I finally got to the Giardini this week! This is one of the main exhibition sites for the Biennale. I thought I would bring you the USA Pavilion first. It was designed by Indigenous American artist Jeffrey Gibson and is called “the space in which to place me.” It is Gibson’s “vision for the future in which all people are seen, accepted and loved.” The Pavilion has gotten very mixed reviews, but I found Jeffrey’s vison exciting, jubilant and buoyant with color. It surely would have been a contender for the Golden Lion award if Simone Leigh hadn’t just won that award for the USA Pavilion in 2022.
In July of 2023, Jeffrey Gibson was the first Indigenous artist to be selected to represent the United States in La Biennale di Venezia in a solo presentation. Jeffrey Gibson is a member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and of Cherokee descent. Jeffrey resides in New York State’s Hudson Valley. 5.5 million dollars were needed to realize Jeffrey’s incredible transformative vision for the pavilion. Jeffrey was awarded approximately $380,000 from the US State Department to fund the pavilion – which was a drop in the bucket. The exhibition is co-sponsored by the Portland Art Museum and SITE Santa Fe and is funded by many other foundations and individuals, including The Ford, MacArthur and Mellon Foundations.
On Saturday, March 20, our Berkshire representatives Stephanie Kouloganis, Tasja Keetman, and Diane Pearlman were on hand for the public opening of “the space in which to place me.” They arrived just at the right moment to capture the tribal celebrations below:
And text on the wall of the entry hall gave us more information.
Photo by Virginia Bradley
All of the work in the Pavilion is dated 2024. Jeffrey had a lot to oversee to ensure his vision would be realized in such a short time. The SITE Santa Fe Installation team was instrumental in creating parts of the final installation.
More images from other National Pavilions to come! I haven’t seen them all yet and have to make a return visit to the Giardini. The favorite pavilions by consensus so far seem to be Australia, Germany, Great Britain, France, USA, Uruguay, Mexico, Nigeria and Belgium.
