The Venice Biennale is an international
art biennial exhibition held in
Venice, Italy. Often described as "the Olympics of the
art world", the Biennale is a prestigious event for contemporary artists known for propelling career visibility. The festival has become a constellation of shows: a central exhibition curated by that year's artistic director,
national pavilions hosted by individual nations, and independent exhibitions throughout Venice. The Biennale parent organization also hosts regular festivals in other arts: architecture, dance, film, music, and theater.[1]
Outside of the central, international exhibition, individual nations produce their own shows, known as pavilions, as their national representation. Nations that own their pavilion buildings, such as the 30 housed on the
Giardini, are responsible for their own upkeep and construction costs as well. Nations without dedicated buildings create pavilions in venues throughout the city.[1]
Organization and building
The British pavilion was designed by the architect
Edwin Alfred Rickards and built in 1909 on the site of an older building, a café-restaurant constructed in 1887. The pavilion's design invokes 18th-century,
Italianate-style, English country houses.[2]
Since 1937 the
British Council has been responsible for the pavilion.[3] Financial support for the pavilion comes from a combination of public funds, via the British Council, and private sponsors, including
Burberry. The decision of art fair and magazine brand
Frieze to sponsor the British pavilion in 2024 marks the first time that an art fair has provided funding for a national pavilion at the Biennale.[4]
1984 — Works by
Howard Hodgkin. 'Arte allo Specchio' exhibition with works by
Peter Greenaway and Christopher Le Brun. 'Arte, Ambiente, Scena' exhibition with works by
Judy Pfaff. 'Aperto 84' exhibition with works by
Terry Atkinson,
Helen Chadwick,
Rose Garrard, Glenys Johnson, Paul Richards, Amikam Toren, and Kerry Treng.
1988 —
Tony Cragg (Commissioner: Henry Meyric Hughes). 'Aperto 88' exhibition with works by Tony Bevan, Hannah Collins,
Grenville Davey,
Andy Goldsworthy, Simon Linke, Peter Nadin, and Thoms William Puckey. 'Scultori ai Giardini' exhibition with works by Lynn Chadwick, Anthony Core,
Philip King, and Joe Tilson.
Volpi, Cristiana (2013). "Great Britain". In Re Rebaudengo, Adele (ed.). Pavilions and Garden of Venice Biennale. Rome: Contrasto. p. 167.
ISBN978-88-6965-440-4.
Further reading
Berresford, Sandra; Bowness, Sophie; Phillpot, Clive (1995). Britain at the Venice Biennale 1895–1995. London: The British Council.
ISBN978-0-86355-283-0.
OCLC901079578.
Jachec, Nancy (2006). "The 'New British Sculpture' at the Venice Biennale: Europeanism and its limits". The British Art Journal. 7 (1): 25–32.
JSTOR41614662.