For the Biennale Arte 2024, the Düsseldorf curator makes his debut as chief curator of the special exhibitions in the magnificent Salone Sansoviniano at Piazza San Marco, which is only accessible through the Museo Correr. Here, he will present four exhibitions of high-quality contemporary art throughout the entire duration of this year's Biennale. The kick-off showcases Bernar Venet with the exhibition "1961... Looking Forward!" featuring significant tar art works and cardboard reliefs, as well as two impressive room installations from the early 1960s.
The Biennale Arte and the Salone Sansoviniano are not new territory for Dirk Geuer, who has been working as a curator, exhibition maker, publisher of important art books, and co-producer of TV documentaries about artists nationally and internationally since 1987. In 2021, he brought Gottfried Helnwein to the lagoon city. A year later, at the 59th Biennale Arte in Venice, the curator played a significant role in the exhibition "Vibration of Light" by Heinz Mack, which was included as a Collateral Event in the official Biennale program. In the same year, he organized a highly regarded exhibition featuring sculptures by Erwin Wurm. In September 2023, the Italian Ministry of Culture appointed Dirk Geuer as the official curator of the exhibitions at the Salone Sansoviniano for 2024. However, the exhibitions in Venice were not his first international projects.
In 2001, Dirk Geuer realized a Jörg Immendorff retrospective at the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. On behalf of the German government, further exhibitions featuring Immendorff were held in 2002/03 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and the People's Republic of China in Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin. For the Olympic Games in 2004, 2008, and 2012, he conceived and realized art and cultural contributions on behalf of the German Olympic Committee. Since 2013, he has collaborated with many prestigious cultural institutions worldwide, including the Albertina in Vienna, the MAXXI Museum in Rome, the Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence, the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Havana, Cuba, and the Musée Théodore-Monod d'Art Africaine in Dakar, Senegal. In line with the United Nations' sustainability goals, Dirk Geuer has carried out art projects that were presented to the public at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. Furthermore, he has already completed projects in the Vatican, which is a special honor.
It is important for Dirk Geuer to make art visible and art projects tangible. Following many successful projects with artists such as Mel Ramos, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Heinz Mack, Jörg Immendorff, Günther Uecker, Julian Schnabel, David LaChapelle, and Tony Cragg, he now presents Bernar Venet to the discerning Biennale audience, one of the most significant sculptors and conceptual artists in the world, to kick off the event. The focus of the exhibition is on his conceptual work from the early 1960s, which was to have a major influence on contemporary art.
Following Bernar Venet, Geuer will showcase works by the former enfant terrible Jiri Dokoupil, who will present not only his distinctive paintings of soap bubbles but also glass sculptures for the first time. This will be followed by exhibitions featuring the renowned Austrian conceptual artist Erwin Wurm, whose most recent painterly work will be the focus, and the painter Dietmar Brixy, whose impressive paintings immerse viewers in a frenzy of color. Following the theme of the 60th Biennale Arte, "Foreigners Everywhere," the exhibition series will also explore the themes of alienation and being foreign. For each exhibition project, Geuer has also invited a distinguished guest curator.
In his curatorial work, Dirk Geuer aims to juxtapose contemporary art of high quality that can stand up to the masterpieces of Renaissance artists such as Titian, Veronese, and Tintoretto, which have adorned the Salone Sansoviniano for centuries, without conflicting with them. For the coming years, further projects with world-class artists are planned in the venerable rooms at Piazza San Marco.
Bernar Venet - 1961... Looking Forward
Curated by Prof. Beate Reifenscheid, Director of the Ludwig Museum Koblenz
April 20 - June 16, 2024
Jiri Dokoupil - Bubbles are the Answer to Everything
Curated by Reiner Opoku
June 22 - August 18, 2024
Erwin Wurm - Deep
Curated by Claire Lilley, Director of Yorkshire Sculpture Park, West Bretton, UK
August 24 - October 20, 2024
Dietmar Brixy - The Description of the World
Curated by Dr. Tayfun Belgin, Director of the Osthaus Museum Hagen
October 26 - November 24, 2024
Salone Sansoviniano of the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana
Access to the exhibitions through the Museo Correr
Piazza San Marco n.52 - Ala Napoleonica
I - 30124 Venice
Hallo, ich bin Maya.
