Sculpture Garden at Geneva Biennale

Artists: Ana Alenso, Céline Condorelli, Zuzanna Czebatul, Liz Deschenes, Koenraad Dedobbeleer, David Douard, Jos de Gruyter & Harald Thys, Gabriel Kuri, Daniel Lie, Lucy McKenzie, Willem Oorebeek, Ceylan Öztrük, Mathias Pfund, Douglas Abdell, Sophia Al-Maria, Sammy Baloji, Nina Beier, Meriem Bennani, Charlotte vander Borght, Elif Erkan, Alia Farid, Manfred Pernice, Bojan Šarčević, Erika Verzutti, Axelle Stiefel, Mbaye Diop, Nicolas Ponce, Alpha Sy, Yul Tomatala, Sonia Kacem

Exhibition title: Sculpture Garden

Curated by: Devrim Bayar

Venue: Geneva Biennale, Geneva, Switzerland

Date: June 9 – September 30, 2022

Photography: ©️Julien Gremaud, ©Baptiste Janin / all images courtesy of the artist and Geneva Biennale

Note: Exhibition guide is available here

Initiated by artgenève and organized in collaboration with the MAMCO and the City of Geneva, the third edition of the Geneva Biennale Sculpture Garden will open on Thursday, June 9, 2022. The exhibition aims to establish itself as a major swiss Biennale for Contemporary Art, offering Geneva and its many visitors a cultural event of high caliber, accessible to all. The Biennale, which runs throughout the summer and until September 30, forms a path punctuated by numerous artistic projects from the Parc des Eaux-Vives to the Parc La Grange, and the Eaux-Vives beach. The 2022 exhibition is curated by Devrim Bayar, curator at the WIELS contemporary art center in Brussels, who has gathered 26 works, more than half of which are produced expressly for this exhibition.

For its third edition, the Geneva Biennale Sculpture Garden focuses on contemporary artists who question our relationships to others and to ourselves in an increasingly unstable environment in which technologies shape our subjectivities. For the past two years, the pandemic has profoundly affected our way of life, dis- integrating our physical contacts to give place to dizzying virtual relationships. Although it has atomized us, the virus, inoculating one person after another, has paradoxically proven that we are a globally connected community. Today, a war on the borders of Europe tragically reminds us of the interdependence of our societies, whose economic, political, and military dealings directly impact our daily lives. Against this backdrop of perpetual crisis, large movements for greater social and environmental justice are nevertheless succeeding in mobilizing individuals on a global scale and in promoting alternative ways of living together. These challenges to the dominant discourse and the resulting reconfigurations of our social fabric are major issues in contemporary culture, in which digital technology has taken a prominent role.

The Parc La Grange, Parc des Eaux-Vives and its nearby beach offer privileged spaces to meet and exchange; from reunions with family and friends to sports outings or romantic dates, from reconnecting with nature or with oneself to parties or school excursions. Beyond their recreational character, these spaces are above all shared spaces, where not only affinities but also disparities and divergences are articulated. The artists invited to exhibit in these specific settings investigate the tensions inherent to the public space but also their potential for emancipation. The variety of their proposals–which go beyond the strict domain of sculpture to invest those of design, architecture, video, photography, writing, and more–testifies to the way in which art constantly reinvents itself in light of contemporary challenges.

Alia Farid, In Lieu of What Is, 2022, Fiberglass and polyester resin, Variable dimensions

Ana Alenso, Liquid Agreements and Oil Interventions, 2019-2022, Hoses, stainless steel, scaffolding parts, water pumps, Variable dimensions

Bojan Šarčević, New Emotional Style, 2020, Marble block, ice cube machine, ice, sound system, carved marble, limestone, birch wood, 179 × 81 × 169 cm

Céline Condorelli, Ouah Wau (to Donna Haraway), 2022, Painted stainless steel, 800 × 390 cm

Ceylan Öztrük, Ripple Effect; Nazar Module, 2021-2022, Stainless steel, Variable dimensions

Charlotte vander Borght, MASS II, 2020, 170 × 119 × 60 cm, MASS III, 2020, 235.5 × 63 × 103 cm, MASS VI, 2022, 175 × 236 × 60 cm, MASS VIII, 2022, 175 × 189 × 60 cm, MASS IX, 2022, 175 × 104 × 20 cm, Painted aluminium and steel

Daniel Lie, Them, 2022, Natural rope, ceramics, cotton fabric, turmeric, Variable dimensions

David Douard, Melody (SG), 2022, Screen-printing, aluminium, metal, perspex, glass, bronze, paint, 340 × 250 × 200 cm

Douglas Abdell, Kraeff-Aekyad, 1981, Welded steel painted black, 360 × 172 × 50 cm

Elif Erkan, Where You They Form, 2020, Concrete, natural rubber, cellular polystyrene covered with soil from Austria, Germany, Russia, Turkey and France

Erika Verzutti, Venus of Cream, 2020, Bronze, 210 × 79 cm

Vorstellen.network, Feuilles Volantes, 2022, Single-page paper printed in risography every two weeks

Gabriel Kuri, Fountain, 2022, Stainless steel, water, pump system and mixed media, 250 × 120 × 120 cm

Work.Master students of HEAD–Geneva, Mbaye Diop (*1981, SN), Nicolas Ponce (*1998, CH), Alpha Sy (*1992, SN) and Yul Tomatala (*1993, CH) with Sonia Kacem (*1985, CH/TN) Rhodos_Azalées, NL, 2022, Stainless steel, 500 × 150 cm

Jos de Gruyter & Harald Thys, A.M.M.S.A.303, 2022, Powder coated steel and flashing lights, 314 × 80 × 85 cm each

Koenraad Dedobbeleer, All Music Is There For Bastardisation, Wrought iron, brass and paint, 220 × 110 × 5 cm

Liz Deschenes, Blue Wool Scale, 2022, UV prints, stainless steel, 496 × 153 × 25 cm

Lucy McKenzie, Anonymous Statue, 2022, Bronze on stone pedestal, Bronze : 180 × 80 × 50 cm, Plinth : 120 × 80 × 120 cm

Manfred Pernice, Antenne Brandenburg, 2021, Metal, plastic, concrete, 237, Ø 114 cm

Mathias Pfund, Cæsarina, 2022, Steel, silver, bronze, powder coating, concrete pedestal, 156 × 90 × 50 cm

Meriem Bennani, Ghariba (Double Bench), 2017-2022, Sculptural viewing installation with outdoor monitor, 6180 × 1360 × 1200 cm

Nina Beier, Guardian, 2018, Marble lions, soap, beard trimmings, Variable dimension

Sammy Baloji, … and to those North Sea waves whispering sunken stories, 2020, Terrarium and exotic plants, 225 × 230 × 130 cm

Sophia Al-Maria, taraxos, 2021, Steel, copper, wood, titanium, concrete and reflective pigment paint, 650 × 200 × 200 cm

Willem Oorebeek, Getting The Books Out, 2022, Digital print on forex, aluminum, 180 × 140 cm each

Zuzanna Czebatul, Macromolecule Exploiting Some Biological Target, 2022, PVC, 300 × 300 × 150 cm