The 59th International Art Exhibition, “The Milk of Dreams””, curated by Cecilia Alemani, will open to the public from April 23rd until November 27th, 2022.
“The Milk of Dreams” takes its title from a book by Leonora Carrington (1917–2011), in which the Surrealist artist describes a magical world where life is constantly re-envisioned through the prism of the imagination.
The exhibition “The Milk of Dreams” takes Carrington’s otherworldly creatures, along with other figures of transformation, as companions on an imaginary journey through the metamorphoses of bodies and definitions of the human.
This exhibition is grounded in many conversations with artists held in the last few years. The questions that kept emerging from these dialogues seem to capture this moment in history when the very survival of the species is threatened, but also to sum up many other inquiries that pervade the sciences, arts, and myths of our time. How is the definition of the human changing? What constitutes life, and what differentiates plant and animal, human and non-human? What are our responsibilities towards the planet, other people, and other life forms? And what would life look like without us?
These are some of the guiding questions for this edition of the Biennale Arte, which focuses on three thematic areas in particular: the representation of bodies and their metamorphoses; the relationship between individuals and technologies; the connection between bodies and the Earth.
Many contemporary artists are imagining a post-human condition, questioning the modern and Western vision of the human being as the center of the universe and as the measure of all things. As a contrast, they create worlds made of new alliances between different species, inhabited by permeable, hybrid and multiple beings, such as the fantastic creatures invented by Carrington. Under the pressure of increasingly invasive technologies, the boundaries between bodies and objects have been completely transformed, imposing profound mutations that reshape new forms of subjectivity and new anatomies.
The International Exhibition will be divided between the Central Pavilion, the Giardini and the Arsenale, and will host 213 artists from 58 countries:
1. Noor Abuarafeh
1986, Jerusalem. Based in Gerusalemme and Maastricht, Netherlands
2. Carla Accardi
1924, Trapani, Italy – 2014, Rome, Italy
3. Igshaan Adams
1982, Cape Town. Based in Cape Town, South Africa
4. Eileen Agar
1899, Buenos Aires, Argentina – 1991, London, UK
5. Monira Al Qadiri
1983, Dakar, Senegal. Based in Berlin, Germany
6. Sophia Al-Maria*
1983, Tacoma, USA. Based in London, UK
7. Özlem Altın
1977, Goch, Germania. Based in Berlin, Germany
8. Marina Apollonio
1940, Trieste, Italy. Based in Padua, Italy
9. Gertrud Arndt
1903, Ratibor (Racibórz), German Empire (now Poland) – 2000, Darmstadt, Germany
10. Ruth Asawa
1926, Norwalk, USA – 2013, San Francisco, USA
11. Shuvinai Ashoona
1961, Kinngait. Based in Kinngait, Nunavut
12. Belkis Ayón
1967 – 1999, Havana, Cuba
13. Firelei Báez
1981, Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic. Based in New York City, USA
14. Felipe Baeza
1987, Guanajuato, Mexico. Based in New York City, USA
15. Josephine Baker
1906, Saint Louis, USA – 1975, Paris, Frane
16. Djuna Barnes
1892 – 1982, New York City, USA
17. Mária Bartuszová
1936, Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic) – 1996, Košice, Slovakia
18. Benedetta
1897, Rome, Italy – 1977, Venice, Italy
19. Mirella Bentivoglio
1922, Klagenfurt, Austria – 2017, Rome, Italy
In collaboration with Annalisa Alloatti
1926 – 2000, Turin, Italy
20. Merikokeb Berhanu
1977, Addis Abeba, Ethiopia. Based in Silver Spring, USA
21. Tomaso Binga
1931, Salerno, Italy. Based in Rome, Italy
22. Cosima von Bonin
