From Biennale to Biennials. Cartographies of an Impossible Desire
open access
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edited by
- Anita Orzes - Université Grenoble Alpes - email
- Vittorio Pajusco - Ca' Foscari University of Venice - email
- Stefania Portinari - Ca' Foscari University of Venice - email orcid profile
Abstract
This volume explores the biennial phenomenon examining their artistic, geopolitical, and institutional dimensions. While primarily centred on these two major events, as the Venice and São Paulo biennials, the essays in this book also enlarge upon other biennials, exhibitions and institutions, offering comparative and relational insights. Ultimately, the volume highlights the historical complexity of biennials and their roles as cultural devices, underscoring their function as spaces of experimentation and legitimation amid broader political and institutional tensions.
Keywords Biennials • Venice Biennale • Transnational networks • Post-war Abstractionism • Colonialism • Christo • Yugoslavia • Colonial art • Francisco Matarazzo • International cultural relations • Land art • Exhibition History • Brazilian Art Historiography • Geopolitics • Desire • José Goméz Sicre • Institutional memory • Prints • Modernism • Luca Maria Patella • Krakow International Biennial of Graphic Arts • Richard Long • Contemporary art • Italian Colonialism • Discursive engagement • Venice Biennale Model • The São Paulo Biennial • Fabrizio Plessi • Educational Practices • São Paulo Museum of Modern Art (MAM) • Pietro Maria Bardi • America • Conceptual Art • Michael Heizer • Pan-American Union • São Paulo Art Biennial • São Paulo Bienal • Demise • Cultural Politics • São Paulo Biennial
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-910-8 | e-ISBN 978-88-6969-910-8 | Published July 24, 2025 | Language it, en
Copyright © 2025 Anita Orzes, Vittorio Pajusco, Stefania Portinari. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.