art

With the Venice Biennale in full swing, Marianna Cerini highlights eight of the must-see artists exhibiting this year

With the Venice Biennale in full swing, we highlight eight of the must-see artists exhibiting this year

The cultural extravaganza that is the Venice Biennale has just begun and runs until late November. It unfolds over the course of nine “trans-pavilions,” which follow one another like chapters of a book, showcasing the work of 120 artists—103 of them participating for the first time—whose backgrounds, aesthetics, perspectives and even ages are some of the most diverse ever. Fifty-one countries are represented at the Biennale.

This 57th edition is titled Viva Arte Viva, which its website explains “is an exclamation, a passionate outcry for art and the state of the artist. Viva Arte Viva is a Biennale designed with the artists, by the artists and for the artists. It deals with the forms they propose, the questions they pose, the practices they develop and the ways of life they choose.” Outside the official venues, a number of satellite exhibitions shift between the classic and the contemporary, teasing out stories of artists embracing and interpreting modernity in multifarious ways.

However well you might think you know the world of contemporary art, the latest edition of the Biennale provides an utterly different perspective.