The Australia Council for the Arts has announced that seven Australian artists have been selected to exhibit in the official curated program of the 2015 Venice Biennale.
Daniel Boyd, Emily Floyd, Marco Fusinato, Newell Harry, Sonia Leber and David Chesworth and the late Emily Kame Kngwarreye have each been chosen by internationally acclaimed curator and art critic Okwui Enwezor for the Biennale’s headline International Art Exhibition, All the World’s Futures.
The inclusion of these artists in the central exhibition, along with other exhibitions showing at the Biennale, means a record number of over 40 Australian artists will be showing works at this year’s Biennale.
“This is an incredible result, one that raises Australia’s international profile and demonstrates the quality of work coming from our visual arts sector,” said Mr Tony Grybowski, Chief Executive of the Australia Council for the Arts. “This international recognition highlights the global interest in Australian art, and marks an impressive year for Australian visual art and artists.”
Australian Commissioner Simon Mordant AM said “the Venice Biennale is the most prestigious event for contemporary visual arts globally. The 56th Venice Biennale is an important milestone for Australia, with Fiona Hall’s exhibition Wrong Way Time being the first exhibition presented in the new Australian Pavilion, opening not just a beautiful new building but a new chapter for Australian design and visual arts internationally.”
In 2014, the Australia Council for the Arts supported Okwui Enwezor’s visit to Australia during which he met with artists and visited key visual arts institutions in Sydney and Melbourne. Mr Grybowski said that the Australia Council was thrilled that Enwezor’s strong engagement with Australian art has culminated in seven artists receiving invitations to exhibit in the curated exhibition, which is the centrepiece of the Venice Biennale.
Australia’s presence at the Biennale will also extend to a further six venues around Venice including: more than 30 Australian Indigenous artists will present works in the exhibition COUNTRY – an official collateral exhibition in partnership with the Gervasuti Foundation, curated by Chiara Massini.
Six Australian artists have been invited to exhibit in the exhibition Personal Structures – a group exhibition presented by Global Art Affairs, while one Australian artist will present work in the group exhibition of glass works, titled Glasstress 2015 Gotiki – presented by The State Hermitage Museum and Berengo Studio.
The Australia Council for the Arts is delighted to support these artists exhibiting at the Venice Biennale through an extension of our public-private partnership. Each Biennale, Australian patrons proudly support Australia’s representation at the prestigious event, and this year their support will be extended to every Australian artist exhibiting in Venice.
The 2015 Venice Biennale runs 9 May – 22 November 2015. For more information, visit: www.australiacouncil.gov.au for details.
Image: Fiona Hall, Wrong Way Time 2012/15