Between abstract and figurative
While the choices made by Adriano Pedrosa, curator of the 60th Venice Biennale have favored artists who work with traditional mediums such as canvas, ceramics and textiles in various declensions and in a manner that is often figurative, the city instead offers some not-to-be-missed events for those who prefer non-figurative art.
Willem De Kooning – Academy Galleries 17-4/ 15-9-2024
For a number of years now, the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice has chosen to combine traditional exhibitions with a number of monographic shows dedicated to contemporary art during the period of the Art Biennale. The initiative opened in 2017 with the exhibition Philip Guston and the poets, poetic in name and in fact and continued in 2019 with the major monograph dedicated to Georg Baselitz .
The current exhibition Willem De Kooning and Italy is an exhibition dedicated to the Dutch-born American artist and examines the two periods that de Kooning spent in Italy, in 1959, at the height of his success, and in 1969, when he turned to sculpture, and the profound influence that both had on his work.
Organized thanks to the Willem de Kooning Foundation and loans from many collectors and private galleries, it is curated by Gary Garrels and Mario Codognato, curator also of Palazzo Diedo and the Berggruen Foundation in Venice.
Julie Meheretu at Palazzo Grassi 03.17.24 – 06.01.25
Curated by Caroline Bourjouse, the exhibition is the largest monograph of the Ethiopian-born American artist.
Once again Palazzo Grassi and the Francois Pinault Foundation choose Venice for the largest monographic exhibition ever dedicated to an influent artist.
Her works are exhibited together with her friends Nairy Baghramian, Huma Bhabha, Tacita Dean, David Hammons, Robin Coste Lewis, Paul Pfeiffer, and Jessica Rankin.
In their absolute originality of technique and mark-making Julie Mehertu’s works cannot be compared to any other artist, mainly because Julie Mehertu starts with images, and this is something that you can see in her paintings, but then she modifies them with a lot of overlapping work of marks and materials and makes it ‘other’.
The ticket also gives you access to Lyminal, the amazing exhibition at Punta della Dogana. (here my link for the visit)
Alex Katz – Island of San Giorgio Maggiore 17.4 – 24.9.24
Alex Katz is an energetic 97-year-old gentleman who spends his time painting and sleeping in his studio in Downtown New York, as he recently stated in an interview. Recently, Moma and the Guggenheim in New York dedicated him two expositions. This one is only three rooms, but with large paintings, each dedicated to a different inspiration, green, the clothes of a famous designer.
MARTHA JUNGWIRTH “HERZ DER FINSTERNIS. Galleria Cini
Heart of Darkness, Conrad’s book that Maria Junwirth read as a young girl, is an opportunity to reflect on this literary journey dedicated to the brutality of European colonialism in Africa.
Curating both exhibitions ( Alex Katz and Martha Jungwirth) is Luca Massimo Barbera, director of the Cini Foundation’s Institute of Art History.
A Journey to the Infinite: Yoo Youngkuk – Fondazione Querini Stampalia 20.4-24.11.2024
On the occasion of the Biennale Arte 2024, the first solo exhibition in Europe of South Korean artist Yoo Youngkuk curated by Kim Inhye will be on view. Yoo Youngkuk was a pioneer of geometric abstract painting who was very important in the history of art in Korea. The selection of paintings in the exhibition includes works never before exhibited outside his country. The exhibition shows Yoo’s commitment to the elaboration of pictorial forms as a means of exploring his own deeply intimate relationship with nature. A Journey to the Infinite: Yoo Youngkuk consists mainly of works from the 1960s and 1970s.
Seundja Rhee : Towards the Antipodes
Campo San Lorenzo 20.4-24.11.2024
Born in 1918 in South Korea, Seundjia Rhee has traveled extensively and studied in Europe. Her knowledge of European movements is clear in her work, and this painter was also among the first artists to spread contemporary art to Asia. The exhibition includes some 20 paintings from various periods. Many of her works are now exhibited in her native country and in various French museums. Admission is free. There are many Korean artists present in Venice at this time, in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Korean pavilion at the Biennale venue at Giardini di Castello.
The diverse perspectives of this Biennale 2024 are owed to artists from all over the world, we can say that this year’s national pavilions and collateral events really gave us a chance to encounter various visions in art.
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Fiorella Pagotto
Vanice, August 2024