The Venice Biennale
- Thomas Kilpper, Pavilion for Revolutionary Free Speech, 2011. Photo: Thilo Frank
On June 4th the international group exhibition SPEECH MATTERS, which is the Danish contribution to the 54th Venice Biennale 2011, opened to the public. SPEECH MATTERS aims to provoke a considered debate and to complicate the issue of freedom of speech.
SPEECH MATTERS is curated by Katerina Gregos, who is a highly recognized international Greek-born curator based in Brussels. Gregos has been at the rear of the exhibition and she has been responsible for the overall exhibition concept as well as the designation of the exhibiting artists. Read the curator's bio.
Taking place in and around the Danish Pavilion SPEECH MATTERS features 18 international artists from 12 countries. Among these are the two Danish artists FOS and Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen. The visitors can expect a striking exhibition. Thirteen new art works have been commissioned for SPEECH MATTERS. The result is an exhibition full of surprises. Rather than telling one unified story the exhibition opens up for numerous and diverse ways to experience the exhibition. Read more about the Danish Pavilion.
- Tala Madani, Cake Silence, 2006. Photo: Panos Kokkinias
There are artists from countries where freedom of speech is still contested and under threat like China and Iran; artists from countries where there the issue is becoming increasingly contentious like the Netherlands, but also artists whose work has consistently engaged with the issue in one way or another. The artists come from different generations – the oldest artist was born in 1934, the youngest in 1981 – and work in diverse media: from photography, painting, and installation to cartoon and animation.
Read more about SPEECH MATTERS on the official website: www.danish-pavilion.org
The Artists
Agency (International, est. 1992), Ayreen Anastas & Rene Gabri (Palestine & Iran), Robert Crumb (USA, 1943), Stelios Faitakis (Greece, 1976), FOS (Denmark, 1971), Sharon Hayes (USA, 1970), Han Hoogerbrugge (the Netherlands, 1963), Mikhail Karikis (Greece, 1975), Thomas Kilpper (Germany, 1956), Runo Lagomarsino (Argentina/Sweden, 1977), Tala Madani (Iran, 1981), Wendelien van Oldenborgh (the Netherlands, 1962), Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen (Denmark, 1970), Taryn Simon (USA, 1975), Jan Svankmajer (Czech Republic, 1934), Johannes af Tavsheden, Tilman Wendland (Germany, 1969) and Zhang Dali (China, 1963).
- Stelios Faitakis, Imposition Symphony, 2011. Photo: Panos Kokkinias
The Commissioners
The Danish Arts Council's Committee for International Visual Art serves as Commissioner for the Danish Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, where Denmark has taken part since 1895. In compliance with its intention to consider Danish art in an international perspective, it is the aim of the Danish Arts Council's Committee for International Visual Art that the Danish Pavilion, through innovative artistic and curatorial practices, reflects upon the position of contemporary art in a globalized art world as well as the position of the Venice Biennale in this ever-changing art world.
The Danish Arts Council's Committee for International Visual Arts appointed Katerina Gregos as curator of the Danish Pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale in 2011. The Danish Arts Council's Committee for International Visual Art consists of Christine Buhl Andersen, (Chairman), Eva Koch, Mikael Andersen, Jakob Jakobsen and Gitte Ørskou (1 April 2007 - 31 March 2011). Rune Gade (Chairman), Jesper Elg, Mads Gamdrup, Lise Harlev and Anna Krogh (1 April 2011 - 31 March 2015).
