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