1962, Mombasa, Kenya. Based in Cologne, Germany
23. Louise Bonnet
1970, Geneva, Switzerland. Based in Los Angeles, USA
24. Marianne Brandt
1893, Chemnitz, Germany – 1983, Kirchberg, Germany
25. Kerstin Brätsch
1979, Hamburg, Germany. Based in New York City, USA and Berlin, Germany
26. Dora Budor
1984, Zagabria, Croatia. Based in New York City, USA
27. Eglė Budvytytė
1981, Kaunas, Lithuania. Based in Vilnius, Lithuania and Amsterdam, Netherland
In collaboration with Marija Olšauskaitė and Julija Steponaitytė
1989, Vilnius. Based in Vilnius, Lithuania and New York City, USA; 1992, Vilnius. Based in Vilnius, Lithuania and Amsterdam, Netherland
28. Liv Bugge
1974, Oslo. Based in Oslo, Norway
29. Simnikiwe Buhlungu*
1995, Johannesburg. Based in Johannesburg, South Africa and Amsterdam, Paesi Netherlands
30. Miriam Cahn
1949, Basel, Switzerland. Based in Stampa, Switzerland
31. Claude Cahun
1894, Nantes, France – 1954, Saint Helier, Jersey, UK
32. Elaine Cameron-Weir
1985, Red Deer, Canada. Based in New York City, USA
33. Milly Canavero
1920 – 2010, Genova, Italy
34. Leonora Carrington
1917, Clayton-le-Woods, UK – 2011, Mexico City, Mexico
35. Regina Cassolo Bracchi
1894, Mede, Italy – 1974, Milan, Italy
36. Ambra Castagnetti*
1993, Genova, Italy. Based in Milano, Italy
37. Giulia Cenci
1988, Cortona. Based in Cortona, Italy and Amsterdam, Netherlands
38. Giannina Censi
1913, Milan, Italy – 1995, Voghera, Italy
39. Gabriel Chaile
1985, San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina. Based in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Lisbon, Portugal
40. Ali Cherri
1976, Beirut, Lebanon. Based in Paris, France
41. Anna Coleman Ladd
1878, Bryn Mawr, USA – 1939, Santa Barbara, USA
42. Ithell Colquhoun
1906, Shillong, India – 1988, Lamorna, UK
43. Myrlande Constant
1968, Port-au-Prince. Based in Port-au-Prince, Haiti
44. June Crespo
1982, Pamplona, Spain. Based in Bilbao, Spain
45. Dadamaino
1930 – 2004, Milan, Italy
46. Noah Davis
1983, Seattle, USA – 2015, Ojai, USA
47. Lenora de Barros
1953, Sao Paulo. Based in Sao Paulo, Brazil
48. Valentine de Saint-Point
1875, Lyon, France – 1953, Cairo, Egypt
49. Lise Deharme
1898, Paris, France – 1980, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
50. Sonia Delaunay
1885, Odessa, Russian Empire (now Ukraine) – 1979, Paris, France
51. Agnes Denes
1931, Budapest, Hungary. Based in New York City, USA
52. Maya Deren
1917, Kiev, Ukraine – 1961, New York City, USA
53. Lucia Di Luciano
1933, Siracusa, Italy. Based in Formello, Italy
54. Ibrahim El-Salahi
1930, Omdurman, Sudan. Based in Oxford, UK
55. Sara Enrico
1979, Biella, Italy. Based in Turin, Italy
56. Chiara Enzo
1989, Venice. Based in Venice, Italy
57. Andro Eradze*
1993, Tbilisi. Based in Tbilisi, Georgia
58. Jaider Esbell
1979, Normandia, Brazil – 2021, São Sebastião, Brazil
59. Jana Euler
1982, Friedberg, Germany. Based in Frankfurt, Germany and Brussel, Belgium
60. Minnie Evans
1892, Long Creek, USA – 1987, Wilmington, USA
61. Alexandra Exter
1882, Białystok, Russian Empire (now Polond) – 1949, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France
62. Jadé Fadojutimi
1993, London. Based in London, UK
63. Jes Fan
1990, Scarborough, Canada. Based in New York City, USA and Hong Kong
64. Safia Farhat
1924 – 2004, Radès, Tunisia
65. Simone Fattal
1942, Damasco, Syria. Based in Paris and Erquy, France
66. Célestin Faustin
1948, Lafond, Haiti – 1981, Pétion-Ville, Haiti
67. Leonor Fini
1907, Buenos Aires, Argentina – 1996, Paris, France
68. Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven
1874, Swinemünde (Świnoujście), German Empire (now Polond) – 1927, Paris, France
69. Katharina Fritsch
1956, Essen, Germany. Based in Wuppertal and Düsseldorf, Germany
70. Ilse Garnier
1927, Kaiserslautern, Germany – 2020, Saisseval, France
