From Biennale to Biennials. Cartographies of an Impossible Desire
open access | peer reviewed
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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 Venice Biennale Model • Francisco Matarazzo • Biennials • Fabrizio Plessi • São Paulo Biennial • Pietro Maria Bardi • Land art • Colonialism • São Paulo Bienal • Conceptual Art • Discursive engagement • Luca Maria Patella • Prints • Demise • Transnational networks • Educational Practices • Michael Heizer • Institutional memory • Contemporary art • America • Brazilian Art Historiography • Exhibition History • Geopolitics • José Goméz Sicre • Desire • Post-war Abstractionism • International cultural relations • Christo • Italian Colonialism • Colonial art • Pan-American Union • Krakow International Biennial of Graphic Arts • Venice Biennale • Yugoslavia • Modernism • Cultural Politics • São Paulo Art Biennial • The São Paulo Biennial • Richard Long • São Paulo Museum of Modern Art (MAM)
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
Subseries Atlante delle Biennali e-ISSN 2724-136X ISSN 2704-9973
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.