International Roads: A Study Of The China Pavilion At The Venice Biennale

The Venice International Art Biennale is the oldest international art exhibition.Its national pavilion mechanism has attracted countries from all over the world to show their contemporary art achievements.Therefore,it is known as the "Olympic in the art world." More than 110 years after the birth of the Venice Biennale,China finally joined the national pavilion camp.After nine sessions of Chinese Pavilion being successfully presented,we have to think about: what are the characteristics of the history of Chinese Pavilion as a national pavilion? How the curators considered about and organize exhibitions? And what are the mission and significance of Chinese Pavilion?There are many questions about Chinese Pavilion that deserve a discussion.In order to answer the above questions,this article focuses on the relevant materials of Chinese Pavilion from the perspective of the curator's exhibition strategy.The main body of this article is divided into four chapters according to the linear development of Chinese Pavilion.Chapter 1 starts with the first participation of Chinese contemporary artists in the Venice Biennale in 1993,which is the preparatory stage before the birth of Chinese Pavilion.At this stage,Chinese contemporary artists lacked exhibition experience,and Chinese officials obviously lacked sufficient awareness of the importance of international art exhibitions like this.Chapter 2 starts with the establishment of Chinese Pavilion in2003.This is the initial exploration stage of Chinese Pavilion.The curators were looking for the positioning of Chinese Pavilion and regarded it as a showcase of contemporary Chinese art and the latest trends in Chinese society.Chapter 3 focuses on the biggest realistic factor faced by the curators of the three Chinese Pavilions from 2009 to 2013,that is,how to make artistic expression of the exhibition when there were limitations with the space.Chapter 4 borrows the theoretical term "Chinese Style" to take a neutral view to interpret that under the background of the country's promotion of "cultural awareness" and "cultural confidence",Chinese Pavilion chooses to attach importance to folk national art and the strategy behind the contemporary transformation of traditional cultural resources.