The 32nd Bienal de São Paulo – Participating Artists and Collectives

Curated by Jochen Volz along with co-curators Gabi Ngcobo (South Africa), Júlia Rebouças (Brazil), Lars Bang Larsen (Denmark) and Sofía Olascoaga (Mexico), the exhibition will be held from September 10 to December 11, 2016, at the Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion, focusing on notions of ‘uncertainty’ and ‘entropy’ to reflect on the current conditions of life and the possibilities offered by contemporary art to harbor and inhabit uncertainties.

The result of an investigative process initiated in March of 2015, the final list presents a selection of participants from 33 countries characterized by a strong presence of artists born after 1970, women – who represent over half of the artists invited – and commissioned projects, produced for the context of the exhibition.

According to curator Jochen Volz, the artists in the 32nd Bienal provide strategies and speculations on how to live with uncertainty. ‘We are seeking to understand diversity, to look at the unknown and question what we assume to be known. We view the different knowledges of our world as complementary rather than exclusionary.’

Many of the works currently in development involve artistic residencies in the city of São Paulo and research travels in Brazil. To cite a few examples: Carla Filipe in partnership with the Instituto de Botânica de São Paulo [Botanical Institute of São Paulo] is developing a garden of edible plants, spontaneous plants and endangered plants; Iza Tarasewicz is studying the presence in Brazil of the Polish musical rhythm known as Mazurka; Dalton Paula visited three cities involved in the tobacco economy, and Pilar Quinteros traveled to Serra do Roncador, in Mato Grosso State, to follow the tracks of the explorer Percy Fawcett (1867-1925), who disappeared in the 1920s.

‘The proximity of the curators with the Fundação Bienal team, as well as the expansion of the institution’s partnerships, make the 32nd Bienal an especially fertile edition,’ says foundation president Luís Terepins. ‘So far, we are counting on the commitment of 48 partners, including companies, governmental agencies and cultural institutions. In addition, the Fundação Bienal has also strengthened its relationships with international organizations that support the arts. By the time the exhibition opens, we will have a considerably higher number of supporters than the recent editions of the Bienal, an asset from the foundation added to the curatorial work.’

For example, in recent months, partnerships with organizations from Chile, Ghana and Peru helped to enable the realization of the Study Days in Santiago (Chile), Acra (Ghana) and Lamas (Peru), with a strong impact on the development of the curatorial proposal. The fourth event will take place in Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, from May 19th to the 22nd. An international seminar concatenating all Study Days will be held in São Paulo at the Fundação Bienal auditorium on June 10th and 11th.

The participating artists:

Alia Farid
Born in Kuwait, 1985. Lives and works in Kuwait and Puerto Rico

Alicia Barney
Born in Cali, Colombia, 1952. Lives and works in Bogota, Colombia

Ana Mazzei
Born in São Paulo, Brazil, 1980. Lives and works in São Paulo, Brazil

Anawana Haloba
Born in Livingstone, Zambia, 1978. Lives and works in Oslo, Norway

Antonio Malta Campos
Born in São Paulo, Brazil, 1961. Lives and works in São Paulo, Brazil

Bárbara Wagner
Born in Brasília, Brazil, 1980. Lives and works in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

Bené Fonteles
Born in Bragança, Pará, Brazil, 1953. Lives and works in Brasília, Brazil

Carla Filipe
Born in Aveiro, Portugal, 1973. Lives and works in Porto, Portugal

Carlos Motta
Born in Bogotá, Colombia, 1978. Lives and works in New York, USA

Carolina Caycedo
Born in London, United Kingdom, 1978. Lives and works in La Jagua, Colombia and Los Angeles, USA

Cecilia Bengolea and Jeremy Deller
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1984. Lives and works in Paris, France
Born in London, United Kingdom, 1966. Lives and works in London, United Kingdom

Charlotte Johannesson
Born in Malmö, Sweden, 1943. Lives and works in Skanör, Sweden

Cristiano Lenhardt
Born in Itaara, Brazil, 1975. Lives and works in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

Dalton Paula
Born in Brasília, Brazil, 1982. Lives and works in Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil

Dineo Seshee Bopape
Born in Polokwane, South Africa, 1981. Lives and works in Johannesburg, South Africa

Donna Kukama
Born in Mafikeng, South Africa, 1981. Lives and works in Johannesburg, South Africa

Ebony G. Patterson
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, 1981. Lives and works in Kingston, Jamaica and Lexington, Kentucky, USA

Eduardo Navarro
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1979. Lives and works in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Em’kal Eyongakpa
Born in Mamfe, Cameroon, 1981. Lives and works in South West Cameroon and Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Erika Verzutti
Born in São Paulo, Brazil, 1971. Lives and works in São Paulo, Brazil

Felipe Mujica
Born in Santiago, Chile, 1974. Lives and works in New York, USA

Francis Alÿs
Born in Antwerp, Belgium, 1959. Lives and works in Mexico City, Mexico

Frans Krajcberg
Born in Kozienice, Poland, 1921. Lives and works in Nova Viçosa, Bahia, Brazil

Gabriel Abrantes
Born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA, 1984. Lives and works in Lisbon, Portugal

Gilvan Samico
Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, 1928 – Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, 2013

Grada Kilomba
Born in Lisbon, Portugal, 1968. Lives and works in Berlin, Germany

Güneş Terkol
Born in Ankara, Turkey, 1981. Lives and works in Istanbul, Turkey

Heather Phillipson
Born in London, United Kingdom, 1978. Lives and works in London, United Kingdom

Helen Sebidi
Born in Marapyane, South Africa, 1943. Lives and works in Johannesburg, South Africa

