60th Venice Biennale: National Pavilions

Taking its cue from the Biennale’s title Foreigners Everywhere, some European nation-state pavilions feature artists from different nations while others tackle themes of migration. This included the Peruvian artist Sandra Gamarra representing Spain, and Brazilian-Swiss artist Guerreiro do Divino Amor representing Switzerland with the help of Ventura Profana.

Wed 8 May, 2024

Guerreiro do Divino Amor’s Super Superior Civilizations exhibition is divided into two parts, the Miracle of Helvetia, featuring Ventura Profana and Roma Talismano featuring Castiel Vitorino. The show tackles crucial political issues, such as the handling of power and collective imagination by the media, the financial system, and religion, in the form of an opera and 360-degree video, always with plenty of humor and references to telenovelas and pop culture and internet aesthetics.

Guerreiro do Divino Amor, Super Superior Civilizations, Swiss Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale Foreigners Everywhere. Photo: C&AL

In Pinacoteca Migrante (Migrant Art Gallery), Sandra Gamarra Heshiki’s paintings are based on her research on works that belong to the national Spanish art collections from colonial times to the Enlightenment. Each piece investigates the absence of decolonial narratives within museums, revealing the biased representations of colonizers and the colonized.

Sandra Gamarra Heshiki, Pinacoteca Migrante, Spanish Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale Foreigners Everywhere. Photo: C&AL

Sandra's pieces investigate the absence of decolonial narratives within museums, revealing the biased representations of colonizers and the colonized.

Sandra Gamarra Heshiki, Pinacoteca Migrante, Spanish Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale Foreigners Everywhere. Photo: C&AL

Entitled Traces: on the body and on the land, the Panama pavilion features works by Brooke Alfaro, Isabel De Obaldía, Cisco Merel, and Giana De Dier, four Panamanian artists who reflect on the enduring traces of migration, specifically the crossing of the Darien Gap, one the most dangerous natural borders in the world situated between Panama and Colombia.

Brooke Alfaro, Traces: on the body and on the land, the Panama Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale Foreigners Everywhere. Photo: C&AL

Cisco Merel, Traces: on the body and on the land, the Panama Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale Foreigners Everywhere. Photo: C&AL

Giana De Dier, Traces: on the body and on the land, the Panama Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale Foreigners Everywhere. Photo: C&AL.

Isabel De Obaldía, Traces: on the body and on the land, the Panama Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale Foreigners Everywhere. Photo: C&AL

Brazil was renamed Hãhãwpuá Pavilion after one of the indigenous names for that territory before European invasion. Represented by artist and activist Glicéria Tupinambá, the exhibition features installations, sculptures, and video to tell stories of indigenous resistance and to chart the artist’s long fight for the return of the Mantels that belong to the Tupinambá Community of Serra do Padeiro and Olivença, from colonial institutions across the world.

Glicéria Tupinambá, Hãhãwpuá Pavilion (Brazil) at the 60th Venice Biennale Foreigners Everywhere. Photo: C&AL

60th Venice Biennale 
April 20 to November 24 Summer opening hours: 11 am – 7 pm (from 20 April to 30 September)
Until 30 September, Arsenale venue only: on Fridays and Saturdays extended opening until 8pm.
Autumn opening hours: 10 am – 6 pm (from 1 October to 24 November)
Closed on Mondays (except 22 April, 17 June, 22 July, 2 and 30 September, 18 November)