Curators Emma Lavigne and Jean-Marie Gallais have organized exhibitions for the Pinault Collection at Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana during the 61st Venice Biennale, featuring artists Lorna Simpson, Paulo Nazareth, Michael Armitage, and Amar Kanwar. The shows respond to global tensions, with Nazareth using salt to trace a ghost ship referencing the slave trade, and Simpson creating nocturnal paintings and collages from Ebony and Jet magazines that explore identity and history. The exhibitions are part of the Biennale's broader global outlook, engaging with Venice's mercantile past and contemporary migration routes.
This presentation matters because it positions the Venice Biennale as a platform for artists confronting difficult realities such as colonial violence, humanitarian crises, and fractured histories. By linking the city's historical role as a customs hub to contemporary issues, the curators emphasize art's capacity to repair and re-map narratives across time and space. The inclusion of artists like Nazareth, who created a parallel event in a Brazilian town sharing Venice's name, underscores the Biennale's role in fostering transnational dialogue and resilience.