In times like this, as the history of La Biennale di Venezia clearly shows, art and artists can help us imagine new modes of coexistence and infinite new possibilities of transformation.” -Cecilia Alemaniġ. “The Milk of Dreams is not an exhibition about the pandemic, but it inevitably registers the upheavals of our era. Four of the ten pieces on my top ten list were in the official exhibition, although all of the works thematically fit within Milk of Dreams.
When thinking about how to relate the show back to Texas, I credit my friend - Dallas artist Brian Scott of the duo Chuck and George - for making me think about which works I’d like to see in the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, my hometown museum. As a writer, it is a daunting task to try to cover such a large exhibition. I enjoyed the five “time capsule” sections of the show, especially The Cradle of the Witch, which features historical examples of female Dadaist and Surrealist work, like that of Leonora Carrington, Dorothea Tanning, Claude Cahun, Maya Deren, and others, and emphasizes the legacy of Surrealism on contemporary art. Although the national pavilions and the many collateral exhibitions located throughout the city were not required to adhere to Alemani’s vision, many of them chose artists whose work relates to the overall themes.
Alemani did not force artists’ work to fit within her thematic preconceptions, but instead provided opportunities for new interpretations and dialogues between the works in the galleries. Given the scale of the exhibition (213 artists from 58 countries) and the fact that Alemani was unable to travel to make studio visits with the artists during the pandemic, it was no doubt a daunting task to create a holistic and cohesive exhibition. The exhibition is divided into three themes - bodies and metamorphosis, the relationship between humans and technology, and the connection between humans and the earth. Alemani uses the text as a point of origin, conversing with artists about envisioning new worlds and new possibilities.
The book is full of her illustrations of magical and mythical creatures. Curated by Cecilia Alemani, the 59 th Venice Biennale takes its title, Milk of Dreams, from a children’s book by Surrealist artist Leonora Carrington.