71. Aage Gaup
1943, Børselv, Sápmi/northern Norway – 2021, Karasjok, Sápmi/northern Norway
72. Linda Gazzera
1890, Rome, Italy – 1942, Sao Paulo, Brazil
73. Ficre Ghebreyesus
1962, Asmara, Eritrea – 2012, New Haven, USA
74. Elisa Giardina Papa
1979, Medicina, Italy. Based in New York City, USA and Palermo, Italy
75. Roberto Gil de Montes
1950, Guadalajara, Mexico. Based in La Peñita de Jaltemba, Mexico
76. Nan Goldin
1953, Washington, D.C., USA. Based in New York City, USA
77. Jane Graverol
1905, Ixelles, Belgium – 1984, Fontainebleau, France
78. Laura Grisi
1939, Rhodes, Greece – 2017, Rome, Italy
79. Karla Grosch
1904, Weimar, Germany – 1933, Tel Aviv, Mandatory Palestine (now Israel)
80. Robert Grosvenor
1937, New York City, USA. Based in East Patchogue, USA
81. Aneta Grzeszykowska
1974, Warsaw. Based in Warsaw, Poland
82. Sheroanawe Hakihiiwe
1971, Sheroana, Venezuela. Based in Mahekototeri and Caracas, Venezuela
83. Florence Henri
1893, New York City, USA – 1982, Compiègne, France
84. Lynn Hershman Leeson
1941, Cleveland, USA. Based in San Francisco, USA
85. Charline von Heyl
1960, Mainz, Germania. Based in New York City and Marfa, USA
86. Hannah Höch
1889, Gotha, Germany – 1978, Berlin, Germany
87. Jessie Homer French
1940, New York City, USA. Based in Mountain Center, USA
88. Rebecca Horn
1944, Michelstadt, Germany. Based in Odenwald, Germany
89. Georgiana Houghton
1814, Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain – 1884, London, UK
90. Sheree Hovsepian
1974, Esfahan, Iran. Based in New York City, USA
91. Tishan Hsu
1951, Boston, USA. Based in New York City, USA
92. Marguerite Humeau
1986, Cholet, France. Based in Lonon, UK
93. Jacqueline Humphries
1960, New Orleans, USA. Based in New York City, USA
94. Kudzanai-Violet Hwami*
1993, Gutu, Zimbabwe. Based in London, UK
95. Tatsuo Ikeda
1928, Saga, Japan – 2020, Tokyo, Japan
96. Saodat Ismailova
1981, Tashkent. Based in Tashkent, Uzbekistan and Paris, France
97. Aletta Jacobs
1854, Sappemeer, Netherlands – 1929, Baarn, Netherlands
98. Geumhyung Jeong
1980, Seoul. Based in Seoul, South Korea
99. Charlotte Johannesson
1943, Malmö, Sweden. Based in Skanör, Sweden
100. Loïs Mailou Jones
1905, Boston, USA – 1998, Washington, D.C., USA
101. Jamian Juliano-Villani
1987, Newark, USA. Based in New York City, USA
102. Birgit Jürgenssen
1949 – 2003, Vienna, Austria
103. Ida Kar
1908, Tambov, Russia – 1974, London, UK
104. Allison Katz
1980, Montréal, Canada. Based in London, UK
105. Bronwyn Katz
1993, Kimberley, South Africa. Based in Johannesburg, South Africa
106. Kapwani Kiwanga
1978, Hamilton, Canada. Based in Paris, France
107. Kiki Kogelnik
1935, Graz, Austria – 1997, Vienna, Austria
108. Barbara Kruger
1945, Newark, USA. Based in Los Angeles, USA
109. Tetsumi Kudo
1935, Osaka, Japan – 1990, Tokyo, Japan
110. Gabrielle L’Hirondelle Hill
1979, Comox, Canada. Based in the uncontested First Nations territories Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh
111. Louise Lawler
1947, Bronxville, USA. Based in New York City, USA
112. Carolyn Lazard
1987, Upland, USA. Based in New York City e Philadelphia, USA
113. Mire Lee
1988, Seoul, South Korea. Based in Amsterdam, Netherlands
114. Simone Leigh
1967, Chicago, USA. Based in New York City, USA
115. Hannah Levy
1991, New York City. Based in New York City, USA
116. Tau Lewis
1993, Toronto, Canada. Based in New York City, USA
117. Shuang Li
1990, Monti Wuyi, China. Based in Berlin, Germany and Geneva, Switzerland
118. Liliane Lijn
1939, New York City, USA. Based in London, UK
119. Candice Lin
1979, Concord, USA. Based in Los Angeles, USA
120. Mina Loy
1882, London, UK – 1966, Aspen, USA
121. Antoinette Lubaki
1895, Bukama, Free State of Congo (attuale Democratic Republic of Congo) – ?
