Florence Biennale

The Florence Biennale was founded in 1997 as a global convocation of artists in all their numbers and diversity. It was an idea whose time had come. By the late 1990s, contemporary art was at a cross-roads. The old assumptions – that art came in waves, each named for an ‘ism’, that auction prices equal value received, that painting was ‘dead’ and so on – were collapsing. Suddenly it was obvious that art is alive, thriving, and as various as humanity. Artists are everywhere. Around this time, in old Florence, something new was stirring. A committee of Italian artists and curators proposed a biennial where talented, credentialed artists could exhibit their latest work. The artists would select the show. The risks were enormous: there had never been a show on this scale with a direct connection between artists’ studios and the exhibition walls. Assessing the unfiltered results would be the task of an International Jury. In 1997, with hardly any publicity, the word went out. The response was dramatic: 317 artists from 17 different countries wanted to see for themselves.
By 2003, the 4th Florence Biennale had grown into the world’s most comprehensive survey of new art, showing more than 800 artists from 70 different countries. This year’s 7th Biennale builds on those numbers and broadens its horizons.
Those expecting a single curatorial vision will be astonished by its polyglot multiplicity. The only curator is you. Here are 3000 paintings, sculptures, prints and installations. Make your ‘short list’ – no two lists will be alike.
Artists at every stage of their careers, including the most eminent, play key roles at the Biennale. Their presence is confirmation that the garden of art yields wondrous fruit when tilled by many hands. Past distinguished recipients of the "Lorenzo il Magnifico" Award for Career Achievement include Chen Cheng-Hsiung (2001, the first Chinese abstract expressionist painter), David Hockney (2003), Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Richard Anuskiewicz (Optical Art in the '60) and Gilbert and George in the 2007. This year Career Awards will be bestowed on Marina Abramovic, and on Shu Yong.
The Biennale believes in fostering respect and tolerance among the world’s artists. In 2001, the Biennale was recognized by the United Nations as an official partner in its program, Dialogue among Civilizations. In 2005 features its collaborative association with the Triennale of India, the most important contemporary art exhibition in Asia, and in 2003 with the Turku Biennale in Finland. The interaction of art and science is an ongoing theme of the Biennale. FB03 presented exhibitions of the Vatican Museums Conservation Laboratory and historic Ferrari racing cars. Streamlined speed will again be on view in this year’s show of classic motorcycles by Harley Davidson.

The 7th Edition of Florence Biennale confirm the role of this exhibition in the world of contemporary art, with its 650 artists, 84 nations represented and more than 2500 artworks exposed.