The article reviews "In minor keys," the main exhibition of the 61st Venice Biennale curated by Koyo Kouoh. It describes the show as an anti-white cube, anti-modernist display dominated by manual craftsmanship, textiles, and natural motifs, contrasting sharply with the previous edition curated by Adriano Pedrosa. The review notes the exhibition's cohesive character but criticizes certain works, such as Alfredo Jaar's installation, as jarring dissonances.
The article argues that "In minor keys" matters because it presents a complementary narrative to Pedrosa's "Stranieri Ovunque," both aiming to dismantle a polarized, Manichaean view of global contemporary art. While Pedrosa highlighted a modernism from the Global South, Kouoh emphasizes how contemporary art is deeply indebted to anti-modernist aesthetics from the Global South, effectively "stitching" together Western avant-garde figures like Picasso and Duchamp with non-Western artistic traditions.