The Venice Biennial
The Venice Biennial 2009
For the 53rd International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, the Danish and Nordic Pavilions are hosting ‘The Collectors’, a single exhibition curated and staged by artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset.
Elmgreen & Dragset has transformed the Danish and Nordic Pavilions into domestic environments where the audience is invited as guests. Dining rooms, bedrooms, furniture, fireplaces, a stained glass skylight and the artworks nestled within the households, reveal the uncanny stories of fictional inhabitants, with their obsessive characters and diverse lifestyles.
The public is guided on a tour by a real estate agent through a “For Sale” Danish Pavilion, and is told the story of the family dramas that used to haunt this house. The neighbouring Nordic Pavilion has been turned into a flamboyant bachelor’s pad. Here the audience experiences not only the collection of contemporary artworks and design from the mysterious Mr. B., but also his collection of ex-lovers’ used swimwear. As the title ‘The Collectors’ indicates, the exhibition will approach the topic of collecting, and the psychology behind the practice of expressing oneself through physical objects.
Together the Danish Arts Council and the Nordic Committee have appointed Michael Elmgreen (DK, b. 1961) & Ingar Dragset (N, b. 1969) artist-curators of the two pavilions. The exhibition marks a first time collaboration in the history of the Biennial between the Danish Pavilion and the Nordic Pavilion.
As artist-curators Elmgreen & Dragset have created the overall conceptual framework for the exhibition and have invited more than 20 international artists to contribute to the show.
The 53rd International Art Exhibition in Venice takes place from June 7th through November 22nd 2009.
The opening of the exhibition “The Collectors” in the Danish Pavilion and the Nordic Pavilion took place on Thursday June 4th at 3 pm.
At the official opening of the 53rd International Art Exhibition the international biennial jury assigned Special Mention to Elmgreen & Dragset for curating “The Collectors”.
Please visit the project website: www.danish-nordic-pavilions.com for further information about the Danish-Norwegian contribution to the Venice Biennial 2009.
Read more about the official awards of the 53rd International Art Exhibition
