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 Christo • Contemporary art • Educational Practices • Luca Maria Patella • Cultural Politics • America • Fabrizio Plessi • São Paulo Biennial • Venice Biennale Model • Transnational networks • Exhibition History • Krakow International Biennial of Graphic Arts • Land art • São Paulo Bienal • Yugoslavia • São Paulo Museum of Modern Art (MAM) • Pan-American Union • Michael Heizer • Conceptual Art • Demise • Geopolitics • The São Paulo Biennial • Brazilian Art Historiography • International cultural relations • Prints • Modernism • Institutional memory • Colonialism • Post-war Abstractionism • São Paulo Art Biennial • Italian Colonialism • Venice Biennale • Colonial art • Biennials • Francisco Matarazzo • José Goméz Sicre • Richard Long • Desire • Pietro Maria Bardi • Discursive engagement
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.