From Biennale to Biennials. Cartographies of an Impossible Desire
open access
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edited by
- Anita Orzes - Universitat de Barcelona, España; Université Grenoble Alpes, France - email
- Vittorio Pajusco - Università Ca' Foscari Venezia - email
- Stefania Portinari - Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Italia - 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 Francisco Matarazzo • Italian Colonialism • Brazilian Art Historiography • São Paulo Bienal • São Paulo Museum of Modern Art (MAM) • Colonial art • Desire • Fabrizio Plessi • Institutional memory • Demise • International cultural relations • Biennials • São Paulo Art Biennial • São Paulo Biennial • Transnational networks • Christo • Michael Heizer • Pietro Maria Bardi • Pan-American Union • José Goméz Sicre • Modernism • Venice Biennale Model • Yugoslavia • Contemporary art • Colonialism • Krakow International Biennial of Graphic Arts • Cultural Politics • Richard Long • Venice Biennale • Post-war Abstractionism • America • Prints • Educational Practices • Luca Maria Patella • The São Paulo Biennial • Conceptual Art • Geopolitics • Discursive engagement • Exhibition History • Land art
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-910-8 | e-ISBN 978-88-6969-910-8 | Published July 24, 2025 | Language en, it
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.