It is the world’s biggest contemporary art event and it transforms the city of Venice into a Mecca for curators, artists and art pilgrims who traverse the globe to be part of this international spectacle.
This year’s Venice Biennale unlocks several milestones for Philippine art as the country joins the Art Biennale for the second time since its return in 2015 after a 51-year hiatus. It presents The Spectre of Comparison curated by Joselina Cruz, that features the works of Filipino artists Lani Maestro and Manuel Ocampo.
The world of contemporary art will unveil to the public its newest array of artistic work this week at the “2017 Venice Art Biennale” in Italy, with two internationally-acclaimed Filipino artists Lani Maestro and Manuel Ocampo making doubly sure that the Philippines is amply represented.
Senator Loren Legarda, the visionary and prime mover of the country’s return to the global art exhibition in 2015, after a 51-year hiatus, said that Filipino voices were “amplified with each participation at the Venice Biennale.”
As the Philippines returns to the Venice Art Biennale in Italy, our national pavilion will be at the Arsenale, one of the main exhibition spaces. It will open May 13 and run through Nov. 26.
Arsenale, one of Europe’s largest shipyards during medieval times, has been re-purposed to hold Venice’s art and architecture biennales.
The centuries of colonial rule and the decades of continuing diaspora have shaped the Filipino identity—a point of discussion in The Spectre of Comparison, the Philippine Pavilion for the 57th International Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia.
The 57th International Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia titled VIVA ARTE VIVA curated by Christine Macel focuses on art and artists and the Philippine Pavilion responds to this call, said Senator Loren Legarda.
