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Current Exhibitions

Felix Gonzalez-Torres: America, representing the U.S. at the 52nd Venice Biennale, has opened to widespread popular and critical praise.

Felix Gonzalez-Torres: America, the official U.S. representation at the 2007 Venice Biennale opened to the public on June 10th at the U.S. Pavilion in the Castello Gardens in Venice, Italy. The exhibition, organized by Nancy Spector, Chief Curator of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, serving as the United States Commissioner, remains on view until November 21, 2007.

Chosen through an open competition conducted by the Cultural Programs Division of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the exhibition presents the work of the Cuban-born American citizen who died prematurely of AID-related illnesses in 1996. Among the signature works of Mr. Gonzalez-Torres on view is Untitled (America), the largest of several light-string works, which graces the entrance rotunda of the Pavilion. In addition to the works on view in the Pavilion, series of billboards along roads leading to Venice from the mainland, which depict a single bird in lone flight against a steel gray sky.

The response of visitors to the exhibition has been overwhelmingly positive, as has the critical response in the U.S. and international press.

To learn more, please visit http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/10/AR2007061001378.html?referrer=emailarticle

U.S. Artists Participate in Documenta 12 in Kassel, Germany

Documenta, the major international arts exhibition held every five years in Kassel, Germany, inaugurated its 12th edition on June 16th, with over 15 artists and performers representing the U.S. The U.S. projects include painting, photography, sculptural installations, and public art projects arrayed throughout the five sites of the exhibition in and around the city. In all, 113 artists from all parts of the globe are represented, with over 500 art works.

Documenta, begun in 1955 as part of the reconstruction efforts in post-World War II Germany, has grown in size and stature to become an important feature of the German and international arts calendar in the years in which it occurs. The President of the German Federal Republic, Horst Köhler, presided at opening ceremonies for the exhibition, which will remain on view for 100 days. The U.S. government was represented by Jo Ellen Powell, Consul General, Frankfurt.

ECA provided support for the U.S. artists via a grant to Documenta from the American Embassy in Berlin. For the second time, this year, Documenta includes a separate film program featuring independent and feature films and documentaries. Ninety-four filmmakers are represented in the film program, 35 from the U.S.

Documenta on webpage: http://frankfurt.usconsulate.gov/frankfurt/documenta.html
Photo Gallery: http://photos.state.gov/galleries/frankfurt/8936/documenta/1.html