Venice Biennale 2017 Signals Shift Toward Figurative Art Amid Hirst's Parallel Extravaganza
In 2017, Damien Hirst's self-organized exhibition in Venice, prior to the Biennale, questioned the role of curators through extravagant parties and notable commercial success. Curated by Christine Macel, the Biennale shifted its focus to figurative art after a long period dominated by conceptual works. Celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Internationale Situationniste, Wolfgang Scheppe presented 'Tous contre le spectacle'. The Accademia featured Philip Guston's figurative paintings from 1970-1975, while Stephen Chambers displayed portraits of imagined aristocrats at Ca'Dandolo. Lucy McKenzie's historicist pieces were showcased at Fondazione Bevilacqua. Matthew Witkovsky curated the V-A-C Foundation's 'Space Force Construction', which included Soviet Constructivist archives. Tania Bruguera's clay busts provoked discussions on authorship, reflecting a rise in figuration among non-Western artists critiquing Western abstraction.
Key facts
- Damien Hirst staged independent exhibitions and parties weeks before the 2017 Venice Biennale opening
- Christine Macel curated the 57th Venice Biennale in 2017
- Wolfgang Scheppe organized a private exhibition celebrating the Internationale Situationniste's 60th anniversary
- Philip Guston's figurative paintings from 1970-1975 were exhibited at the Accademia
- Roberto Cuoghi's 'Imitazione di Cristo' featured mass-produced Christ sculptures in the Italian Pavilion
- Christian Lemmerz presented a virtual reality crucifixion piece 'La Apparizione' at Faurschou Foundation
- Tania Bruguera's clay busts in 'Isasthenai' were executed by artist Ekaterina Kovalenko
- Mark Bradford's American Pavilion highlighted handmade paper works created with his mother
Entities
Artists
- Damien Hirst
- Adrian Dannatt
- Christine Macel
- Wolfgang Scheppe
- Philip Guston
- Stephen Chambers
- Lucy McKenzie
- Markus Proschek
- Tania Bruguera
- Ekaterina Kovalenko
- Jason deCaires Taylor
- Lorenzo Quinn
- Shezad Dawood
- Claudia Fontes
- Liliana Porter
- Adrián Villar Rojas
- Hao Liang
- Francis Upritchard
- Lisa Reihana
- Juan Javier Salazar
- Manuel Ocampo
- Roberto Cuoghi
- Paul Benney
- Christian Lemmerz
- Paul McCarthy
- Andy Hope 1930
- Mark Bradford
- Jeffrey Deitch
- Javier Marías
- Italo Calvino
- Popova
- Rodchenko
- Bellini
- Signorelli
- Titian
- Bouguereau
- Picasso
- Franco Berardi
- Guy Debord
Institutions
- Venice Biennale
- artcritical
- Accademia
- Ca'Dandolo
- Fondazione Bevilacqua
- Russian V-A-C Foundation
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Grenada Pavilion
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- National Gallery Australia
- Italian Pavilion
- Chiesa di San Gallo
- Santa Maria della Salute
- Faurschou Foundation
- American Pavilion
- Internationale Situationniste
- Joseph Dufour et Cie
Locations
- Venice
- Italy
- Chicago
- United States
- China
- Russia
- Granada
- Argentina
- New Zealand
- Peru
- Philippines
- Zattere
- Redonda
- Pruitt-Igoe