Bruce Nauman's Topological Gardens Represents US at 2009 Venice Biennale
At the 2009 Venice Biennale, the United States showcases Bruce Nauman: Topological Gardens, a comprehensive retrospective of his four-decade career, curated by Carlos Basualdo and Michael Taylor. This exhibition is hosted across three locations: the US Pavilion in the Giardini, the University of Venice at Tolentini, and Palazzo Foscari at Ca' Foscari University. It encompasses a variety of media, including sculpture, neon, video, photography, drawing, text, film, prints, and sound, all centered on the concepts of topology and gardens. In tribute to Ann d'Harnoncourt, it features Nauman's 1967 neon piece, 'The True Artist Helps the World by Revealing Mystic Truths.' This marks the first significant exhibition since 1993 to compile such notable works in a single city for six months.
Key facts
- Bruce Nauman represents the United States at the 2009 Venice Biennale with 'Topological Gardens'.
- The exhibition is curated by Carlos Basualdo and Michael Taylor of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
- It spans three venues: US Pavilion in Giardini, University of Venice at Tolentini, and Ca' Foscari University.
- The show includes a newly commissioned large-scale sound installation.
- The title references topology and gardens, recurring themes in Nauman's work.
- The exhibition challenges the ideology of national pavilions by placing two-thirds of the show outside the Giardini.
- It originated from the Philadelphia Museum's acquisition of Nauman's 1967 neon 'The True Artist Helps the World by Revealing Mystic Truths'.
- The exhibition honors Ann d'Harnoncourt, former director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, who died in 2008.
Entities
Artists
- Bruce Nauman
- Henry Moore
- John Bock
- Stefan Brüggemann
- Peter Coffin
- Martin Creed
- Jessica Diamond
- Tom Friedman
- Mike Kelley
- Glenn Ligon
- Jan Mancusca
- Paul McCarthy
- Jonathan Monk
- Charles Ray
- Jason Rhoades
- Marc Swanson
- Diana Thater
- Mungo Thomson
- Rirkrit Tiravanija
- Francesco Vezzoli
- Aaron Young
Institutions
- Philadelphia Museum of Art
- United States Pavilion
- University of Venice at Tolentini
- Ca' Foscari University
- Walker Art Center
- Hirshhorn Museum
- Milwaukee Art Museum
- Berkeley Art Museum
- Tate Modern
- Friedrich Christian Flick Collection
- Hamburger Bahnhof
- Kunsthalle Wien
- Zwirner & Wirth
- Whitney Museum
- Centre Pompidou
- Artforum
Locations
- Venice
- Italy
- Giardini
- Tolentini
- Palazzo Foscari
- Grand Canal
- Philadelphia
- United States
- Milwaukee
- Berkeley
- London
- Berlin
- Vienna
- New York
- Paris
Sources
- artpress —