Breasts: Group Exhibition at Palazzo Franchetti During Venice Biennale

During the 60th Venice Biennale, Palazzo Franchetti hosts 'Breasts', a group exhibition curated by Carolina Pasti opening April 18, 2024. The show explores representations of the breast in art, featuring over thirty international artists from emerging to established. Organized in collaboration with ACP Palazzo Franchetti, it addresses themes of motherhood, empowerment, sexuality, body image, and illness, aiming to raise awareness about breast cancer prevention and treatment. The exhibition is divided into five chapters. The first examines historical depictions and narratives of the female body through Renaissance masters, focusing on the Madonna del Latte iconography, which influenced contemporary artists like Cindy Sherman, Richard Dupont, Teniqua Clementine Crawford, and Sherrie Levine. The second chapter reinterprets the décolleté through sculpture, including Marcel Duchamp's 'Prière de toucher', Claude Lalanne's breastplates, and a work by Prune Nourry. The third section features photography by Robert Mapplethorpe and Irving Penn, with symbolic and unconventional representations. The fourth chapter presents the breast as a marketing tool, showcasing fashion photographers who subverted advertising conventions, such as Oliviero Toscani. The final room includes works by Chloe Wise, Sarah Lucas, Louise Bourgeois, Aurora Pellizzi, and Laure Prouvost that fragment and abstract the breast, contributing to new perspectives on identity in contemporary art.