Early in the morning BFAs board a train from Milano to Venezia. In 2 hours, we find ourselves immediately enchanted by the Grand Canal that winds the perimeter and through a city with the magical charm of no other. As soon as we can, we make our way to the Arsenale Venue at the Venice Biennale with no idea we were about to encounter art so incredibly groundbreaking. Artists from 89 nations, including four (Ghana, Madagascar, Malaysia and Pakistan) participating for the first time, encompass the show’s title/theme May You Live in Interesting Times to perfection by the way of every media from painting and portraiture, to sculpture and installation, to video and film as well as conglomerations of all the above. Each artist puts up for investigation and critique the ways we live and reasons we live today. The most wonderful surprise was how diverse the show was, seemingly dominated by people of color, or at least the breathtaking quality of such artist’s works left this impression. In this show, each and every one of us saw ourselves, our struggles, our place in the world reflected back at us, like otherworldly mirrors.
Written by Margaret Groton
Photography by Lauren Peters