Juliana Engberg, Artistic Director of the 19th Biennale of Sydney, today revealed details for the Asia Pacific’s largest contemporary visual arts event, to be presented free to the public from 21 March until 9 June 2014 at five venues across Sydney.
Announcing a vibrant list of more than 90 artists from 31 countries, Engberg commented at an event held at the Sydney Opera House: ‘At its heart, the 19th Biennale of Sydney celebrates the power of artistic imagination. You Imagine What You Desire is an optimistic biennale that presents an exploration of the world and contemporary aesthetic experience through the inventions and desires of well-known artists, as well as many exhibiting in Sydney for the first time.
‘For me artists are active philosophers who seek to engage the audience and viewer in an exploration of our world through metaphor, narrative and poetry. They do this so that we might find inspiration in the sensations and intensities produced by art, and so that we might, temporarily, step aside from our commonplace experiences and feel something uncanny and unusual.’
Marah Braye, Chief Executive Officer, Biennale of Sydney added: ‘Juliana Engberg is curating a much-anticipated exhibition that will be remembered by audiences for many years to come. We are thrilled to be working with a group of exceptional artists, many of whom are developing new projects especially for Sydney.
‘As we celebrate our 40th anniversary in November – making the Biennale of Sydney one of the oldest exhibitions of its kind – we are proud to present one of the world’s truly great biennale experiences.’
Finnish artists participating in the 19th Biennale include Henna-Riikka Halonen and Anna Tuori.