54. Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte – Padiglione dell'Islanda

54. Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte – la Biennale di Venezia - Illuminazioni

Dal 4 giugno al 27 novembre 2011 

Padiglione dell'Islanda : Libia Castro, Olafur Olafsson - Under Deconstruction

 The Spanish-Icelandic artist duo Libia Castro & Ólafur Ólafsson have been chosen to exhibit on Iceland’s behalf at the 54th International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia 2011. Their work is characterised by their at once attentive and critical, analytical and emotional gaze and their interest in identifying the many questions that the present raises. The trans-cultural tendency in today’s world and the complex relationships that spring from it is one of the artist’s main concerns, exploring relationships among art, everyday life, politics and transculturality.

 Castro, born in Madrid, and Ólafsson, born in Reykjavík – based in Rotterdam and Berlin and aptly referred to as “citizens of the world” – met in the Netherlands in 1997 and have been collaborating since. From the outset, their work caught attention in the Netherlands and in Iceland, and soon internationally, participating in biennials, individual and groups shows widely and earning them in 2009 the third prize of the prestigious Dutch art award Prix de Rome, for their video Lobbyists. Building up a strong body of work using a variety of media, performative installations, sculpture, photography, sound and video, they have developed a conceptual approach with a sense of play, transgression, and inventiveness, often based on intense research into a given subject area. “With Libia Castro and Ólafur Ólafsson, the Icelandic pavilion in Venice in 2011 will feature an artist duo that has built an impressive roster of international exhibitions and an engaging individual practice that stands out in today’s art world”, says Christian Schoen, director of the Center for Icelandic Art (CIA) and Icelandic commissioner for the Biennale 2007 and 2009. “I am extremely excited to follow their trans-cultural approach towards an Icelandic presentation at the Venice Biennale 2011. They are worthy representatives of the contemporary art scene in Iceland, cutting-edge contemporary artists with a significant socio-critical approach.”