Artwork of Subodh Gupta

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What the Venice Biennale Means for Galleries
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After a slightly longer than usual wait, its
nearly time for the art worlds glitterati to
descend upon the canals of Venice, in search of
the finest contemporary art to experience and,
for some, perhaps, to collect. For now, many
details about the main show, The Milk of
Dreams, organized by High Line chief curator
Cecilia Alemani, as well as some of the highly
anticipated national pavilions, are still under
wraps. But in advance of this contemporary art
extravaganza, galleries have been working hard
behind the scenes, supporting their artists in
presenting their work on one of the most
high-profile international stages. Works in the
main show at the Biennale are technically, of
course, not for sale. In this sense, the
carefully curated exhibition stands in contrast
to the (somewhat more drab) halls of a top-tier
art fair, where many of the same artists could be
on show. Historically, however, this distinction
wasnt always so clear. As the New York
Times noted, until 2019, the main show had labels
naming the galleries representing the artists
included, and the Biennale itself ran a sales
office until 1968. And then there are the
collateral events, official and unofficial, that
appear to capitalize upon the influx of
art-collecting wealth in Venice Who could
forget Damien Hirsts Palazzo Grassi mega-show
Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable,
which opened to coincide with the 2017 Biennale,
described by one critic as a showroom for
oligarchs?
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Already this year, there are signs that dealers
and auction houses are keeping a close eye on
plans at the Giardini and Arsenale, which will
undoubtedly affect interest across the market.
Surrealism, highlighted in the main exhibitions
artist list and title (taken from a book
from Leonora Carrington), is having a moment
Sothebys just hosted its first-ever Paris sale
dedicated to the movement, including a painting
by the lesser-known Czech painter Toyen, who is
included in The Milk of Dreams (it sold for
1.5 million 1.6 million, double its high
estimate). Victoria Miro, meanwhile, will
complement Paula Regos inclusion in Alemanis
exhibition by concurrently opening a show of
works by the Portuguese British painter in its
Venice space. After all, galleries who represent
artists showing in Venice are often involved in
financing the work, from fabrication, to studio
assistants, to transport. With this in mind, how
do galleries manage their own, and artists,
interests while also adhering to the Biennales
spirit of a market-neutral gathering?
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According to Paola Potena, director at
Milans Galleria Lia Rummawhose installation
artist Gian Maria Tosatti is representing Italy
at the Biennale this yearthe curatorial rigor of
the Venice Biennale is what sets it apart from
other art events. This neutrality generates a
special attentiontowards all the artistic
projects presented and therefore also an increase
from a commercial point of view, she said.
Potena noted that part of the gallerys support
of Tosatti had come in the form of fundraising
for the work he will present at the Italian
pavilion through a network of collectors and
sponsors. For Potena, this is a natural part of
how the Biennale comes to fruition As long as
the curatorial choices of public events are
independent, I dont see any friction if private
supporters intervene to help projects. They all
work toward the same goal that of promoting art
and artists. Almost all of the galleries I spoke
to for this piece emphasized the difference
between sales events like art fairs and the
rigorous, independent curation of the Biennale.
You cant compare an art fair, where people are
asking the price, to the Biennale wheremost of
the time, people are smelling, eating, drinking
art, said Kamel Mennour, rather poetically. In
a fair, people are really consuming art.
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Mennours Paris- and London-based gallery is
helping to produce two national pavilionsZineb
Sediras works for the French Pavilion and Latifa
Echakhch for the Swissas well as two collateral
exhibitionsUgo Rondinones burn shine fly, and
a two-venue exhibition of Anish Kapoor at
Gallerie dellAccademia di Venezia and Palazzo
Manfrin. Even so, Mennour noted that gallerists
were still having conversations about sales
during the Biennale, though the boost was mostly
in works not on show in Venice. Most of the time
its not works in the events, he said. People
come to the pavilion and they ask about works we
have in the gallery.
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Of course, some artworks shown at the Biennale
are placed in collections ahead of time. For
example, New York gallery Luhring
Augustine recently began representing Allison
Katz, who will be showing a series of five
paintings in the Biennales main show. Several of
these have already been placed into museum,
private, and public collections, said Donald
Johnson-Montenegro, partner at the gallery. Its
a major year for Katz, who has just closed a
critically acclaimed show at the Camden Art
Centre, and Venice will be a new chance for her
work to be seen in a major international context.
The Biennale is on for an extended amount of
time, which means that people are able to return
to it and really spend time with the work, like a
museum exhibition, Johnson-Montenegro said. For
artists, Venice is an unparalleled opportunity to
make a mark. Sometimes artists need some huge
space to realize their dreams, said Lorenzo
Fiaschi, co-founder of Galleria Continua.
Alongside its artist Jonathas de Andrade, who is
showing in the Brazilian national pavilion, the
gallery is supporting a range of collateral
events, including an installation at Fondaco dei
Tedeschi of the late Franco-Moroccan artist Leila
Alaoui, and the monumental installation Cooking
the World (2017) by Subodh Gupta, in the garden
at the Belmond Cipriani Hotel. Though Alaouis
works are not for sale, Fiaschi said that Guptas
huge, house-shaped installation made of hanging,
used aluminum cooking utensils was available for
interested parties If a museum or someone
wanted to buy it, why not?
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Galleria Continua is also supporting a show by
the Ukrainian artist Zhanna Kadyrova, named
Palianytsia, the Ukrainian word for bread,
which has become a sort of local password in
Ukraine, due to invading Russians difficulty in
pronouncing it. Works from this show will be on
sale, Fiaschi said, with proceeds going to
Ukrainian charities for women and children. For
Argentine gallery Barro, which represents Gabriel
Chaile (whose work is also part of the main
exhibition), the Biennale is a crucial place to
meet curators and museum directors, in person,
explained the gallerys director Nahuel Ortiz
Vidal Buenos Aires is too far away from the
U.S. or Europe, where the mainstream happens. In
this social sense, it was similar to art fairs
like Frieze or Art Basel, he explained.
Biennials, art fairs its always a mix, he
said, nodding to the potential crossover in these
models. Take Art Basels Statements sector, where
Chaile was included in 2019 That was a solo
project and he was selected for it, so sometimes,
a good solo project can work like a biennial for
a young artist, Vidal said.
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But does this crossover have more to do with the
ambitions of art fairs, than any commercial
elements of the Biennale? David Norr, a partner
at James Cohan, which represents Firelei
Báez and Elias Sime, both included in the main
exhibition, said there was no comparison between
the two. But it speaks to the success of how art
fairs have kind of infiltrated the consciousness
of our audiences, for anyone to think that they
are curated events, or cultural events, he
said. Instead, Norr characterized this years
Biennale as a rare escape from the sales
opportunities the art world was so adept at
providing. I dont think Alemanis vision has
anything to do with the market, he said. Its
increasingly rare that we have the opportunity to
see major, international, curated group
exhibitions. I think we need it more than ever.
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