Phila Art Museum wins award for exhibt in Venice

The Philadelphia Art Museum triumphed in Venice over the weekend when it won a top award for curating the United States pavillion. The Museum presented the work of Bruce Nauman at the prestigious international art expo. But that award-winning show will not be coming home to Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia Art Museum triumphed in Venice over the weekend when it won a top award for curating the United States pavilion. The Museum presented the work of Bruce Nauman at the prestigious international art expo. But that award-winning show will not be coming home to Philadelphia.
Caption: Bruce Nauman, “The True Artist Helps the World by Revealing Mystic Truths (Window or Wall Sign),” 1967.

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If it were the Olympics, it would be a gold medal. The Venice Bienale awarded the Golden Lion to a 40-year retrospective of Bruce Nauman’s neon, sound, and bronze installations spread over three sites in the City of Canals.

Head of curatorial affairs Alice Beamesderfer says most of the work will not come to Philadelphia because the artist tailored them to the buildings in Venice.

Beamesderfer: The installation in Venice is so site-specific that it really would not have been practical to install the entire exhibition here in the museum. The neon pieces were specifically sized for the perimeter of the building.

The Museum did acquire two new pieces for Philadelphia. They are both sound installations wherein the spectator walks down narrow alley of speakers, listening to days of the week – one in English and one in Italian. They will be at the Museum in November.