Established in 1895, La Biennale di Venezia has
come to be recognized as one of the most
prestigious cultural institutions in the world. The
Biennale returns this year, after being closed for
a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, an
event that had only occurred during the two
World Wars since 1895. Titled “Milk of Dreams,”
the exhibition, which is curated by Cecilia
Alemani, will bring some 500,000 visitors to
Venice to view thousands of art works from more
than two hundred artists representing fifty-eight
countries, more than 180 artists of which have
never exhibited at the Biennale until now. Of
equal note is the fact that, for the first time in its
127-year history, women and gender non-conforming artists will represent a majority of artists, “a choice that reflects an international art scene full of creative ferment and a deliberate rethinking of man’s centrality in the history of art and contemporary culture.”
Curator Alemani took the title “Milk of Dreams” from the title of a book by Leonora Carrington.
In that work, Carrington describes a magical world where life is constantly re-envisioned through the prism of the imagination. As such, the exhibition “takes Leonora Carrington’s otherworldly creatures, along with other figures of transformation, as companions on an imaginary journey through the metamorphoses of bodies and definitions of the human.” Three thematic areas emerge along this journey: the representation of bodies and their metamorphoses; the relationship between individuals and technologies; the connection between bodies and the Earth.
Above:
President Robert Cicutto with Curator Ceclia Alemani
Photo Courtesy of:
La Biennale di Venezia
Following Page:
Venice
Photo Coutesy of:
WPW
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