You don’t go to the Venice Biennale to stand in front of portraits and take selfies; it’s all about experiential art.
As the Wall Street Journal notes, this year’s Biennale proves the worthiness of the festival.
Stretching from May 13 to November 26, the famed art exhibition is taking place at a pair of venues—the Giardini park and Arsenale shipyard—in Venice, Italy; and features some of the world’s most groundbreaking performance, conceptual, film, video, and other envelope-pushing modern artists.
The Journal sets the scene of this year’s Golden Lion winner, “Faust,” a performance art piece by German artist Anne Imhof:
“At the German pavilion … two Doberman Pinschers are on patrol behind a heavy metal fence. Inside the building, visitors walk over a plate-glass floor, an experience all the more unsettling because young people in black athletic gear are trapped below in sanitized rooms strewn with manacles, mattresses, bars of soap, and steel dog bowls. Accompanied by a pulsing electronic soundtrack or mournful chanting, their faces are emotionless as they crawl along the floor, climb up and fall back.”
Below, browse some of the incredible art on display at the 57th Venice Biennale.
The sculpture ‘Support’ by Italian artist Lorenzo Quinn during the 57th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale. (Adam Berry/Getty Images)
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Actors perform in ‘Faust’ by German artist Anne Imhof during the 57th International Art Exhibition Biennale in Venice. (Giacomo Cosua/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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‘The horse problem’ by Argentinian artist Claudia Fontes during the 57th International Art Exhibition Biennale in Venice. (Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images)
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‘Imitation of Christ’ by Italian artist Roberto Cuoghi during the 57th International Art Exhibition Biennale in Venice. (Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images)
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Norwegian artist Siri Aurdal’s in the ‘Mirrored’ exhibition of the Nordic Pavillon during the 57th International Art Exhibition Biennale in Venice. (Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images)
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An actress performs in Austrian artist Erwin Wrum’s art piece ‘Stand quiet and look out over the Mediterranean sea 2017’ during the 57th International Art Exhibition Biennale, in Venice. (Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images)
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Austrian artist Erwin Wrum’s art piece ‘Stand quiet and look out over the Mediterranean sea 2017’ at the 57th International Art Exhibition Biennale, on May 9, 2017 in Venice. (Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images)
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An installation by Ekin Onat part of ‘objection’ during the Press Opening of the Arte Biennale 2017 in Venice, Italy. (Marco Secchi/Getty Images)
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‘Medusa’ by artist Mark Bradford during the 57th International Art Exhibition in Venice. (Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images)
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View of Damien Hirst’s exibition at Pallazzo Grassi during the 57th Venice Biennale in Venice, Italy. (Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty Images)
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‘Pars pro Toto’ by Polish artist Alicja Kwade, on May 10, 2017 in Venice during the 57th International Art Exhibition Biennale. (Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images)
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The entrance of ‘Grotta Profunda, Approfondita’ an artwork by French artist Pauline Curnier Jardin during the 57th International Art Exhibition Biennale in Venice. (Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images)
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A picture shows the artwork ‘Swan Song: Now’ by Czech artist Jana Zelinska during the 57th International Art Exhibition Biennale in Venice. (Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images)
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‘Theatrum Orbis’ made by Russian artist Grisha Bruskin during the 57th International Art Exhibition Biennale in Venice. (Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images)
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