122. LuYang
1984, Shanghai. Based in Shanghai, China
123. Zhenya Machneva
1988, Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia. Based in St. Petersburg, Russia
124. Baya Mahieddine
1931, Fort de l’Eau (now Bordj El Kiffan), Algeria – 1998, Blida, Algeria
125. Maruja Mallo
1902, Viveiro, Spain – 1995, Madrid, Spain
126. Joyce Mansour
1928, Bowden, UK – 1986, Paris, France
127. Britta Marakatt-Labba
1951, Idivuoma, Sápmi/northern Sweden. Based in Övre Soppero, Sápmi/northern Sweden
128. Diego Marcon
1985, Busto Arsizio, Italy. Based in Milan, Italy
129. Sidsel Meineche Hansen
1981, Ry, Denmark. Based in London, UK
130. Maria Sibylla Merian
1647, Frankfurt am Main, Free Imperial City of the Holy Roman Empire (now Germany) – 1717, Amsterdam, Dutch Republic (now Netherlands)
131. Vera Molnár
1924, Budapest, Hungary. Based in Paris, France
132. Delcy Morelos
1967, Tierralta, Colombia. Based in Bogotà, Colombia
133. Sister Gertrude Morgan
1900, LaFayette, USA – 1980, New Orleans, USA
134. Sandra Mujinga
1989, Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo. Based in Oslo, Norway and Berlin, Germany
135. Mrinalini Mukherjee
1949, Bombay (now Mumbai), India – 2015, New Delhi, India
136. Nadja
1902, Saint-André-lez-Lille, France – 1941, Bailleul, France
137. Louise Nevelson
1899, Perejaslav, Poltava Governorate of the Russian Empire (now Ukraine) – 1988, New York City, USA
138. Amy Nimr
1898, Cairo, Egypt – 1974, Paris, France
139. Magdalene Odundo
1950, Nairobi, Kenya. Based in Farnham, UK
140. Precious Okoyomon
1993, London, UK. Based in New York City, USA
141. Meret Oppenheim
1913, Berlin, Germany – 1985, Basel, Switzerland
142. Ovartaci
1894, Ebeltoft, Denmark – 1985, Risskov, Denmark
143. Virginia Overton
1971, Nashville, USA. Based in New York City, USA
144. Akosua Adoma Owusu
1984, Alexandria, USA. Based in New York City and Cambridge, USA
145. Prabhakar Pachpute
1986, Sasti, India. Based in Pune, India
146. Eusapia Palladino
1854, Minervino Murge, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (anowItalia) – 1918, Naples, Italy
147. Violeta Parra
1917, San Fabián de Alico, Chile – 1967, Santiago, Chile
148. Rosana Paulino
1967, Sao Paulo. Based in Sao Paulo, Brazil
149. Valentine Penrose
1898, Mont-de-Marsan, France – 1978, Chiddingly, UK
150. Elle Pérez
1989, New York City. Based in New York City, USA
151. Sondra Perry
1986, Perth Amboy, USA. Based in Newark, USA
152. Solange Pessoa
1961, Ferros, Brazil. Based in Belo Horizonte, Brazil
153. Thao Nguyen Phan
1987, Ho Chi Minh. Based in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
154. Julia Phillips
1985, Hamburg, Germany. Based in Chicago, USA and Berlin, Germany
155. Joanna Piotrowska
1985, Warsaw. Based in Warsaw, Poland and London, UK
156. Alexandra Pirici
1982, Bucharest. Based in Bucharest, Romania
157. Anu Põder
1947, Kanepi, Estonia – 2013, Tallinn, Estonia
158. Gisèle Prassinos
1920, Constantinople (now Istanbul), Ottoman Empire (now Turkey) – 2015, Paris, France
159. Christina Quarles
1985, Chicago, USA. Based in Los Angeles, USA
160. Rachilde
1860, Cros, France – 1953, Paris, France
161. Janis Rafa
1984, Athens. Based in Athens, Greece and Amsterdam, Netherlands
162. Alice Rahon
1904, Chenecey-Buillon, France – 1987, Mexico City, Mexico
163. Carol Rama
1918 – 2015, Turin, Italy
164. Paula Rego
1935, Lisbon, Portugal. Based in London, UK
165. Edith Rimmington
1902, Leicester, UK – 1986, Bexhill-on-Sea, UK
