De Florence Biënnale is de grootste internationale tentoonstelling van hedendaagse kunst ter wereld. Waar tweejaarlijks ruim 700 kunstenaars uit ruim 80 verschillende landen voor worden geselecteerd. De Florence Biennale werd in 2001 benoemd tot officiële partner van de VN in het programma "dialoog tussen beschavingen".
Wilma Veen exhibith at the Florence Biennale
3/11 Dicembre Fortezza de Basso Firanze
650 artisti contemporanei / 84 nazioni rappesentate / piu di 2500 opere esposte - Florence Biennale / 7th Edizione
The seventh edition of the Biennale Internazionale d'Arte Contemporanea in Florence has ended with great success of visiting public on the 13th of December last year at the Fortezza da Basso.
With over 650 artists from 78 countries, the Biennial has presented over 2500 works in this edition. A lot of clamor was caused the participation of one of the best performers in the world: Marina Abramovic, whom was awarded the Career Achievement Award "Lorenzo Il Magnifico". There was also an exhibition dedicated to her videos within the Biennale; Abramovic has read for the first time ever, her Artist’s Manifesto, sparking the enthusiasm of those
present and generating huge interest on the national and international media including CNN, which dedicated a service to the whole event. The Career Achievement Award "Lorenzo Il Magnifico," which in previous years has been assigned to Gilbert & George, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Richard Anuszkiewicz, David Hockney, Mario Luzi, Alfredo Zalce, Carla Fracci and Ferruccio Soleri, was also given to Shu Yong, world-renowned Chinese artist who has exhibited some paintings from his series "Chinese
Myths" and a video that has not failed to hit the audience with exciting images and a strong provocative sense. Further to the meetings with the two main guests, the Biennale offered visitors an extraordinary range of art forms (painting, sculpture, digital art, photography, installations), thanks to the selection process done by a highly prestigious International Scientific Committee and assisted by the artistic direction of Stefano Francolini. Among the awarded artists: Reinder Ourensma (first prize in the painting category), Emilie Cummings (first prize for sculpture), İsmail Acar (first prize for works on paper), Lu Jun (first prize for photography), Yone de Alerigi
(first prize for installation) and Seema Kohli (first prize in the video category). Among the other artists who have received official recognition during the award ceremony, the performer Christian Beck (city of Florence Prize for the Arno projections and inside the Fortezza), Charles Billich (official artist of the Olympics in Atlanta '96, his works are present in the collections of the Vatican, the White House and United Nations), Andy Fluon (eclectic artist, former companion of Morgan and Blue Vertigo). The Biennale, founded through the efforts of Pasquale Celona (President) and Piero Celona (CEO) since 2001 is an official partner of the United Nations program "Dialogue among Civilizations", that honors a commitment through a series of events which bring into prominence the feelings of brotherhood, peace and solidarity among people. Indeed, a full calendar of events, that made even more attractive, the Biennale, has seen alternating conferences, meetings with guests of honor and an exhibition dedicated to Japanese cinema. Among other initiatives of this edition, even a sideshow at St. James Church in Florence (with works by Paul Lorenz, Barbro Eriksson and Danielle Lindsay), and a recognition to Leo Ragno, chosen among the 12 young artists selected from the Academy of Fine Arts of Italy through a competition that has assured them a free space within the Biennale.
Arte Studio
Biennale's Staff
In recent years, Arte Studio has renewed the image of the city of Florence as a gathering point for artists from around the world. Arte Studio's first contemporary exhibition in 1986, featured Masters of the 1900 and Tuscan artists such as Virgilio Guidi and Giorgio De Chirico. In 1987, Arte Studio organized a group exhibition of 35 young artists selected by Mario Penelope and Piercarlo Santini. This was followed in 1990 by an exhibition of the drawings of Amedeo Modigliani at the Palazzo degli Affari and at the French Institute of Culture, and by a show celebrating eighty years of Aligi Sassu in 1991. In 1997 the first edition of the Florence Biennale was born. Thanks to the organizational efforts of Pasquale and Piero Celona, the International Jury and the International Scientific Committee, the Florence Biennale has now reached its seventh.