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