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 Discursive engagement • Yugoslavia • Brazilian Art Historiography • Michael Heizer • Colonial art • Luca Maria Patella • São Paulo Biennial • Pan-American Union • Biennials • International cultural relations • Land art • Modernism • Venice Biennale Model • Venice Biennale • Contemporary art • Cultural Politics • Educational Practices • Institutional memory • Conceptual Art • Francisco Matarazzo • Prints • Colonialism • America • José Goméz Sicre • Krakow International Biennial of Graphic Arts • Italian Colonialism • São Paulo Art Biennial • São Paulo Bienal • The São Paulo Biennial • Christo • Exhibition History • Demise • Post-war Abstractionism • Transnational networks • Fabrizio Plessi • Richard Long • Geopolitics • Pietro Maria Bardi • São Paulo Museum of Modern Art (MAM) • Desire
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-910-8 | e-ISBN 978-88-6969-910-8 | Published July 24, 2025 | Language it, en
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.