A gallery's perspective on the Venice Biennale

The Venice Biennale allows the best artists to leave their mark. Lorenzo Fiaschi, founder of the Galleria Continua, says that "artists sometimes need more space to fulfill their desires". The gallery supports many events, adding artist Jonathas de Andrade, exhibited in the Brazilian National Pavilion, such as the Fondaco dei Tedeschi installation by French-Moroccan artist Leila Alaoui and expanded. Subodh Gupta's World (2017) in the garden of the Belmond Cipriani Hotel. Fiaschi said the mansion-like building constructed from Gupta's discarded electronics could be used by interested parties even if Alaoui's work is not for sale. 

It took a little longer than usual, but soon the art world will fill the canals of Venice and recognize and collect some of the best modern art. High Line's chief curator Cecilia Alemani's major 'The Milk of Dreams' exhibition and some hopeful behind-the-scenes stories to help their artists showcase the now sold-out Ted Country Pavilion in secret. But ahead of today's performance, the museum has been hard at work behind the scenes to help artists showcase their work on one of the world's most popular platforms. 

Strictly speaking, the main exhibitions of the Biennale are not for sale. Organizing a good show in this way is different from (a bit interesting) the famous market, where few artists can go out. However, historically, this distinction is not always clear. According to the New York Times, the biennial itself was on sale until 1968, and the major conference includes a slate of venues for participating artists through 2019. And there are informal and formal events that seem to benefit from the flood of wealthy collectors in Venice. Is the Biennale called the "oligarch's showroom" by a critic? 

There are signs that buyers and sellers are paying attention to the growth of Giardini and Arsenal this year, which will affect demand across the market. The artistic title and title of this exhibition, taken from a book by Leonora Carrington, reflects the popularity of surrealism at the time. A painting by unknown Czech artist Tojen, included in 'The Milk of Dreams', sold for 1.5 million euros ($1.6 million), twice the highest price, during the first exclusive sale of Sotheby's recently in Paris. count. On the other hand, Victoria Miro will support the presence of Paula Rego in Alemani's exhibition, simultaneously presenting the work of a British Portuguese painter in a Venetian location. 

After all, the venue that represents Venice artists often contributes to the cost of their work, including everything from production to studio support to transportation. In this sense, how can the gallery maintain itself and the interests of the artist while preserving the commercial spirit of the biennale? 

In Paola Potena's opinion, the strict curator of the Venice Biennale stands out from other art forms. The Italian representative of this year's Biennale is the sculptor Gian Maria Tosatti.

 

The Galleria Continua is also supporting an exhibition by Ukrainian artist Zhanna Kadyrova. The Ukrainian word "Palianytsia" means rice. Food has taken over the pronunciation of Russians hard and has become a kind of regional code in Ukraine. Fiaschi said the show will be sold out and the proceeds will go to Ukrainian charities for women and children. 

Instead, Norr described this year's biennale as a rare escape from sales in the art world. "I don't think [Alemani's] vision has anything to do with the market," he said. “The opportunity to see great, international and group artists is less and less. I think we need it more than ever. " 

In Kerala, Subodh Gupta's artwork shows the Kettuvallam (boat)

In 2012, Bose Krishnamachari and Riyas Komu launched the Kochi Biennale with a noteworthy artwork by Subodh Gupta that included a gigantic Kerala kettuvallam (big boat used to transport rice) filled with containers, utensils, and things from everyday life. The sentence "What does the vessel contain that is not in the river" is taken from Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rum's "The Sufi Path of Love." The Arario Museum paid a substantial price to acquire the Kochi Biennale exhibition that was on show in Hauser & Wirth's Savile Row gallery in 2013. 

Another work by Subodh Gupta from the same year depicted a large Keralan fishing boat with nothing but black water pots hanging from and pouring out of it. In a conversation with me after the Kochi Biennale, Subodh said, "When I look at a pot or utensil, I am not presenting only the pot, but the narratives of the folks who used the pot or utensil." Uncountable stories of people's lives, worries, and joys can be found in a single discovered object. Subodh's pot has been used as a stand-in and a metaphor for a person's life for a long time. When it was on show in London, the traditional Keralan boat, which was over 20 meters wide in the middle when it was on display at the Kochi Biennale, covered the whole length of the gallery. 

It was crammed from bow to tail with seats, mattresses, window frames, fishing nets, plastic jars, cans, an ancient radio, cooking pots and pans, bags, and a bicycle, echoing the notion of the microcosm, the confinement of a whole cosmos within the human spirit (reflected in Rumi's poetry). According to Subodh, this boat was stuffed with goods and was like a microcosm of one person's entire life.

  

The boat for Subodh finally evolved into an extension of the greater paradigm of survival, sustenance, and livelihood. It was more than just a way to go around. A global symbol was featured in his 2012 Jal Mein Kumbh, Kumbh Mein Jal Hai boat installation. The hanging black pots served as a symbol of the harm that industrialization and globalization had done. 

The alluring brass black pots resembled Kabir's well-known ghat scene from "Is ghat mein saat samundar" in various ways. 

It wouldn't be unfair to claim that the tension between the container and the substance is a parable for a concern for the marginalized members of consumer society, especially for those who are economically thrown out and forced to survive on the leftovers of a feast they were not invited to. Subodh's ability to create a spectacle that speaks to every human eye that he looks at is what has made him successful as an installation artist over the years using the language of the ordinary. 

The two pieces offer viewers the choice of seeing them with skepticism or by looking more closely in order to discover the different layers of story that coexist and appear as a result of the use of objects as symbols of identity and memory. Then many stories are conveyed in everyday words. Kabir has long used literary allusions to inspire the titles of his installations, which span numerous oceans. 

According to Subodh Gupta, Kabir is a great mystic whose concept of the One connects all major religions. His couplets, recited by so many, have stood the test of time. These two Kerala boat installations, made by a poet who can recite Kabir's couplets off-hand, relate the container to the content as well as the living and the quality of life.