Adriano Pedrosa

The 60th International Art Exhibition, curated by Adriano Pedrosa, which will be held from April 20th to November 24th 2024 in Venice, is titled Foreigners Everywhere. The exhibition takes its name from a series of artworks made in 2004 by the Claire Fontaine collective, and will be, as the Curator himself explained, "a celebration of the foreign, the distant, the outsider, the queer, as well as the indigenous". It "will focus on artists who are themselves foreigners, immigrants, expatriates, diasporic, émigrés, exiled, and refugees — especially those who have moved between the Global South and the Global North" (Adriano Pedrosa). The catalogue, published by Edizioni La Biennale di Venezia, is as always printed in two volumes, and follows the exhibition route to accompany visitors and art lovers through the exhibition spaces of the Giardini and the Arsenale. It also presents the other projects on display in various locations around the city of Venice and at Forte Marghera, in Mestre. Volume I of the catalogue is dedicated to the International Exhibition, curated by Adriano Pedrosa. The first pages of the book open with two short introductions by President Pietrangelo Buttafuoco and President Roberto Cicutto, followed by an interview with Adriano Pedrosa by Julieta Gonzàlez. Part one of the book is dedicated to the critical essays and a number of “Conversations”, including interviews with Anna Maria Maiolino and Nil Yalter, Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement of the Biennale Arte 2024, and one with the Claire Fontaine collective. Part two is dedicated to the presentation of the artists on exhibit and is divided into two main sections: Nucleo Storico and Nucleo Contemporaneo. The catalogue includes essays by Jaider Esbell, Kobena Mercer, Luce Delire, Naine Terena, Ranajit Guha, Ticio Escobar and Walter Mignolo. Each artist is introduced by a critical essay that explores their work and is illustrated with a rich iconographic apparatus. The book ends with a detailed listing of the artworks on display. The National Participations and the Collateral Events participating in the 60th International Art Exhibition are gathered in Volume II, and are presented by texts illustrated with images that explore the works on exhibit in the Pavilions, the Giardini and the Arsenale, and the collateral events located in various venues throughout Venice. The graphic identity and design of the Biennale Arte 2024 publications is by: Estudio Campo (Paula Tinoco, Roderico Souza, Carolina Aboarrage), San Paolo.

Leonilson emerged as a seminal figure of the Brazilian contemporary art world during the 80s. Leonilson travelled extensively throughout Europe, and his paintings, drawings, and installations were featured in solo and group shows in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, in addition to many exhibitions held in Brazil. In 1991, the artist tested positive for HIV. This diagnosis compelled a decisive shift in his career, as Leonilson began to develop his intimate embroideries, a practice he continued until his death in 1993 at the age of 36. Drawn: 1975-1993 will be the first comprehensive retrospective of Leonilson’s work in Europe and will present over 150 works produced between 1975 and 1993. The comprehensive catalogue will include essays by Lisette Lagnado, Ivo Mesquita, Adriano Pedrosa and Krist Gruijthuijsen, as well as interviews with Leonilson, Jan Fjeld and Edoardo Brandao.