Are you planning a trip to Venice during the summer or autumn? In addition to the Pavilion of Finland at the Venice Biennale, there is an array of Finnish contemporary art to be spotted around the city. We gathered together exhibitions showcasing Finnish or Finland-based artists in Venice this year.
Helinä Hukkataival in VIVAAR VENEZIA
Gallerie dell’Accademia & Forte Marghera
17 April – 1 July 2024
The curator-duo Jonas Stampe and Xiao Ge have commissioned eighteen international performance artists to explore the latest hologram technology. Simplicity and natural framing are key components for VIVAAR VENEZIA as a human-centric technological showcase fusing performance art with the hologram.
Using hologram technology, Finnish performance artist Helinä Hukkataival’s live performance of I Am Me And You, which took place during the Venice Biennale opening week in April, can be experienced in Venice until July. Eighteen hologram performances, including Hukkataival’s, are on display for the public to explore on their smartphones by scanning a QR code in Gallerie dell’Accademia and Forte Marghera.
Helinä Hukkataival’s live performance ‘I Am Me And You’ in Venice in April 2024. Photo: Tuuli Penttinen-Lampisuo.
Kholod Hawash in the Nordic Countries Pavilion:
The Altersea Opera
Nordic Pavilion, Giardini
20 April – 24 November 2024
For the 60th International Venice Biennale, the Nordic Countries Pavilion invites us to embark on a journey aboard a spectral dragon ship, which occupies the light and open architecture of Sverre Fehn’s meditative masterpiece in the Giardini. Conceived and conceptualised by Swedish artist Lap-See Lam, The Altersea Opera is realised in collaboration with Norwegian composer Tze Yeung Ho and Finland-based textile artist Kholod Hawash, whose series of textile works create a sculptural installation in the Nordic Pavilion. The Altersea Opera is a poetic exploration of the existential implications of displacement and belonging that veers between the real and the imaginary. It is curated by Asrin Haidari, Curator of Nordic Contemporary Art at Moderna Museet, Stockholm.
Installation view, Lap-See Lam, The Altersea Opera, 2024. With Kholod Hawash and Tze Yeung Ho. The Nordic Countries Pavilion, 60th International Art Exhibition, La Biennale de Venezia, 20 April – 24 November, 2024 Photo: Jan Ahlstedt/Moderna Museet. Textile work ©️ Kholod Hawash. ©️ Lap-See Lam. Courtesy the artist, Moderna Museet and Galerie Nordenhake.
Marika Orenius in Personal Structures: Beyond Boundaries
European Cultural Centre (ECC), Palazzo Mora
20 April – 24 November 2024
The installation Between Us by artist Marika Orenius reflects the artistic process and the importance of the artist’s studio work. The artist-political installation consists of texts, drawings, photographs and video. The work parallels the artist’s livelihood with the transience of nature.
As its name suggests, the work depicts an in-between space, such as the artistic process between the artist and the artwork, or the relationships between people. One can also experience a kind of in-betweenness in the presence of a work of art if the work evokes something in the observer that he or she does not yet know. The seventh edition of the European Cultural Centre’s biennial art exhibition Personal Structures encourages exploration beyond boundaries, fostering a broader perspective, and overcoming restrictions to promote personal, social, and global growth. It features a wide selection of artworks from international artists as well as galleries and academic institutions, exhibited in the historical venues of Palazzo Bembo, Palazzo Mora, and Marinaressa Gardens.
Still from a looped video work as part of the installation ‘Between Us’ by artist Marika Orenius, 2023.
Suva, Saddam Jumaily and Kholod Hawash in Artists. Risks. Human. Rights
Artists at Risk Pavilion, Palazzo Zorzi, UNESCO Venice
17 April – 16 May 2024
An exhibition and discursive programme at the intersection of the arts and human rights, the exhibition features art, discursive panels and networking events for and by residents, alumni, partners and those who stand in solidarity with Artists at Risk (AR), the global residency programme for artists at high risk. The exhibition features 12 artists, including Finland-based artists Suva, Saddam Jumaily and Kholod Hawash, and is curated by Marita Muukkonen and Ivor Stodolsky.
‘Unfair Game’, 2022, by artist Saddam Jumaily in the exhibition ‘Artists.Risks.Human.Rights.’ at the Artists at Risk Pavilion in Venice, Italy.