by Beatrice Buscaroli 04/03/2026
Categories: Opinions / Disclaimer
The opinion of Beatrice Buscaroli, who curated the Italian Pavilion at the 2009 Venice Biennale, on the Biennale 2026 without Italians: the new curatorial vision redraws the "relational geography of art," but is it only a design choice or a sign of a structural difficulty of our art system in dialoguing with the world?
Perhaps the spirit of the Biennale is destined to change. The world in which we live has changed, the so-called “art system” is showing cracks that were once unsuspected, and the figures animating it-artists, critics, curators, public and private institutions-demand original attention. The absence of Italian artists generates an almost inevitable bewilderment: we win so many medals at the Winter Olympics, we excel in tennis, but our art seems to be eclipsed. The “relational geography of art” envisioned by curator Koyo Kouoh does not contemplate Italian artists, but, disappointment aside, I don’t believe in conspiracy or disfigurement at all. This exhibition privileges a singular approach, in many ways unprecedented, of the relationships that are forged between artist and environment, between mode of operation and cultural forms, which a “desperate and satiated” world seems to have forgotten.
The surprise of an absence should not lead us to despair. Perhaps something could have been amended and the curator - prematurely deceased - would certainly have provided congruous, reasonable explanations. However, a question must be asked: in our country, in terms of communication, are there procedures that allow foreign curators to get to know our artistic production? Is the Italian Council able to put in place a project capable of making known abroad what our artistic investigation is capable of expressing?
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