“The Milk of Dreams” – The 59th International Art Biennale in Venice.
The Milk of Dreams includes the work of 213 artists from 58 countries and focuses on three themes that weave through the Central Pavilion and the Arsenale: the representation of bodies and their metamorphoses; the relationship between individuals and technologies; and the connection between bodies and the Earth.
The curator of Biennale, Cecilia Alemani, became with idea of “The Milk of Dreams”, which 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 Leonora 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.
“As the first Italian woman to hold this position, I intend to give voice to artists to create unique projects that reflect their visions and our society”, Cecilia Alemani has declared.
The Exhibition is anchored by five historical “time capsules”. Bringing together artworks and objects from different regions and movements, from the 19th century on, these sections provide additional tools of investigation and insight into its key themes. By featuring women artists and cultural practitioners whose work has been left on the fringes of male-centric histories, they serve as a starting point for critical reflection, tracing alternate genealogies and affinities linking past and present.
Roberto Cicutto, President of La Biennale di Venezia, said: “I try to put myself in the shoes of Cecilia Alemani, Curator of the 59th International Art Exhibition. For almost two years we met virtually because of Pandemia, framed by a computer screen, and it is through that same screen that Cecilia has visited hundreds of artists’ workshops and studios around the world, poring over paintings, sculptures, videos, installations and examples of performance art that must have given her a very different view from the one she would have experienced in the flesh.”
The 59th International Art Exhibition runs from 23 April to 27 November 2022 (pre-opening on 20, 21 and 22 April).
19th of April 2022
By Anna Gav
La Biennale di Venezia