166. Enif Robert
1886, Prato, Italy – 1974, Bologna, Italy
167. Luiz Roque
1979, Cachoeira do Sul, Brazil. Based in Sao Paulo, Brazil
168. Rosa Rosà
1884, Vienna, Austria – 1978, Rome, Italy
169. Niki de Saint Phalle
1930, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France – 2002, La Jolla, USA
170. Giovanna Sandri
1923 – 2002, Rome, Italy
171. Pinaree Sanpitak
1961, Bangkok. Based in Bangkok, Thailand
172. Aki Sasamoto
1980, Kanagawa, Japan. Based in New York City, USA
173. Augusta Savage
1892, Green Cove Springs, USA – 1962, New York City, USA
174. Lavinia Schulz e Walter Holdt
1896, Lübben (Spreewald), Germany – 1924, Hamburg, Germany 1899 – 1924, Hamburg, Germany
175. Lillian Schwartz
1927, Cincinnati, USA. Based in New York City, USA
176. Amy Sillman
1955, Detroit, USA. Based in New York City, USA
177. Elias Sime
1968, Addis Abeba. Based in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia
178. Marianna Simnett
1986, London, UK. Based in Berlin, Germany
179. Hélène Smith
1861, Martigny, Switzerland – 1929, Geneva, Switzerland
180. Sable Elyse Smith
1986, Los Angeles, USA. Based in New York City, USA
181. Teresa Solar
1985, Madrid. Based in Madrid, Spain
182. Mary Ellen Solt
1920, Gilmore City, USA – 2007, Santa Clarita, USA
183. P. Staff
1987, Bognor Regis, UK. Based in London, UK and Los Angeles, USA
184. Sophie Taeuber-Arp
1889, Davos, Switzerland – 1943, Zurich, Switzerland
185. Toshiko Takaezu
1922, Pepeekeo, USA – 2011, Honolulu, USA
186. Emma Talbot
1969, Stourbridge, UK. Based in London, UK
187. Dorothea Tanning
1910, Galesburg, USA – 2012, New York City, USA
188. Bridget Tichenor
1917, Paris, France – 1990, Mexico City, Mexico
189. Tecla Tofano
1927, Naples, Italy – 1995, Caracas, Venezuela
190. Josefa Tolrà
1880 – 1959, Cabrils, Spain
191. Tourmaline
1983, Boston, USA. Based in New York City, USA
192. Toyen
1902, Praha, Austro-Hungaric Empire (now Czech Republic) – 1980, Paris, France
193. Rosemarie Trockel
1952, Schwerte, Germany. Based in Berlin, Germany
194. Wu Tsang
1982, Worcester, USA. Based in Zurich, Switzerland
195. Kaari Upson
1970, San Bernardino, USA – 2021, New York City, USA
196. Andra Ursuţa
1979, Salonta, Romania. Based in New York City, USA
197. Grazia Varisco
1937, Milan. Based in Milano, Italy
198. Remedios Varo
1908, Anglès, Spain – 1963, Mexico City, Mexico
199. Sandra Vásquez de la Horra
1967, Viña del Mar, Chile. Based in Berlin, Germany
200. Marie Vassilieff
1884, Smolensk, Russia – 1957, Nogent-sur-Marne, France
201. Cecilia Vicuña
1948, Santiago, Chile. Based in New York City, USA
202. Nanda Vigo
1936 – 2020, Milan, Italy
203. Marianne Vitale
1973, East Rockaway, USA. Based in New York City, USA
204. Raphaela Vogel
1988, Norimberga, Germany. Based in Berlin, Germany
205. Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller
1877, Philadelphia, USA – 1968, Framingham, USA
206. Laura Wheeler Waring
1887, Hartford, USA – 1948, Philadelphia, USA
207. Ulla Wiggen
1942, Stockholm. Based in Stockholm, Sweden
208. Mary Wigman
1886, Hannover, Germany – 1973, Berlin, Germany
209. Müge Yilmaz
1985, Istanbul, Turkey. Based in Amsterdam, Netherlands
210. Frantz Zéphirin
1968, Cap-Haïtien, Haiti. Based in Port-au-Prince, Haiti
211. Zheng Bo
1974, Pechino, China. Based in Lantau Island, Hong Kong
212. Unica Zürn
1916, Berlin, Germany – 1970, Paris, France
213. Portia Zvavahera
1985, Harare. Based in Harare, Zimbabwe