Allora & Calzadilla Represent US at 2011 Venice Biennale

Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla represented the United States at the 2011 Venice Biennale with their exhibition 'Gloria' at the American Pavilion. Curated by Lisa D. Freiman of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the presentation featured six new works exploring militarism, physical exertion, and the built environment. The duo, based in Puerto Rico, created three performance sculptures: 'Body in Flight (Delta)' and 'Body in Flight (American)'—replicas of business-class airline seats modified into a pommel horse and balance beam—and 'Track and Field', a repurposed army tank whose treads serve as a treadmill. These works reference Olympic history, the Biennale itself, and themes of international business travel, national rhetoric, and neoliberal fetishization. For the vernissage, artists planned performances by world-class American athletes: decathlon gold medalist Dan O'Brien (Atlanta 1996), gymnast Chelsie Memmel (silver, Beijing 2008), and all-around champion David Durante (2007). The title 'Gloria' conflates military, religious, and sporting references. Freiman's selection of Allora & Calzadilla was considered bold due to their explicit political critique and her location in Indiana, a so-called 'fly-over state'.