Critique of National Pavilions at Venice Biennale Highlights Serbian Artist's Confrontational Paintings

A panel discussion at the MiArt fair in Milan, involving curators Bartolomeo Pietromarchi and Sebastian Cichocki, concluded that national pavilions at the Venice Biennale should remain while the nation state itself should be dismantled. The Giardini, hosting these pavilions, was described as a memorial to arbitrary territorial divisions. During a visit to the Giardini, observations were made about various national presentations: Hong Kong's was deemed good, Belgium's boring, and Venezuela's in disarray. The British and French pavilions opted for large, spectacular installations. In contrast, Serbia's pavilion featured three painters, with Vladislav Scepanovic's diptychs dominating the space. Scepanovic's works, such as 'Happy Kids' (2017) and 'The Chains of Evil' (2016), depict child soldiers and corporate logos, addressing conflict through vivid, brutal imagery. These paintings stand out against safer, more entertaining works in other pavilions, reminding the art world of harsh global realities. The Serbian exhibition also includes Milena Dragicevic's watery abstractions and Dragan Zdravkovic's panoramic painting 'Enclave' (2017). The national pavilion model is argued to benefit overlooked countries on the international art circuit more than established ones like Britain, Germany, America, and France.