Damien Hirst and Xavier Veilhan at the 2017 Venice Biennale

The editorial of artpress n°446 reflects on the 2017 Venice Biennale, contrasting two major exhibitions: Damien Hirst's 'Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable' at the Fondation Pinault (Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana) and Xavier Veilhan's 'Studio Venezia' at the French Pavilion. Hirst's decade-long project presents a pharaonic display of objects from a fictional ancient shipwreck, blending mockumentary videos and archaeo-pop details like brand logos on Renaissance-style drawings. While the exhibition is a grand mockery of the contemporary art world and its market, the critic finds the objects materially overwhelming but visually unengaging, suggesting a form of artistic suicide. In contrast, Veilhan's project, announced as an attempt to capture the intangible—artists at work, specifically musicians—achieves a surprising material precision. The installation, a light wood Merzbau-like structure, creates a living, moving experience with opera singers, pianists, and a cristalliste playing Baschet instruments. Christophe Chassol is announced to invent a keyboard school. The space has no seating, compelling visitors to find their own place and take a stand. The editorial highlights the inverse relationship between materiality and immateriality in the two works.