Biennale Gherdëina. The 7th edition is about to begin in the heart of the Dolomites

At Ortisei/Val Gardena (South Tyrol), UNESCO world heritage site, the art biennale will take place from August 8 until October 20.

  • Ginevra Bria
  • 29 July 2020
  • Zënza Sëida VFG, Pontives 8, IT-39046 Ortisei, BZ

The 2020 edition of the Biennale Gherdëina, entitled "– a breath? a name? – the ways of worldmaking", is encompassing themes such as the meaning of belonging, community, responsibility, care and humility. The art exhibition is curated by Adam Budak, who was also responsible for the last two editions, "From Here to Eternity" (2016) and "Writing the Mountains" (2018). This year he will conclude his trilogy, again with contents that embrace the unique nature, culture and history of this Dolomite valley through contemporary artworks in public spaces. 

The previously featured thematic fields relate to the significance of the cultural legacy, the research of historical strategic positioning, the praise of the communal, the omnipresence of the nature and its “industry” - will receive a social and political framing with no ignorance to the poetic, the spiritual and the existential, thus further unfolding the complexity of the vernacular language with an attention paid to the continuity and perseverance of tradition, its necessary rewriting and undoing as well as its transformative potential.

Three chapters on sociology of an encounter and the politics of the plural will constitute the core of „the ways of worldmaking“: ecology of others - on reinvigorating the relationality (following Philippe Descola’s reflection upon the nature-culture binary), in praise of hands - on the craft of touch (enhanced by Henri Focillon’s dream of art’s autonomy within the domains of materials, techniques and signs) and the cloud of possible - on dissemination of enthusiasm and the power of differentiation (referring to Maurizio Lazzarato’s shift from capital-labour to capital-life).

Jiri Prihoda, Diogenes’ Barrel (Poetry Pavilion), 2014-18, from Biennale Gherdëina VI. Wood, plywood, Corralit, concrete foundation. 732 x 495 x 650 cm. Courtesy of the artist
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The notions of responsibility and humility connect all three chapters in an attempt to define the agencies of responsiveness and care, the main challenges in the active process of worldmaking. From Agnieszka Brzeżanska (POL), to Pavel Büchler (CZE/UK), to Habima Fuchs (CZE), Petrit Halilaj e Alvaro Urbano (RKS - ES), including Paolo Icaro (ITA), Kris Lemsalu (EST), Sharon Lockhart (USA), Paulina Ołowska (POL), Pakui Hardware (LIT), Maria Papadimitriou (GR), Marinella Senatore (ITA) and Paloma Varga Weisz (GER), 34 different artists are going topay a perfect homage to unfold the complexity of the vernacular language with an attention paid to the continuity and perseverance of tradition, its necessary rewrit-ing and undoing as well as its transformative potential.

Alicja Kwade, Absorption (Dolomite), 2018. Dolomite stone, aluminium, bronze patinated, powder coated steel. 250 x 290 cm. Courtesy of the artist and König Galerie, Berlin/London. Ph. Simon Perathoner.

In this period of uncertainty, expectation and change, this landscape Biennale could offer an important social contribution. By organising the seventh edition of the Biennale Gherdëina, sending a positive signal of hope. Contemporary art is a key element in a constantly evolving culture in relationship with environmental variables and factors.

  • Biennale Gherdëina 2020
  • From August 8 to October 20, 2020
  • Adam Budak
  • Zënza Sëida VFG
  • Pontives 8, IT-39046 Ortisei, BZ
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