Page 10 - The 61.Venice Biennial issue of WOA Contemporary Art magazine

Biennale Arte 2026 LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 21st century demands profound culture, deep cognitive
synthesis, innovative craftsmanship, and an authentic
61ST INTERNATIONAL ART EXHIBITION
IN MINOR KEYS
mastery of materials and concepts. We need the artistic
imagination to act as a crucible where human intuition,
philosophical depth, and technological acceleration collide
to create entirely new visual languages.
Artificial Intelligence is no longer a peripheral tool; it
is a central agent that challenges the very definitions
of authorship, originality, and creative agency. True
experimental artists are currently collaborating with
algorithms, training neural networks on private archival
logic, and engineering immersive, multi-sensory
environments that fundamentally alter human perception.
ÈRIC BAUDELAIRE. DEATH PASSED MY WAY AND STUCK THIS FLOWER IN MY MOUTH,
2026 AUDIOVISUAL INSTALLATION: THIS FLOWER IN MY MOUTH FIVE-CHANNEL
VIDEO WITH SIX-CHANNEL AUDIO 25 MIN 25 SEC. PHOTO BY LUCA ZAMBELLI BAIS. Yet, walk through the recent editions of the Venice
61ST INTERNATIONAL ART EXHIBITION – LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA, IN MINOR KEYS.
COURTESY LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA. Biennale, and what do you find? An aggressive, almost
Luddite retreat into the primitive. Instead of engaging with
the new technological, cognitive, and aesthetic paradigms,
the Biennale’s curators have retreat into a primitive,
manual, non conceptual artistic language and amateurism,
AVI MOGRABI. BETWEEN A RIVER AND A SEA, 2026 FIVE-CHANNEL VIDEO
INSTALLATION, SOUND 30 MIN 22 SEC. PHOTO BY LUCA ZAMBELLI BAIS. 61ST a defensive gesture against cultural and intellectual
INTERNATIONAL ART EXHIBITION – LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA, IN MINOR KEYS. progress. They present uninspired installations, unfinished
COURTESY LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA.
crafts, and literal political manifestos that lack any formal
or aesthetic transformation. They are fighting yesterday's
battles with yesterday's expired tools, completely blind to
the profound cognitive and technological shifts of our time.

IV. DISSECTING THE GUEST LIST: A CRITIQUE OF
THE CURATORIAL SELECTIONS:
When looking closely at the official list of invited artists
from the recent editions, the curatorial failure becomes
specific and measurable. The selection criteria have
clearly drifted away from artistic excellence and toward
sociological representation. While inclusivity is a valid
societal goal, using it as a substitute for professional
capability and creative innovation destroys the very fabric
DAN LIE. EPHEMERAL TEMPLE FOR DECAYING BEINGS, 2026 FLOWERS, ROPE, TEXTILE. of an international art event.
PHOTO BY LUCA ZAMBELLI BAIS. 61ST INTERNATIONAL ART EXHIBITION – LA BIENNALE
DI VENEZIA, IN MINOR KEYS. COURTESY LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA.
Let us evaluate the structural types of artists currently
dominating the Biennale's invitation lists, noting both the
severe weaknesses and the rare, positive exceptions that
prove the rule:
THE SOCIO-POLITICAL PAMPHLETEERS
ARTISTS WHOSE WORK RELIES ENTIRELY ON WALL TEXTS,
WHOSE INSTALLATIONS COLLAPSE WITHOUT EXPLANATORY
NARRATIVES, AND WHOSE OUTPUT RESEMBLES ACTIVISM
RATHER THAN ART.
A massive portion of the invited list consists of individuals
whose work relies entirely on the accompanying wall
text. Without the explanatory press release detailing their

8 WORLD of ART