New curatorial team:
Maurizio Cattelan, Massimiliano Gioni,
Ali Subotnick
4th berlin biennial for contemporary art
press@berlinbiennale.de
www.berlinbiennale.de
Image by David Shrigley
In 1998, together with Nancy Spector and Hans Ulrich Obrist, Klaus Biesenbach curated the 1st berlin biennial for contemporary art. Following the success of the 1st berlin biennial, Saskia Bos realized the 2nd berlin biennial in 2001 and Ute Meta Bauer the 3rd berlin biennial in 2004. Since its foundation, this forum for international, contemporary artistic positions has received extremely positive responses and represents a high point in the city’s art life, both regionally and nationally.
In keeping with this pioneering role, a committee composed of Susanne Altmann, art historian and editor, Dresden, Yilmaz Dziewior, Director Kunstverein Hamburg, Ulrike Groos, Director Kunsthalle Duesseldorf, Kathrin Rhomberg, Director Koelnischer Kunstverein and Eva Schmidt, Director Museum fuer Gegenwartskunst Siegen, has selected the team of Maurizio Cattelan, Massimiliano Gioni and Ali Subotnick to curate the fourth edition of the berlin biennial, scheduled to open in March 2006.
“For the first time, the berlin biennial will be directed by a group composed of an artist, a curator and an editor, mixing strategies, ideas and talents to bring new exciting impulses to the berlin biennial,” says berlin biennial Founding Director Klaus Biesenbach.
Together, Cattelan, Gioni and Subotnick have already collaborated on a number of endeavors that have dispersed artworks in unexpected locations, trying to give contemporary art a new street credibility. Since 2001, they have been running the no-profit space The Wrong Gallery, a miniscule exhibition venue located in Chelsea, New York’s main gallery district. Together they also edit the visual arts publication series Charley, and contribute a monthly column, “El Topo”, to Domus magazine. At the same time, they each pursue individual projects and activities: Maurizio Cattelan’s works and his participation in international exhibitions since the early 90s has made him one of the world’s most widely discussed contemporary artists; Massimiliano Gioni directs the Trussardi Foundation in Milan and recently co-curated Manifesta 5 in San Sebastian and “Monument to Now” in Athens; Ali Subotnick is a freelance writer, editor and curator and a visiting critic at the School of the Arts at Columbia University.
With its financial support guaranteed for five years, the German Federal Cultural Foundation designated several “Beacons of Contemporary Art” in December 2003, which represent the entire spectrum of contemporary art in an extraordinary manner. Among the supported projects is the berlin biennial, which has received 2.5 million Euro from the Federal Cultural Foundation for the 4th berlin biennial. The decision to provide this support has given the planners of the berlin biennial a sense of security and will enable them to truly focus on content and communicative aspects. Consequently, the berlin biennial has undergone a restructuring process. In the future, KW Institute for Contemporary Art will not only be a venue and partner but the main organizer of the berlin biennial.
As with the 3rd berlin biennial, the main locations of the 4th berlin biennial will be the KW Institute for Contemporary Art and the Martin-Gropius-Bau.
There will be a press conference in early 2005 where the curators will explain initial concepts and plans for the berlin biennial.
If you have questions or require further information please do not hesitate to contact us. More information concerning the exhibition will be available at www.berlinbiennale.de
Contact:
press@berlinbiennale.de
The berlin biennial is funded by the German Federal Cultural Foundation
Managing Director
Gabriele Horn
Founding Director
Klaus Biesenbach
Founding Chairman
Eberhard Mayntz
