The Venice Biennale—the art world’s biggest annual celebration—opened last week, bringing together artists from around the globe to present their work across exhibitions, national pavilions, and performances.
At the 61st edition, Yale artists are prominently represented, with works from alumni featured throughout Venice.
Among the Yalies featured in this year’s biennale are Farah Al Qasimi ’12, ’17 MFA, Torkwase Dyson ’03 MFA, Michael Joo ’91 MFA (Visiting Critic in Sculpture at the Yale School of Art), Wangechi Mutu ’00 MFA, Nabil Nahas ’72 MFA, Tammy Nguyen ’13 MFA, Okwui Okpokwasili ’96, Hyeree Ro ’21 MFA, and Yo-E Ryou ’18 MFA.
The biennale runs May 9 through November 22, with the highly attended preview days that took place on May 6, May 7, and May 8.
The theme, In Minor Keys, conceptualized by late curator Koyo Kouoh, positions artists as chief interpreters of the societal and mental conditions that govern our reality and as agents of innovation. Kouoh writes that “the minor keys ask for listening that calls on the emotions and sustains them in return.”
To celebrate Yale’s alumni artists and visitors in attendance, the Yale Center for British Art, Yale School of Art, and the Yale Alumni Association hosted a reception on May 7, at the Hotel Monaco and Grand Canal. The reception featured exhibiting artist Nguyen in conversation with Martina Droth, Paul Mellon Director of the Yale Center for British Art, reflecting on Nguyen's work in the biennale exhibition In Minor Keys.
Nguyen, an assistant professor of art at Wesleyan, specializes in large scale paintings on paper that incorporate multiple techniques, from print-making to gold leaf. Nguyen also makes artist's books, prints and drawings, that extend her interest in narrative and the circulation of ideas. An art historian and curator, Droth is known for her work on sculpture and British art and has curated and published widely. Her exhibitions include Bill Brandt | Henry Moore (2020), shortlisted for the Paris Photo/Aperture Award; and most recently, the first North American museum exhibition of Tracey Emin’s paintings and a major retrospective of Hew Locke.
Here’s a closer look at the participating Yale artists:
Okwui Okpokwasili ’96 performed from May 5 to May 7 at the Teatro Goldoni. Presented by the Hartwig Art Foundation, Okpokwasili joined André Holland for Saidiya Hartman’s Minor Music at the End of the World, following its critically acclaimed world premiere in Amsterdam last October. Okpokwasili is a performer, choreographer, actress, and writer; her work combines performance and installation and examines sexuality, folklore, and advocacy. Because of her innovative work, Okpokwasili was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2018.
Nguyen, Dyson, Joo, Mutu, and Ryou are among the artists invited to the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia.
Torkwase Dyson ’03 MFA is the originator of Black compositional thought whose work encompasses Black liberation, Black geographies, and “industrialized white supremacist power.”
Michael Joo ’91 MFA is a visiting critic in sculpture at the Yale School of Art. Joo previously exhibited work in the 45th and 49th biennales. His work details the intersection of art and science and is the culmination of ontology, entropy, and epistemology.
Wangechi Mutu ’00 MFA is a painter and sculptor whose work explores themes of Black feminist theory, ecology, modernism, and collage.
Yo-E Ryou ’18 MFA is an artist who incorporates film, sound, performance, drawing, and installation into her work. Through her pieces, Ryou explores the role water plays in the transmission of ecological memory and knowledge.
Among the biennale’s national pavilions, Al Qasimi is representing the United Arab Emirates, Nahas is representing Lebanon, and Ro is representing Korea.
Farah Al Qasimi ’12, ’17 MFA is an artist, photographer, and performer. Her work reflects internationalized media, material culture, and modern society.
Nabil Nahas ’73 MFA participated in the 25th Bienal de São Paulo in Brazil in 2002 and the 54th Venice Biennale in 2011. Nahas marries nature and geometry into his work, often spilling over into the physical world through his use of three-dimensional forms in his paintings.
Hyeree Ro ’21 MFA is a sculptor and performer. Her work is interdisciplinary, often involving fractured speech, in an effort to translate her nomadic life experiences.
