Calgary gallery owner Yves Trépanier recently installed Evan Penny: Ask Your Body at Chiesa San Samuele, one of the myriad events running concurrently with the Venice Biennale. Here's his take on the highlights of this year's biennale.
"Evan Penny: Ask Your Body," Installation View at Chiesa San Samuele, Venice
Report from Venice:
Like all biennales and visual art extravaganzas these days, no matter where they are staged, there are strong works by wonderful artists, and others, well, it’s hard to imagine why the curators selected them. This edition of the 57th Biennale di Venezia is no different.
Evan Penny:
Evan Penny’s exhibition Ask Your Body continues to have great audiences, with 300 to 400 people a day, and top reviews. Here’s a link to Estonia's multilingual Postimees wherein art critic Andres Tali states that: “The largest pearls in the whole of Venice are undoubtedly the moments hidden in small churches. Important artists whose works should not be unseen in Venice, the Canadian artist Evan Penny ("Ask Your Body” San Samuele church Palazzo Grassi side) and Englishman Paul Benney (audio and painting installation "Speaking in Tongues" San Marco Square San Gallo the church, which in the past has also shown work by Bill Viola). Excellent examples of what and how it is possible to speak the language of art." To read the entire article, please visit this link.
Canada, the Giardini, Arsenale, Collateral and Non-Collateral Events:
Geoffrey Farmer’s work, A way out of the mirror, is one of the top presentations of the biennale -- a radically poetic piece that packs the Giardini with an uncommon sense of optimism. And the late Kananginak Pootoogook’s drawings at the Arsenale? They are simply outstanding.
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Geoffrey Farmer, "A way out of the mirror," 2017
Installation view at the Canada Pavilion for the 57th International Art Exhibition – la Biennale di Venezia, 2017. © Geoffrey Farmer, Courtesy of the artist. Photo : Francesco Barasciutti
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Kananginak Pootoogook at the Arsenale, Venezia
Further along at the Arsenale it’s a wonderful surprise to come upon the late Judith Scott’s work. She was an important artist that too often has been overlooked; the same can be said of the late John Latham and his book paintings from the '60s. Lee Mingwei’s When Beauty Visits is one of the most moving works of the biennale. Located in the Scarpa garden in the Italian pavilion, this performative work is not to be missed. Ditto with The Women of Venice and the film Flora presented in the Swiss pavilion. One should not miss Mariechen Danz and Alicja Kwade’s sculpture installation, presented outside in the public grounds of the Arsenale. I was awed. The Reason Why Classic Is, a piece by Geng Jianyi, is in the same room as the John Latham book paintings. It sets up a nice conversation with Latham’s work and is simply beautiful.
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Judith Scott, Installation View, Arsenale, Venezia
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Mariechen Danz and Alicja Kwade’s sculpture installation, public grounds of the Arsenale, Venezia
Philip Guston, Berlinde de Bruyckere
One of the highlights of the biennale but not an official collateral event is Philip Guston and the Poets at Gallerie dell’Accademia. An absolutely direct and unapologetic presentation of this great artist’s work, it is nothing short of enthralling. One can say the same about Axel Vervoordt’s exhibition, Intuition, at the Palazzo Fortuny with works by Berlinde de Bruyckere’s It Almost Seemed a Lily, a powerful, materially visceral and spellbinding work. As with all of Vervoordt's exhibitions, there are great works to see, and unexpected and thoughtful juxtapositions to contemplate.
Berlinde de Bruyckere at Palazzo Fortuny, Venezia
Installation detail from "Philip Guston and The Poets," Gallerie dell’Accademia di Venezia
Michelangelo Pistoletto, Phoebe Boswell, James Lee Byars and Ca' D'Oro
The Michelangelo Pistoletto exhibition at San Giorgio is more than worth the visit. It’s easy to spend the afternoon there with exhibitions scattered throughout the site by Paul McCarthy, Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, Alighiero Boetti and the architect designer Ettore Sottsass. The island of San Giorgio, with Palladio's great masterwork, the church of San Giorgio, is a restful and contemplative respite from the many overcrowded sites. Another unexpected surprise is the young Kenyan artist Phoebe Boswell. Her interactive installation Mutumia is a highlight in the otherwise flat Future Generations Art Prize exhibition at Palazzo Contarini. Not far from Palazzo Contarini is James Lee Byars' colossal gold beacon, The Golden Tower, shown for the first time in its entirety. It’s wonderful. Finally, and there is a lot I haven’t mentioned, are two more must-see exhibitions, both non-collateral events -- Serenissime Trame: Carpets from the Zaleski Collection and Renaissance Paintings. You won’t want to leave this exhibition once you’re captured inside the Ca' d’Oro.
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Michelangelo Pistoletto at San Giorgio, Venezia
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James Lee Byars, "The Golden Tower," Near the Palazzo Contarini, Venezia
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"Serenissime Trame: Carpets from the Zaleski Collection and Renaissance Paintings," Ca D'Oro, Venezia
Last but not least, make sure you set aside a few hours to see the Boat is Leaking. The Captain Lied. This exhibition that features filmmaker Alexander Kluge, artist Thomas Demand and costume designer Anna Viebrock at the Fondazione Prada. You won’t regret it. Please click here for a link to the exhibition.
