A Walk Through The Art. Arsenale, Venice Biennale

NOV 24, 2013– The Venice Biennale closes its 55th edition today. Here’s a photographic walk-through of the Arsenale, with exhibition views of the space and many of the most interesting contemporary artworks.

The 55th International Art Exhibition Il Palazzo Enciclopedico (The Encyclopedic Palace) was organized by the Venice Biennale, chaired by Paolo Baratta, and curated by Massimiliano Gioni at the Giardini and Arsenale in Venice. The show is currently the most visited art exhibition in Italy.
The title was chosen by curator Massimiliano Gioni, who presented this year’s theme by evoking the Italo-American self-taught artist Marino Auriti who “on November 16, 1955 filed a design with the US Patent office depicting his Palazzo Enciclopedico (The Encyclopedic Palace), an imaginary museum that was meant to house all worldly knowledge, bringing together the greatest discoveries of the human race, from the wheel to the satellite. Auriti’s plan was never carried out, of course, but the dream of universal, all-embracing knowledge crops up throughout history, as one that eccentrics like Auriti share with many other artists, writers, scientists, and prophets who have tried – often in vain – to fashion an image of the world that will capture its infinite variety and richness.”

All photographs by Matilde Soligno