This year’s theme for the 58th International Art Exhibition at this year’s Venice Biennale, “May you live in interesting times,” is oftentimes purported to be translated from a traditional Chinese curse—wherein a phrase that sounds like a blessing is actually said ironically. It makes sense that many artists involved in the show (curated by Ralph Rugoff) offered dark, bleak and downright strange works. Many pieces (films …
With 15 artists exhibiting across two pavilions for seven months, “Swatch Faces”—the Swiss watch house’s contribution to 2015’s Venice Biennale as its main partner—is impressive in numbers. In person, it’s even more so—from glowing flowers to large-scale photo works, sound projects and more. One pavilion was entirely conceived by Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos and is located in the area of Giardini—the historic heart of the …
Love it or hate it, large-scale art does exactly what art is meant to do: to provoke a thought and maybe even knock the norm on its ass. “XXL Art: When Artists Think Big” by Elea Baucheron showcases jumbo installations like Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate in Chicago and Christos’ The Gates in Central Park, in splashy, bi-fold layouts in an appropriately hefty coffee table tome.
