São Paulo Biennial, 2010. Curatorial visions from the 29th edition

The title chosen for the 29th Bienal de São Paulo “There is always a cup of sea to sail in” - a quote borrowed from the Brazilian poet Jorge de Lima’s major work Invenção de Orfeu (1952) – singularly epitomizes what the forthcoming Bienal de São Paulo edition seeks to achieve: to assert that the utopian dimension of art is contained within itself, not without it or beyond it. It is in the “cup of sea” – or in this near infinite where artists insist on producing their works in – that in fact lies the power to move forward, despite everything else. As Jorge de Lima’s poem goes “the power to sail on even without ships / even without waves and sand.” The choice of this organizing principle for the 29th Bienal de São Paulo curatorial project rests on two major reasons. Firstly, because we live in a world of diverse conflicts, where sociability paradigms are being constantly challenged and on which art stands as a privileged means of understanding and, at the same time, reinventing reality. Secondly, the movement towards bringing art and politics closer together has been so intense in the past two decades that again emphasis should be placed on the uniqueness of the former over the latter, as they are very often confounded to the point of indistinctness. As a space where this commitment resonates in many different ways, the 29th Bienal exhibition will put visitors in touch with ways of thinking and inhabiting the world that go beyond the consensus that organizes it and make it a small place to live, where not everything or everyone fits in. The 29th Bienal will bring visitors in touch with the politics of art. Therefore, it is the 29th Bienal de São Paulo’s intention to be at once a celebration of art making and an assertion of its responsibility before life; a moment of disconcerting the senses while generating knowledge that is nowhere else. For this reason, it intends to instill its audience with the sensitive experience that emerges from the mesh of displayed works and their ability to critically reflect the world in which they are inscribed. In short, to provide examples of how art weaves a politics that is deeply entrenched into it.The 29th Bienal de São Paulo is curated by Moacir dos Anjos and Agnaldo Farias and by a team of guest curators from various backgrounds who contribute their experience to the curatorial project, so that its reach and density are on par with the international vocation of the Bienal de São Paulo at its very inception. And they are: Fernando Alvim (Angola), Rina Carvajal (Venezuela / USA), Yuko Hasegawa (Japan), Sarat Maharaj (South Africa / UK), and Chus Martinez (Spain). According to Universes in Universe, Dos Anjos and Farias look at art as a field of knowledge that can teach us about something in the world that cannot be talked about in any other way, changing the way we see the world. In this sense, it’s relevant to recovering the aspect of experimentation as a political factor. And beside the activist, conceptual approaches there will be works of manifest tangibility and poetical materiality. The curators confessed that they are always keen on inserting some sort of literary references. The art sector has developed a language of its own that appears very hermetic to people who do not belong to it, and beyond that, the concepts are often applied mechanically. "We therefore believe in the poetical word as an important key for perception." The exhibition will unfold six issues relating to political thought and action through art within a unique and integrated curatorial space. Each of the issues that order conceptual groupings in space will have an ambient art project to be developed for activation and public use within a program of corresponding events. These projects can occupy a maximum area of 120 m2 and are denominated “terreiros”, spaces that refer to the squares, terraces, temples, yards, open-air or enclosed areas, where throughout Brazil people dance, fight, play music and games, cry, talk, or ritualize the country’s hybrid religiousness. In addition to serving as places for rest and reflection before continuing through the Biennial, they will be used for a variety of activities, such as speeches, film and video screenings, performances, and readings. The discussions that guide, and therefore denominate, the conceptual surroundings of each of these terreiros, are: The skin of the invisible, Said, unsaid, forbidden, I am the street, Remembrance and oblivion, Far away, right here, and The other, the same.

