Biennale of Sydney Overview of the Biennials 1973 - 2004 Information by the organizer |
2004 |
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On Reason and Emotion
51 artists from 32 countries
Curator: Isabel Carlos
On Reason and Emotion, inspired by neurologist Antonio Damasio, features 51 artists from 32 countries and brings together sophisticated concepts and artworks that demand the viewer to use all their senses, and to be challenged to think and feel. The viewer is led through the city of Sydney creating a walkable circuit from one venue to another. The close proximity of venues in 2004 allows the Biennale of Sydney exhibition to lead the viewer through the city of Sydney, creating a walkable circuit between venues. Much of the exhibition will be sited within Sydney's major art museums and galleries, however a number of new projects will be created for specific sites at outdoor locations within the city, such as the Royal Botanic Gardens and the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House.
Participating countries:
Angola, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, USA, Venezuela
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2004
2002
2000
1998
1996
1992/93
1990
1988
1986
1984
1982
1979
1976
1973
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2002 |
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(The World May Be) Fantastic
56 artists from 22 countries
Richard Grayson, Curator
(Advisory Panel: Susan Hiller, Ralph Rugoff and Janos Sugar)
This city-wide event encompassed 8 venues, including a vacant commercial building in Orwell Street, Potts Point. The exhibition focused on artists who use fictions, fakes, invented methodologies and experiments as a basis for their work. The projects celebrated the potential of the creative act to generate alternative worlds, suggesting that our everyday belief systems may be constructed, hallucinatory and changeable. Over 245,000 people visited the exhibition, exceeding all previous attendance records.
Participating countries:
Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden, USA, Vietnam
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2000 |
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48 artists from 23 countries
Nick Waterlow, Chair of International Selection Committee
Selection Committee: Fumio Nanjo, Louise Neri, Hetti Perkins, Sir Nicholas Serota, Robert Storr, Harald Szeemann
This city-wide event encompassed 6 venues and also included a number of affiliated exhibitions and satellite events throughout the great Sydney area. Unlike previous Biennales, an International Selection Committee, comprised of internationally distinguished directors and curators and chaired by Nick Waterlow, selected works for the 2000 exhibition. Fumio Nanjo, ISC member, said of the final selection, "The participants of the Biennale of Sydney 2000 are artists who express and question their vision of reality in works which embrace changes and the possibility of change." This was one of the most popular of all Biennale exhibitions, attracting over 200,000 visitors.
Participating countries:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Congo, France, Germany, Great Britain, Iran, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mali, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, USA
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1998 |
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Every Day
101 artists from 28 countries
Jonathan Watkins, Artistic Director
This city-wide event encompassed 10 venues including heritage
finger wharf Pier 2/3 and Goat Island. Numerous site specific works
were created in Sydney in response to new locations and public sites.
The exhibition examined notions of the temporal and spatial "every
day" and artists' works came from inspiration closer to home, using
simpler expressions and materials.
Participating countries:
Australia, Belgium, Benin, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Cuba, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, USA
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1996 |
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Jurassic Technologies Revenant
48 artists from 24 countries
Artistic Director: Dr Lynne Cooke
Preceded by the Biennale of Ideas in 1995, the 10th Biennale
of Sydney presented a re-appraisal of older reproductive technologies
including photography, film and print media. The politics of identity,
memory versus history, the fantastic and Gothic were key themes.
Participating countries:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cuba, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Ukraine, USA
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1992/1993 |
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The Boundary Rider
126 artists from 33 countries
Artistic Director: Tony Bond
The 9th Biennale reflected a shift away from Europe and the
USA and over 90 per cent of the artists had not been seen in Australia
before. Work of controversial artists such as Orlan, examined transgressions
of conceptual and cultural boundaries. An extensive program of film,
lectures and symposia explored the issues raised in this exhibition.
Participating countries:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, Germany, Ghana, Great Britain, Haiti, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, USA
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1990 |
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The Readymade Boomerang: Certain Relations in 20th Century
Art
148 artists from 28 countries
Artistic Director: René Block
The 8th Biennale examined the distinctive historical connections
of the "readymade" from the early 1900s to the 1980s, based
on the work of Duchamp, Man Ray and Picabia. A comprehensive satellite
program of music, performance, lectures, symposia and workshops at various
Sydney venues, complemented the exhibition.
Participating countries:
Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany (East), Germany (West), Great Britain, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, USA, Yugoslavia
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1988 |
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From the Southern Cross: A View of World Art c1940 - 1988
127 artists from 15 countries
Artistic Director: Nick Waterlow
The exhibition featured key early works of artists such as
Leger, Klein, Balthus and Beckmann. Produced in association with the
national Bicentennial Authority, the exhibition was shown in both Sydney
and Melbourne. For the second time Pier 2/3 (a heritage finger wharf
at Walsh Bay) became a central venue for the exhibition and the site
for a spectacular Aboriginal piece involving 200 traditional burial
posts. A special section on Japanese contemporary and performing art
was presented.
Participating countries:
Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany (East), Germany (West), Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Switzerland, USA, Yugoslavia
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1986 |
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Origins, Originality + Beyond
123 artists from 21 countries
Artistic Director: Nick Waterlow
The exhibition questioned the concept of what constituted
originality in the work of artists as diverse as Malcolm McLaren, Eric
Fischl and Carlo Maria Mariani. It explored the origins, death and resurrection
of form and imagery, as well as the transition of modernism to post
modernism.
Participating countries:
Argentina, Australia, Austria, Canada, Chile, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany (West), Great Britain, India, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, USA, Yugoslavia
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1984 |
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Private Symbol: Social Metaphor
66 artists from 20 countries
Artistic Director: Leon Paroissien
The fifth Biennale focussed on the expression of private
views and obsessions as well as broader political statements in the
work of a diverse group of artists, including Haake, Kruger, Cragg and
Gilbert and George.
Participating countries:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany (West), Great Britain, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Switzerland, USA, Yugoslavia
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1982 |
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Vision in Disbelief
209 artists from 17 countries
Artistic Director: William Wright
Celebrating the return to painting and more traditional forms
of art, the exhibition also included separate performance, sound and
video sections. The event was broad-based and included an extensive
public program of lectures and conferences, as well as a dynamic satellite
program of independent but related exhibitions.
Participating countries:
Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Colombia, Finland, France, Germany (West), Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Spain, USA, Yugoslavia
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1979 |
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European Dialogue
131 artists from 19 countries
Artistic Director: Nick Waterlow
Featuring 131 artists from 19 countries, European Dialogue
questioned the predominance of New York as the centre of the international
contemporary art world. The exhibition explored the direct links between
Europe and Australia and the influence of European art on Australian
art.
Participating countries:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany (East), Germany (West), Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, USA, Yugoslavia
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1976 |
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Recent International Forms in Art
80 artists from 10 countries
Artistic Director: Thomas G. McCullough
The Biennale was exhibited at the Art Gallery of New South
Wales, which remained the major venue for all subsequent exhibitions.
It included 80 artists from 10 countries and focussed on new forms in
sculpture including performance, mail art and video works, as well as
more traditional forms.
Participating countries:
Australia, France, Germany (West), Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, New Zealand, USA
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1973 |
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The Biennale of Sydney
37 artists from 15 countries
Coordinator: Anthony Wintherbotham
The newly opened Sydney Opera House was the location for
the predominantly Asian and Pacific region exhibition of 37 artists,
focussed on contemporary architecture and new dimensions in sculpture
and painting.
Participating countries:
Australia, Bangladesh, Germany (West) Great Britain, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Spain, Thailand, USA
Print version
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