Tala Madani
Spring 2013 Artpace International Artist-in-Residence

1. Fischli & Weiss’s Suddenly This Overview was the most enchanting piece I saw at Venice. This piece is an ongoing work, around 200 clay sculptures playing with scenes of everyday banalities and turning them to acute philosophical questions and observations.

2. Maria Lassnig. This is good painting exemplified. The works presented here are from the series Body Awareness Paintings. incidentally, she won the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement.

3. The section curated by Cindy Sherman is filled with wonderful works. Not to be missed.

4. Yüksel Arslan, a Turkish outsider artist, grotesque works with pen and pencil on paper.

5. Lithuanian pavilion, an amazing space and a surprising level of adventurism and energy in this brilliant pavilion.

6. Guo Fengyi, a Chinese artist, pen on paper drawings, very meditative and filled with energy.

7. Sarah Sze. There is a brilliant moment when the outside and inside of the building collapse in Sarah Sze installation, not to be missed.

8. Mathias Poledna. This surprising piece from the Austrian Pavilion stands out for its unconventionality. There is a lot stated about the amount of work that went into the piece, which is not very interesting. But its sheer presence and humorous attitude is very well placed.

9. The Polish Pavilion, performative reenactment of art works from previous Venice Biennale. The economic reality of presenting a national pavilion is somehow captured by this very sparse piece.

10. Manet exhibition at Palazzo Ducale. Manet’s works are chronologically presented here giving a clear overview of his thinking and development. His influences are also exhibited here, you can see Titian’s Venus of Urbino next to Manet’s Olympia.