Curator and Artists of Russian Federation Pavilion at Biennale Retire, Prompting Closure

 

The Pavilion of the Russian Federation at the 59th International Art Exhibition in Venice, which was supposed to showcase an exhibition called "914" curated by Raimundas Malasauskas and featuring the work of artists Kirill Savchenkov and Alexandra Sukhareva, will no longer be realized. Malasauskas and the artists resigned due to the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia, with the curator posting on Instagram that "We cannot talk about transitions or transformations, neither today nor tomorrow".

The Ukrainian Pavilion, curated by Lizaveta German, Maira Lanko, and Borys Filonenko and featuring the work of artist Pavlo Makov, has also been impacted by the conflict. The team released a press statement suspending preparations for the exhibition, which was set to include Makov's kinetic sculpture, the Fountain of Exhaustion. 

The sculpture, which Makov has been developing since the 1990s, is a multiple-level construction of funnels that split into two and exhaust water flow. It is a symbolic representation of the depletion of resources, social media fatigue, and exhaustion from wars, and has never been executed as a working fountain.

The curators of the Ukrainian Pavilion chose to focus on reflection and introspection, rather than flashy installations and digital solutions. They hope that the project will represent Ukraine worthily at the exhibition and resonate with everyone's heart. The Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, Olexandr Tkachenko, has also expressed his confidence in the project's ability to bring sensitive issues to the fore.

La Biennale di Venezia has expressed its solidarity with the decision made by Malasauskas and the artists of the Russian Pavilion, stating that the organization "condemns all those who use violence to prevent dialogue and peace." The organization believes that the Biennale remains a place where people can meet in art and culture, despite the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

It is unfortunate that the conflict has impacted the exhibition, as art has the ability to shed light on pressing issues and bring them to the forefront of public discourse. However, the decision made by Malasauskas and the artists of the Russian Pavilion, as well as the suspension of preparations for the Ukrainian Pavilion, highlights the gravity of the situation and the need for peace and dialogue to resolve it.

 

Cover photo: ©Marco Cappelletti