Atelier Luxembourg
The Venice Biennale Projects 1988–2011
13 October 2012–24 February 2013
Mudam Luxembourg
Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean
3, Park Dräi Eechelen, L-1499 Luxembourg
Hours:
Wednesday–Friday 11–8pm,
Saturday–Monday 11–6pm
T +352 45 37 85 1
info [at] mudam.lu
For The Venice Biennale Projects exhibition, Mudam Luxembourg has reconstructed the Grand Duchy’s entries to the Venice Biennale from 1988 to 2011.
After the country’s first appearance at the international art exhibition in 1956, it would take over three decades for Luxembourg to return to the lagoon city. In 1988, artists Patricia Lippert and Moritz Ney kicked off what has since become a fascinating series of attempts to draw attention to the work of artists from a country with a relatively unknown art scene.
From occupying a small room at the Padiglione Italia to having its own pavilion, Luxembourg has burst onto the international art scene through its young, contemporary artists, garnering increasing acclaim for their work.
An important step in the process was Bert Theis’s 1995 project Potemkin Lock, as he installed a temporary structure in the midst of the exhibition’s permanent national pavilions in the Giardini, giving Luxembourg an unprecedented visibility and opening the door to an international career for the artist.
Then, with Chewing and Folding in Venice, Simone Decker inaugurated in 1999 what became Luxembourg’s permanent pavilion, the Ca’ del Duca, situated at the Canal Grande, where artist Su-Mei Tse won the Golden Lion for best national participation in 2003 with her installation air conditioned.
Historical perspectives
In an effort of intricate research and reconstruction, Mudam has put on display the 12 Biennale projects from Luxembourg with original canvases, sculptures, videos, installations and exhibition documents. Museum director and curator Enrico Lunghi spoke of reinstallation, reconstruction or reinterpretation of the works, not least because they have had to be adapted to fit their new venue.
Still, by working in close collaboration with the artists, Mudam has brought all projects together in one building, forming a journey of discovery of Luxembourg contemporary art through the years and bringing a little bit of Venetian flair to the museum.
The exhibition contains video interviews with artists (with English subtitles), documents such as photographs and sketches, a chronicle of the history of the Venice Biennale projects, and it is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue featuring original texts and statements by the curators.
1990: Marie-Paule Feiereisen
1993: Jean-Marie Biwer, Bertand Ney
1995: Bert Theis
1997: Luc Wolf
1999: Simone Decker
2001: Doris Drescher
2003: Su-Mei Tse
2005: Antoine Prum
2007: Jill Mercedes
2009: Gast Bouschet & Nadine Hilbert
2011: Martine Feipel & Jean Bechameil
Catalogue / DVD
Atelier Luxembourg – The Venice Biennale Projects 1988-2011
Published by Mudam Luxembourg.
English / French.
156 pages, DVD: 115′.
ISBN 978-2-919923-10-6.
Orders at boutique [at] mudam.lu
Press contact
presse [at] mudam.lu / T +352 45 37 85 633
This exhibition is part of the framework of Atelier Luxembourg, an initiative including several exhibitions and projects focused on artistic creativity in Luxembourg since 1945, developed in partnership with Casino Luxembourg – Forum d’art contemporain, the Centre national de l’audiovisuel (Dudelange), the Musée d’histoire de la Ville de Luxembourg, the Musée national d’histoire et d’art and Villa Vauban – Musée d’art de la Ville de Luxembourg.
