{"id":75676,"date":"2026-03-27T14:22:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T11:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/art50.net\/recommended-reading-before-the-61st-venice-biennale\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T01:06:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T22:06:07","slug":"recommended-reading-before-the-61st-venice-biennale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/art50.net\/en\/recommended-reading-before-the-61st-venice-biennale\/","title":{"rendered":"Recommended Reading Before the 61st Venice Biennale"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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As you prepare for the 61st Venice Biennale, looking at the exhibition program alone does not suffice. The Biennale\u2019s curatorial framework, the global context of contemporary art, and the layered structure of the city offer important clues that enrich the experience.<\/p>\n\n

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At a time when many in the art world are planning to travel to Venice for the Biennale, we have put together a selection that moves from curatorial references to contemporary African and diasporic art, and from the city\u2019s distinctive spaces to the lives of collectors closely tied to Venice.<\/p>\n\n

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This list is conceived as a thematic guide that can deepen the Biennale experience, depending on visitors\u2019 personal or professional interests, as well as the time they will spend in the city. We hope it will be of interest.<\/p>\n\n

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Curatorial References and the Global Art Context<\/h3>\n\n
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These books, directly referenced by Koyo Kouoh and her team while developing the Biennale\u2019s curatorial text, are key to thinking about time, memory, and multiple layers of reality.<\/p>\n\n

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Beloved \u2014 Toni Morrison<\/h5>\n\n

A narrative shaped by memory, trauma, and collective history. Morrison\u2019s non-linear sense of time, and the way the repressed past enters the present, offers a strong framework for reading the narrative strategies in the exhibition.<\/p>\n\n

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One Hundred Years of Solitude \u2014 Gabriel Garc\u00eda M\u00e1rquez<\/h5>\n\n

Through magical realism, history, myth, and time are woven together. M\u00e1rquez\u2019s cyclical sense of time and his construction of collective memory are especially useful for understanding how layered narratives are built in the Biennale.<\/p>\n\n

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The Global Contemporary and the Rise of New Art Worlds \u2014 Hans Belting<\/h5>\n\n

This book examines how contemporary art has moved beyond a Western-centered narrative toward a multi-centered structure. By looking at biennials, new institutions, and emerging art geographies, it makes the framework behind today\u2019s exhibition formats more visible.<\/p>\n\n

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The Strange Alchemy of Life and Law \u2014 Albie Sachs<\/h5>\n\n

Focusing on the tension between law, ethics, and personal experience, this text questions the balance between rationality and empathy in decision-making. It offers a strong reference for thinking about the ethical dimension of curatorial practice.<\/p>\n\n

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Understanding African and Diasporic Art<\/h3>\n\n
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The Ink of the Scholars: Reflections on Philosophy in Africa \u2014 Souleymane Bachir Diagne<\/h5>\n\n

An introduction to African philosophy and written intellectual traditions; a key reference for understanding African and diasporic art in a global context. In a Financial Times interview in May 2025, Biennale curator Koyo Kouoh\u2014who passed away unexpectedly during the preparation period\u2014described it as \u201cthe best book I have read in the past year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

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Contemporary African Art Since 1980 \u2014 Okwui Enwezor & Chika Okeke-Agulu<\/h5>\n\n

A study of African art after 1980 through conceptual shifts and curatorial practices. By addressing international circulation and exhibition formats, it opens up new ways of thinking about art\u2019s global position.<\/p>\n\n

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African Artists: From 1882 to Now \u2014 Phaidon<\/h5>\n\n

Bringing together artists from different periods and geographies, this book offers a broad view of modern and contemporary African art. It is also an important reference for understanding how artistic canons are formed.<\/p>\n\n

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African Art Now \u2014 Osei Bonsu<\/h5>\n\n

Focusing on recent work, it provides a clear entry point into younger artists\u2019 practices and current directions in contemporary African art.<\/p>\n\n

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When We See Us: A Century of Black Figuration in Painting \u2014 Edited by Koyo Kouoh<\/h5>\n\n

Published alongside the 2022 exhibition at Zeitz MOCAA, this book looks at a century of Black figuration through thematic sections. Instead of a chronological narrative, it brings artists together through visual and conceptual connections, offering a more open way of reading.<\/p>\n\n

