Dutch Pavilion, Holland at Venice Biennale of Art - Giardini, Castello - City of Venice
(Photo: The International Celebration of Blasphemy and the Sacred, CATPC, Renzo Martens, Hicham Khalidi, 2024. Photo: Peter Tijhuis.)
Exhibition in progress from April 20th to November 26th 2024
The 60th Biennale Arte will open to the public on April 20. But on the 17th, 18th and 19th there will be the various events and collateral events that always enliven
suddenly Venetian artistic life. The awards ceremony will take place the day of opening to the public.
The title of the 60th edition of the Art Biennale is Foreigners Everywhere - Foreigners Everywhere.
The exhibition will be divided into between the Central Pavilion in the Giardini and the Arsenale, including 213 artists from 88 nations. There are 26 Italian artists, 180 first participations in the International Exhibition, 1433 works and objects on display, 80 new productions.
Go to the page of the 60th Venice Art Biennale
Curator of the 60th Venice Art Biennale
The 2024 edition is curated by Adriano Pedrosa.
Adriano Pedrosa, curator of the 60th Venice Art Biennale
– Adriano Pedrosa (born 1965) is a Brazilian curator. He is the artistic director of the São Paulo Art Museum (MASP) and the 2024 Venice Biennale.
Dutch Pavilion, Holland at 60th Biennale Arte of Venice
The title of the exhibition at the Dutch Pavilion is The International Celebration of Blasphemy and The Sacred.
Artists: Cercle d’Art des Travailleurs de Plantation Congolaise (CATPC).
Curators: Hicham Khalidi.
Commissioner: Mondriaan Fund.
Seat: Dutch Pavilion, Giardini - Venice
Press Release of Dutch Pavilion
The Dutch Pavilion at the 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia was officially opened on Wednesday 17 April by Director-General Barbera Wolfsenberger. The Dutch entry, The International Celebration of Blasphemy and The Sacred, is a presentation by Congolese artist collective Cercle d’Art des Travailleurs de Plantation Congolaise (CATPC). Created in collaboration with artist Renzo Martens and curator Hicham Khalidi, it highlights CATPC’s endeavour to reclaim the sacred forests of Lusanga, along with their broader mission of spiritual, ethical and economic reckoning.
Simultaneously with the opening in Venice, the opening of the White Cube in Lusanga, Congo – CATPC’s home base – took place. For both exhibitions, CATPC created new artworks from the earth of the last remaining forests around the plantation, which were then reproduced in palm oil and cocoa.
In anticipation of the exhibition, CATPC submitted a loan request for the ancestral sculpture Balot to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) which was approved earlier this year. Last March, Balot was welcomed back to Lusanga by CATPC and their community. The sculpture will be on view in Venice via a livestream with the White Cube in Lusanga where the sculpture is on display during La Biennale di Venezia.
In addition, 3 new films have been made as part of the exhibition: The Judgement of the White Cube, CATPC and The Return of Balot. The films can be seen in the Dutch pavilion in Venice.
Ced’art Tamasala on behalf of CATPC: “The goal of the exhibition is to write a scenario in which good contaminates evil and in which problems become solutions. The stories told through these sculptures are intended to generate change as they travel the world. Each sculpture carries the seed that will bring back the Sacred Forest. Ultimately functioning as conduits, these sculptures will allow for a shared equitable future for all humans, making it possible for us to reclaim our stolen lands, to reforest them and to welcome the post-plantation and Sacred Forest.”
Eelco van der Lingen, director of the Mondriaan Fund about the creation process of the exhibition: “In special dialogue, we arrived at a production where different worlds meet, worlds that sometimes find it difficult to have a good dialogue. The result is a presentation here and in Lusanga of sculptures, each with its own special story, but there is more to discover. New insights and new futures are ready to be shared with anyone who is open to them.”
Director-General of Culture and Media Barbera Wolfensberger spoke at the opening of the Dutch pavilion about the social impact of the exhibition and that of art in general: “Artists make a valuable contribution to social discussions. They have a personal view of the world and the unique talent to depict it. With this imagination, they make us look at reality in a different way and broaden our horizons.”
Useful information for the visit
Hours:
Gardens from 10.00 to 19.00. Arsenale from 10.00 to 19.00 (from 10.00 to 20.00 on Friday and Saturday until September 30th). Closed on Mondays (except April 22, June 17, July 22, September 2, September 30, October 31, November 18).
Tickets: please visit the official website.
Phone: +39.041.5218711; fax +39.041.2728329
E-mail: aav@labiennale.org
Web: Biennale
of Venice |