Henrik Olesen
Born in Esbjerg, Denmark, 1967. Lives and works in Berlin, Germany

Hito Steyerl
Born in Munich, Germany, 1966. Lives and works in Berlin, Germany

Iza Tarasewicz
Born in Kolonia Koplany, Poland, 1981. Lives and works in Bialystok, Poland and Berlin, Germany

Jonathas de Andrade
Born in Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil, 1982. Lives and works in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

Jordan Belson
Born in Chicago, Illinois, USA, 1926 – San Francisco, California, USA, 2011

Jorge Menna Barreto
Born in Araçatuba, São Paulo, Brazil, 1970. Lives and works in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

José Antonio Suárez Londoño
Born in Medellín, Colombia, 1955. Lives and works in Medellín, Colombia

José Bento
Born in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, 1962. Lives and works in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Kathy Barry
Born in Christchurch, New Zealand, 1969. Lives and works in Auckland, New Zealand

Katia Sepúlveda
Born in Santiago, Chile, 1978. Lives and works in Cologne, Germany and Tijuana, Mexico

Koo Jeong A
Born in Seoul, South Korea, 1967. Lives and works in Berlin, Germany

Lais Myrrha
Born in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, 1974. Lives and works in São Paulo, Brazil

Leon Hirszman
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1937 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1987

Lourdes Castro
Born in Funchal, Portugal, 1930. Lives and works in Ilha da Madeira, Portugal

Luiz Roque
Born in Cachoeira do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, 1979. Lives and works in São Paulo, Brazil

Luke Willis Thompson
Born in Auckland, New Zealand, 1988. Lives and works in Auckland, New Zealand

Lyle Ashton Harris
Born in New York, USA, 1965. Lives and works in New York, USA

Maria Thereza Alves
Born in São Paulo, Brazil, 1961. Lives and works in Berlin, Germany

Mariana Castillo Deball
Born in Mexico City, Mexico, 1975. Lives and works in Berlin, Germany and Mexico City, Mexico

Maryam Jafri
Born in Karachi, Pakistan, 1972. Lives and works in New York, USA and Copenhagen, Denmark

Michael Linares
Born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, 1979. Lives and works in San Juan, Puerto Rico

Michal Helfman
Born in Tel Aviv, Israel, 1973. Lives and works in Tel Aviv, Israel

Misheck Masamvu
Born in Mutare, Zimbabwe, 1980. Lives and works in Harare, Zimbabwe

Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa
Born in Guatemala City, Guatemala, 1978. Lives and works in Berlin, Germany and Guatemala City, Guatemala

Nomeda & Gediminas Urbonas
Born in Kaunas, Lithuania, 1968. Lives and works in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, Vilnius, Lithuania and Trondheim, Norway
Born in Vilnius, Lithuania, 1966. Lives and works in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, Vilnius, Lithuania and Trondheim, Norway

Oficina de imaginação política
Created in 2016. Based in São Paulo, Brazil

OPAVIVARÁ!
Created in 2005. Based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Öyvind Fahlström
Born in São Paulo, Brazil, 1928 – Stockholm, Sweden, 1976

Park McArthur
Born in North Carolina, USA, 1984. Lives and works in New York, USA

Pia Lindman
Born in Espoo, Finland, 1965. Lives and works in Fagervik, Finland

Pierre Huyghe
Born in Antony, France, 1962. Lives and works in Santiago, Chile and New York, USA

Pilar Quinteros
Born in Santiago, Chile, 1988. Lives and works in Santiago, Chile

Pope.L
Born in Newark, New Jersey, USA, 1955. Lives and works in Chicago, Illinois, USA

Priscila Fernandes
Born in Coimbra, Portugal, 1981. Lives and works in Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Rachel Rose
Born in New York, USA, 1986. Lives and works in New York, USA

Rayyane Tabet
Born in Ashqout, Lebanon, 1983. Lives and works in Beirut, Lebanon

Rikke Luther
Born in Aalborg, Denmark, 1970. Lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark and Berlin, Germany

Rita Ponce de León
Born in Lima, Peru, 1982. Lives and works in Mexico City, Mexico

Rosa Barba
Born in Agrigento, Italy, 1972. Lives and works in Berlin, Germany

Ruth Ewan
Born in Aberdeen, United Kingdom, 1980. Lives and works in Glasgow, United Kingdom

Sandra Kranich
Born in Ludwigsburg, Germany, 1971. Lives and works in Frankfurt, Germany

Sonia Andrade
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1935. Lives and works in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Susan Jacobs
Born in Sydney, Australia, 1977. Lives and works in Melbourne, Australia and London, United Kingdom

Till Mycha (Helen Stuhr-Rommereim and Silvia Mollicchi)
Born in Lawrence, Kansas, USA, 1986. Lives and works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Born in Sansepolcro, Italy, 1983. Lives and works in St-Erme, France and London, United Kingdom

Tracey Rose
Born in Durban, South Africa, 1974. Lives and works in Johannesburg, South Africa

Ursula Biemann and Paulo Tavares
Born in Zurich, Switzerland, 1955. Lives and works in Zurich, Switzerland
Born in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil, 1980. Lives and works in São Paulo, Brazil and Quito, Ecuador

Víctor Grippo
Born in Junín, Argentina, 1936 – Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2002

Vídeo nas Aldeias
Created in 1986. Based in Olinda, Pernambuco, Brazil

Vivian Caccuri
Born in São Paulo, Brazil, 1986. Lives and works in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Wilma Martins
Born in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, 1934. Lives and works in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Wlademir Dias-Pino
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1927. Lives and works in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Xabier Salaberria
Born in Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain, 1969. Lives and works in Donostia-San Sebastián and Barcelona, Spain