The Venice Biennale opened on Thursday (local time) amid noise and instability resembling the creaking of an old oar rowed by an aging boatman. With the sudden death of its artistic director, Iran's declared boycott, restricted operation of the Russian Pavilion, the complete resignation of the jury panel, and the abolition of the Golden Lion award all coinciding, critics are calling it the most precarious launch in the event's 130-year history. The Biennale begins with Thursday's preview for press and art experts and runs for approximately six months until November 22.
Now in its 61st edition, the Venice Biennale appointed Cameroon-born curator Koyo Kouoh (1967-2025) as its first African female artistic director, but she died of cancer last year while preparing the exhibition. A curatorial advisory panel subsequently completed the exhibition, carrying forward the theme "In Minor Keys" that Kouoh had established. Borrowed from music, the concept of "minor key" encompasses emotions of sadness and melancholy while pointing to the non-mainstream and minorities, and also carries meanings of comfort, recovery, and transcendence. In an interview before her death, Kouoh explained, "I propose listening to the low frequencies, small voices, and sensory rhythms we miss amid the noise and confusion."
This edition of the Biennale faced difficulties from the outset. Earlier this year, the Biennale Foundation decided to quietly readmit Russia, which had effectively been excluded for four years following the invasion of Ukraine, sparking controversy. The European Commission responded by threatening to withdraw millions of dollars in funding provided to the Biennale Foundation and demanded a reconsideration of Russia's participation. Russia managed to open its national pavilion but decided not to admit general visitors, replacing the exhibition with video projections on the building's exterior. The Israeli Pavilion was also relocated from its permanent site to an external space. Iran recently officially announced its boycott of the Biennale. To make matters worse, as political controversies intensified, the entire jury panel resigned just before the opening. While the Venice Biennale has been canceled during world wars, disruption on this scale is unprecedented in its 130-year history. As a result, the Biennale decided to abolish the Golden Lion award traditionally announced on opening day, and instead created an "Audience Award" to be determined by general visitor voting on closing day.
This year's main exhibition features 111 participating teams, only about one-third of the 331 teams in 2024, which was the largest in history. More than 90 percent of participating artists are living, and more than half are mid-career—a composition that reportedly reflects the will of the late director Kouoh. Yoi, 39, is the only participant holding Korean nationality. She grew up in Seoul, studied visual design at the Rhode Island School of Design in the U.S., earned a master's degree at Yale University, worked in New York, and moved to Jeju in 2021. Through interactions with neighboring haenyeo (female divers), the artist explores the relationship between the sea and women, developing works that translate the breath-holding act of haenyeo into a language connecting labor, relationships, and survival. Korean-American artists Michael Joo, 60, and Gala Porras-Kim, 39, were also invited to the main exhibition.
The Venice Biennale consists of the main exhibition, national pavilion exhibitions, and external special exhibitions. The Korean Pavilion is led by artistic director Choi Binna, curator who co-directed the 2022 Singapore Biennale. Under the theme "Liberation Space: Fortress and Nest," the pavilion presents works by artists Choi Goen and Noh Hye-ri. Choi Goen's "Meridian" features copper pipes used for water systems penetrating the interior and exterior of the Korean Pavilion, suggesting circulation and healing. Noh Hye-ri fills the space with approximately 4,000 pieces of thin, stiff, translucent organza fabric to compose eight stations including mourning, memory, and prospect. In addition, Nobel laureate Han Kang presents an installation work titled "The Funeral," drawing attention. The work is based on a dream scene that served as the motif for her novel "We Do Not Part." Black sculptures resembling burned charcoal placed on a white snowfield symbolize the victims of the Jeju April 3 Incident. Farmer Kim Hu-ju, writer and singer Lang Lee, photographer Hwang Ye-ji, and artist Christian Nyampeta were invited as "fellows" to participate together.
In other national pavilion exhibitions, artist Choi Jae-eun participates as a collaborator in the Japan Pavilion, Cho Kuk-hyun was invited to the Tanzania Pavilion, and Hong Eun-joo was invited to perform at the opening of the Taiwan Pavilion.
As an officially approved collateral exhibition by the Biennale Foundation, Lee Ufan's solo exhibition "Aesthetics of Relations" is being held at the San Marco Art Centre. Exhibitions by the recently deceased master Georg Baselitz and Marina Abramović, famous for performance art, are also anticipated. A solo exhibition of Shim Moon-seup, known as the sculptor of nature and time, is held at Ca' Pagano, while the pavilion of Bulgari, the Biennale's jewelry brand partner, hosts an exhibition by Korean-Canadian artist Lotus Kang.
