The trends and artists to keep an eye on in the current edition
Today the art Biennale is commonly considered a purely curatorial event, disconnected from the dynamics of the market. In fact, since its inception in 1895, there has been a Sales office which established the prices of the works on display and offered them to collectors and institutions, contributing to the financing of the Biennale itself. As in the Parisian Salons, the directors of the various museums also visited the Biennale to acquire new talents for their collections. The situation has changed since the Seventies, with the closure of the Sales Office (1973) and the birth of international fairs such as Art Basel, Fiac and Arte Fiera. To purchase an artist seen at the Biennale, it is therefore necessary to contact his gallery, or wait for a fair or auction.
Until the first half of the twentieth century, the works offered for sale at the Biennale did not reflect the directions of contemporary art and the collecting taste of the time. Let’s think about Pablo Picasso: when he was presented at the Biennale in 1905, his painting was removed after a few days to avoid a scandal. We had to wait until 1948 for his first solo exhibition at the Biennale, when his artistic research was now far from that generated by the Spanish master. Since the Second World War, however, the Biennale has shown itself increasingly closer to the “spirit of his time”.
Today, the Biennale is not only an institutional recognition, but also a powerful driver of visibility and valorization for artists. An example is the American artist Simone Leigh, which, after receiving the Golden Lion for best artist in 2022, saw its awards rise between May and June 2022, exceeding 2 million euros. Similarly, after the edition “The Milk of Dreams” of 2022, curated by Cecilia Alemani, a growing interest in surrealist art and previously underestimated female artists has been observed. Leonora Carrington it reached its record of over 22 million euros in May 2024, while the previous record was around 2 million euros in May 2022.
At the moment it is too early to evaluate the future repercussions of this Biennial on the market; it will be necessary to wait for Art Basel, which will be held from 13 to 16 June 2024. However, it can already be observed that this edition follows a trend of recent years, aimed at discovering previously ignored artists, such as women and contemporary African artists. The Biennial curated by Adriano Pedrosa, entitled “FOREIGNERS EVERYWHERE – FOREIGNERS EVERYWHERE”, fits into this trend, dedicated to what is perceived as “different” or “foreign” even in its own context, including queer artists, outsiders, indigenous people and immigrants. Pedrosa has decided to favor artists who have never been to the Biennale. This reflects a recent trend in the market, with collectors following auctions less and looking directly for new, unknown artists, as highlighted in the recent report by Deloitte on art and collectibles.
In a varied, captivating and in some ways naive scenario like that of this edition, which artists should you recommend to collectors? Definitely the winners of the various awards, including the Mataaho Collective (Golden Lion), Archie Moore (Australian Pavilion) and Karimah Ashadu (Silver Lion). Furthermore, Giulia Andreani, Dana Awartani, Claire Fontaine, Louis Fratino, Jeffrey Gibson (United States Pavilion), Nedda Guidi, Yuko Mohri (Japan Pavilion), Ersan Mondtag (Germany Pavilion), Yinka Shonibare and Maymuru White are very interesting .
The article was the result of a group reflection within the course “Economy and Art Market” of the SantaGiulia Academy of Fine Arts in Brescia, by the teacher Vera Canevazzi with the students Ester Stella Guarneri, Elisa Marenghi, Martina Marino, Irene Martignoni, Eleonora Palini and Martina Torri.