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Collectors and Museums Closely Associated with the City<\/h3>\n\n
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To understand Peggy Guggenheim\u2019s collecting practice and her influence on modern art:<\/p>\n\n

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Out of This Century: Confessions of an Art Addict \u2014 Peggy Guggenheim<\/h5>\n\n

This autobiography approaches collecting through personal relationships, intuition, and risk-taking, offering an insider\u2019s view of how modern art took shape. Her close ties with artists make the artistic environment of the time clearly visible.<\/p>\n\n

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The Unfinished Palazzo: Life, Love and Art in Venice \u2014 Judith Mackrell<\/h5>\n\n

Following Peggy Guggenheim\u2019s life in Venice through the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, the book also shows her connection to figures who shaped the city\u2019s cultural imagination. Through names like Luisa Casati, it reveals how a collection can turn into a way of living within a space.<\/p>\n\n

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To understand Fran\u00e7ois Pinault\u2019s spaces in Venice:<\/p>\n\n

Tadao Ando: Venice \u2013 The Pinault Collection at the Palazzo Grassi and the Punta della Dogana \u2014 Philip Jodidio<\/h5>\n\n

Through Tadao Ando\u2019s interventions, this book explores the relationship between historic buildings and contemporary exhibition practices, showing how space itself becomes part of how meaning is produced.<\/p>\n\n

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The Architectural and Artistic World of the Biennale Venues<\/h3>\n\n
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Carlo Scarpa: The Complete Works \u2014 Francesco Dal Co & Giuseppe Mazzariol<\/h5>\n\n

Scarpa\u2019s precise interventions in Venice\u2019s museums and exhibition spaces\u2014his use of materials and treatment of light\u2014redefine the relationship between space and art. The book shows how he builds a careful balance between object and environment, and how he guides the visitor\u2019s experience.<\/p>\n\n

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Understanding Venice<\/h3>\n\n
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Watermark \u2014 Joseph Brodsky<\/h5>\n\n

Brodsky\u2019s text reads Venice almost like a poem. Canals, bridges, and squares come together with the city\u2019s historical and cultural layers to create a dense atmosphere. During the intensity of a Biennale visit, it offers a short but deep pause.<\/p>\n\n

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Venice \u2014 Jan Morris<\/h5>\n\n

Morris presents Venice\u2019s political, cultural, and architectural history alongside its artistic context. It is a strong reference for understanding the city\u2019s spatial and social structure, and for better grasping the meaning of its exhibition spaces.<\/p>\n\n

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Venice Is a Fish \u2014 Tiziano Scarpa<\/h5>\n\n

Scarpa invites the reader to explore the city step by step through the senses. Rather than acting as a traditional guide, the text encourages getting lost and forming a direct experience of Venice, supporting a more intuitive engagement with both the Biennale venues and the artworks.<\/p>\n\n

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As you prepare for the 61st Venice Biennale, looking at the exhibition program alone does not suffice. The Biennale\u2019s curatorial framework, the global context of contemporary art, and the layered structure of the city offer important clues that enrich the experience. At a time when many in the art world are planning to travel to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1456,"featured_media":75671,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1839],"tags":[4892,4894,4897,4890,4898,4891,4900,4899,4877,4815,4893,4895,4875,4896,4872,4901,4874,4803],"class_list":["post-75676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art-books","tag-albie-sachs","tag-chika-okeke-agulu","tag-francesco-dal-co","tag-gabriel-garcia-marquez","tag-giuseppe-mazzariol","tag-hans-belting","tag-jan-morris","tag-joseph-brodsky","tag-judith-mackrell","tag-koyo-kouoh-en","tag-okwui-enwezor","tag-osei-bonsu","tag-peggy-guggenheim","tag-philip-jodidio","tag-souleymane-bachir-diagne","tag-tiziano-scarpa","tag-toni-morrison","tag-venice-biennale-en-2"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/art50.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/art50.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/art50.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/art50.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1456"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/art50.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75676"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/art50.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75676\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75677,"href":"https:\/\/art50.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75676\/revisions\/75677"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/art50.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/art50.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/art50.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/art50.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}