Manuel Borja-Villel on Biennale Jury, Reina Sofia, and Art's Future

Manuel Borja-Villel, director of the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid, discusses his role as president of the jury for the 57th Venice Biennale, which awarded the Golden Lion for best artist to Franz Erhard Walther. Borja-Villel, who previously served on the jury in 2007 under Robert Storr, reflects on the challenges of comparing diverse artworks and the importance of a pluralistic jury. He highlights the Biennale's geopolitical structure, criticizing the national pavilion system as outdated and discriminatory between wealthy and poorer nations. He suggests alternatives like grouping by regions (Europe, Mediterranean, Middle East) but acknowledges the difficulty of change due to national ownership of pavilions. Borja-Villel also discusses the performative turn in contemporary art, citing the German Pavilion's award for Anne Imhof's continuous performance, and warns against exoticism or populism in biennial programming. He defends the Reina Sofia's focus on lesser-known artists, such as Nasreen Mohamedi, Ulises Carrión, Remy Zaugg, Andrzej Wróblewski, Lee Lozano, and Franz Erhard Walther, whose retrospective was held at the Palacio de Velázquez in Retiro Park.