, Azerbaijan, to create a cultural superimposition of the two cities. Site-specific videos, sculptures and installations by Almagul Menlibayeva and Rashad Alakbarov will take over the grand Palazzo Barbaro, whose former resident Giosafat Barbaro was a Venetian ambassador who travelled widely in Azerbaijan in the 15th century.
Thirty Light Years: Staging Chinese Art Palazzo Rossini, Campo Manin, San Marco 4013
09/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: Guangdong Museum of Art, GAC Global Art Center Foundation
The exhibition attempts to capture the complex and extraordinary developments that have transformed Chinese society, and by extension its contemporary art, over the past 30 years. The show is organised by Karlyn de Jongh and Fang Xudong, and includes works by around 32 Chinese artists.
Tsang Kin-Wah: the Infinite Nothing—Hong Kong in Venice Campo della Tana, Castello 2126
09/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: Hong Kong Arts Developmental Council, M+, West Kowloon Cultural District
This exhibition is classed as collateral but essentially acts as the Hong Kong pavilion. Tsan Kin-Wah is preparing one of his signature immersive installations, this time based around video projections “which will be the ambitious and natural next step for his work”, says Doryun Chong, the curator of the show and chief curator at Hong Kong’s M+ Museum.
Under the Surface: Newfoundland and Labrador at Venice Gallerie Ca’ Rezzonico, Dorsoduro 2793
09/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: Terra Nova Art Foundation
The Terra Nova Art Foundation, whose mission is to present artists from Newfoundland and Labrador to the art world, is presenting a multi-channel audiovisual installation by Jordan Bennett and an immersive 3D video installation by Anne Troake. The show’s curator is Chris Clarke.
Ursula von Rydingsvard Giardino della Marinaressa, Riva dei Sette Martiri, Castello
06/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Six sculptures by the New York-based artist Ursula von Rydingsvard will be on view in this outdoor exhibition in the Giardino della Marinaressa, which is being organised by Peter Murray, the founder and executive director of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.
We Must Risk Delight: Twenty Artists from Los Angeles Magazzino del Sale n3, Fondamenta de le Zattere ai Saloni, Dorsoduro 264
07/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: BardoLA
The show, which takes its title from a poem by Jack Gilbert called “A Brief for the Defense” that encourages the reader to find moments of delight in every circumstance, includes works by around 20 artists from LA, which is reaffirming its position as a creative hub.
Wu Tien-Chang: Never Say Goodbye Palazzo delle Prigioni, Castello 4209
09/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: Taipei Fine Arts Museum of Taiwan
Though listed as a collateral event, this is effectively the Taiwanese pavilion. The veteran artist Wu Tien-Chang is presenting a series of video works titled “Farewell, Spring and Autumn Pavilions”, which incorporate elements of Taiwan’s kitsch culture .
Xanadu Istituto Santa Maria della Pietà, Calle della Pietà, Castello 3701
09/05/2015–22/11/2015
Commissioner: Dream Amsterdam Foundation
The Swiss artist Nikunja is presenting his ongoing project Xanadu, which takes its name from the ancient summer palace of Kublai Khan in Shangdu, built in 1251. Known for his multidisciplinary practice, the artist will present photographs, drawings, paintings, videos and an interactive multimedia installation.