1. The 53rd International Art Exhibition - Fare Mondi//Making Worlds, directed by Daniel Birnbaum, opened to the public on June 7th, 2009. 77 countries are participating this year with their own pavilions - the largest number ever before. 44 collateral events are also on show around the city.
2. The US pavilion at the 53rd International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, Bruce Nauman: Topological Gardens, was awarded the Golden Lion for the Best National Participation (the first time the US has won the award since 1990). A statement from the Biennale about their decision:
"in recognition of the sustained energy and precision of Bruce Nauman's art. From iconic embodiments of human pain and fragility to pithy jabs at our frailties, his oeuvre reveals the magic of meaning as it emerges through relentless repetition of language and form."
3. The Silver Lion for a Promising Young Artist in the Fare Mondi//Making Worlds exhibition was awarded to the young Swedish artist Nathalie Djurberg, represented here in New York by Zach Feuer Gallery. Her multi-media installation with music by Hans Berg, entitled Garden of Eden, incorporated her signature claymation videos that take the viewer into a disturbing fantastical world in which the darkest realms of human society and the human psyche are opened for exploration.
4. A Special Mention for Curating Worlds was awarded to the brilliant curatorial efforts of Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset, for their curation of the Denmark and Nordic Countries (Finland, Norway, Sweden) pavilions. The exhibition, entitled The Collectors, was a sharp, insightful, and witty commentary on a certain type of sterotypical collector of contemporary art - and the style of life which characterizes this figure.
5. Two Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement were awarded. One to Yoko Ono for her groundbreaking work in both performance and conceptual art. And the other to John Baldessari who, aside from being one of the most significant artists of the 20th century, is thought by many to be one of the greatest teachers of art alive today.
