Galerie Lelong congratulates McArthur Binion and Zilia Sánchez for their inclusion in the 57th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, VIVA ARTE VIVA, curated by Christine Macel. The gallery also applauds Carolee Schneemann, co-represented with P·P·O·W Gallery, for being awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement as “one of the most important figures in the development of performance and Body Art,” according to Macel.
On view at VIVA ARTE VIVA will be McArthur Binion’s (b. 1946) paintings from his DNA series, including DNA: Study: Zero. Utilizing copies of his Mississippi state birth certificate and pages from his personal address book, Binion incorporates formal qualities to frame a path between abstraction and personal narrative. Layering oil paint stick over these personal documents, the artist builds a grid pattern; this unique inscription of the individual in the creation process pushes historical notions of Minimalism forward.
The 57th International Art Exhibition will also include paintings by Cuban-born artist Zilia Sánchez (b. 1926). Sánchez’s sensual approach to formal abstraction involves stretching canvas over wooden armatures to create corporeal forms. The work on view will speak to the central concepts explored throughout her career, spanning over 60 years: topologies in space, serial repetition, equilibrium between form and color, embrace of the curve, and symbols of feminine strength.
Carolee Schneemann’s (b. 1939) Devour (2003-04) will be on view in the collateral event Body and Soul: Performance Art – Past and Present, curated by Elga Wimmer at the Palazzo Pisani, featuring eight contemporary performance artists who have used their bodies to express concerns over gender, femininity, personal relationships, and politics. The dual-channel video installation juxtaposes what Schneemann terms the “ecstatic normal” of quotidian moments and violent atrocities, echoing her exploration of violence and sensation, pleasure wrested from suppressive taboos, and the body of the artist in relation to the social body.
For more information, please see the Venice Biennale website.