The participating artist The 29th Biennial de São Paulo exhibition will display works of art by approximately 145 artists from all over the world. The so-called national representations - a typical trait of the Biennial de São Paulo until recently - have been abolished as they no longer convey the complex network of migrations and cultural flows that characterize modern life. However, it is important for the 29th Biennial de São Paulo to emphasize the place and time in which it is organized: from Brazil and from a time of rapid geopolitical reorganization of the world. The curatorial project is not exhausted in the presentation of an articulated set of works of art, even though they are clearly its core. The 29th São Paulo Biennial is already expanding into different areas through its educational program, discursive activities, art residencies, and website. It proposes to be a multi-faceted project in which art is a means to get to know and change the world in a unique manner. 1. 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Lygia Pape / Brazil / Brazil / 1927 - 200490. Manfred Pernice / Germany / Germany / 196391. Manon de Boer / India / Belgium and Netherlands / 196692. Marcelo Silveira / Brazil / Brazil / 196293. Marcius Galan / USA / Brazil / 197294. Maria Thereza Alves / Brazil / Germany / 196195. Marilá Dardot and Fábio Morais / Brazil / Brazil / 1973 and 197596. Mário Garcia Torres / Mexico / Mexico / 197597. Marlene Dumas / South Africa / Netherlands / 195398. Marta Minujin / Argentina / Argentina / 194399. Mateo López / Colombia / Colombia / 1978100. Matheus Rocha Pitta / Brazil / Brazil / 1980101. Miguel Angel Rojas / Colombia / Colombia / 1946102. Miguel Rio Branco / Spain / Brazil / 1946103. Milton Machado / Brazil / Brazil / 1947104. Mira Schendel / Switzerland / 1919 -1988105. Moshekwa Langa / South Africa / Netherlands / 1975106. Nan Goldin / USA / USA and France / 1953107. Nelson Leirner / Brazil / Brazil / 1932108. NS Harsha / India / India / 1969109. Nuno Ramos / Brazil / Brazil / 1960110. Oscar Bony / Argentina / 1941-2002111. Oswaldo Goeldi / Brazil / 1895 –1961112. Otobong Nkanga / Nigeria / France and Belgium / 1974113. Otolith Group / England / England / 2000114. Palle Nielsen / Denmark / Denmark / 1942115. Paulo Bruscky / Brazil / Brazil / 1949116. Pedro Barateiro / Portugal / Portugal / 1979117. Pedro Costa / Portugal / Portugal / 1959118. Pixação SP / Brazil / Brazil119. Qiu Anxiong China / China / 1972120. Raqs Media Colective / India / India / 1992121. Rex Time / Brazil / Brazil / 1966122. Roberto Jacoby / Argentina / Argentina / 1944123. Rochele Costi / Brazil / Brazil / 1961124. Rodrigo Andrade / Brazil / Brazil / 1962125. Ronald Duarte / Brazil / Brazil / 1963126. Rosangela Rennó / Brazil / Brazil / 1962127. Runa Islam / Bangladesh / England /1970128. Sandra Gamarra / Peru / Spain / 1972129. Sara Ramo / Spain / Brazil / 1975130. Simon Fujiwara / England / Germany / 1982131. Sophie Ristelhueber / France / France / 1949132. Steve McQueen / England / England and Netherlands / 1969133. Sue Tompkins / England / Scotland / 1971134. Superstudio / Italy / 1966135. Susan Philipsz / Scotland / Germany / 1965136. Tacita Dean / England / Germany / 1965137. Tamar Guimarães / Brazil / Denmark138. Tatiana Blass / Brazil / Brazil / 1979139. Tatiana Trouvé / Italy / France / 1968140. Tobias Putrih / Slovenia / USA / 1972141. UNStudio / Netherlands / 1998142. Wendelien van Oldenborgh / Netherlands / Netherlands / 1962143. Wilfredo Prieto / Cuba / Spain / 1978144. Yael Bartana / Israel / Israel and Netherlands / 1970145. Yoel Vazquez / Cuba / Germany / 1973146. Yonamine Miguel / Angola / Portugal / 1975147. Yto Barrada / France / Morroco / 1971148. Zanele Muholi / South Africa / South Africa / 1972