The Best of the 60th Venice Art Biennale
A major event in contemporary art, the 2024 Venice Biennale, opens its doors to the public on April 20th with a programme heralding plenty of discoveries. Held under the theme Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere, this 60th edition features not only remarkable works of art but also a strong message, bearing values and a sense of commitment. Curated by Mexico’s Adriano Pedrosa, artistic director of the Museu de Arte de São Paulo, this is the first biennial ever to be directed by a Latin American, reflecting the spirit of openness and frontier-breaking evoked by the theme. Through the fair’s various exhibition spaces, Venice is bursting with art, displaying works by both established and emerging artists, spanning all generations and cultural backgrounds.
To begin with, let’s take a look at the French pavilion. Meditative and deeply moving, this exhibition is one of the highlights of this year’s fair. Signed by Julien Creuzet, under the curatorship of Céline Kopp and Cindy Sissokho, the exhibition is designed as an immersive, multi-sensory experience, plunging visitors into a space where fluid waves sweep through the space opening up a radical, collective imagination, populated by divine presences and connected to Venice by its waters. Julien Creuzet’s poetic approach, inspired by his childhood in Martinique, invites us to think outside the box and to see the French Pavilion as a space of mobility, visibility and reunion. By choosing this lyrical title, a signature style of the artist since the beginning of his career, Julien Creuzet reclaims freedom, diversity of interpretation and his “right to opacity”. In this space, all visitors are welcome to confront themselves.
On April 20th, the recipients of the Official Awards of the 60th International Art Exhibition were unveiled during the Awards Ceremony and Opening, held at Ca’ Giustinian. This year, Australia is the winner of the prestigious Golden Lion for Best National Participation in the Venice Biennale. Curated by Ellie Buttrose, the installation “kith and kin” fits perfectly the theme of this year’s fair. Spreading with lyricism over the pavilion, the show illustrates the result of in-depth research into the country’s heritage.
We crossed paths with Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, recently announced curator of the Biennale de São Paulo 2025, Emmanuel Perrotin, Iván Argote, Daniel Arham, Kammel Mennour, David Horvitz, Jérôme Sans, Sophie Calle, and many more.
Photos: Say Who.
