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As Commissioner for Australia, the Australia Council is pleased to announce Marco Fusinato and Alexie Glass-Kantor have been selected as the artist and curator for Australia’s representation at the 59th Venice Biennale. Fusinato’s exhibition will be presented at the Australian Pavilion within the historic Giardini della Biennale precinct from May to November 2021.
Marco Fusinato has led a distinguished career as a contemporary Australian artist and musician. Combining gallery practices and live performance, Fusinato works extensively across installation, photography, performance, recording, and publishing.
His overall aesthetic project combines allegorical appropriation with an interest in the intensity of a gesture or event. His work has been presented in many exhibitions, including All the World’s Futures, the 56th Venice Biennale, Venice, 2015; The Imminence of Poetics, 30th Sao Paulo Biennale, Sao Paulo, 2012; SUPERPOSITION: Art of Equilibrium and Engagement, the 21st Biennale of Sydney, 2018. His work was also included in Soundings: A Contemporary Score, the first ever exhibition of sound at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2013 and Sonic Youth: Sensational Fix (2008-2010) a travelling exhibition around European museums of artists that have collaborated with the NYC rock band, Sonic Youth.
As a musician Fusinato explores the idea of noise as music, using the electric guitar and mass amplification to improvise intricate, wide-ranging and physically affecting frequencies. His ongoing series of durational noise-guitar performances Spectral Arrows—described as a monumental aural sculpture—was first performed at The Glasgow International Arts Festival (2012) and has since been performed in museums and theatres worldwide. He also performs regularly in the experimental music world, primarily as a solo artist and has released many recordings mainly on vinyl format since 1996.
Fusinato was recently nominated for two prestigious awards, the Nam June Paik Art Centre Prize, South Korea (2018) and the Nasher Prize, Dallas, USA (2017). He was the recipient of an Australia Council for the Arts Fellowship in 2016.
Fusinato said he was honoured to be selected to represent Australia at the Biennale Arte 2021.
“It’s an immense privilege to have been chosen from among such a high calibre of shortlisted artists to present my work at the prestigious Biennale Arte 2021. I look forward to working with Alexie Glass-Kantor to present my work at this unparalleled international platform,” he said.
Alexie Glass-Kantor is one of Australia’s most highly regarded curators, currently the Executive Director of Artspace in Sydney and the curator of Encounters for Art Basel Hong Kong.
Glass-Kantor said: “Marco has such a conceptually rigorous and influential practice, and I am delighted to be working with the artist and the Australia Council for the Arts to present an ambitious new commission in the Australian Pavilion at Biennale Arte in 2021. We both recognise the extraordinary talent amongst the field of this year’s shortlisted artistic teams, and are both extremely grateful for this opportunity.”
Australia Council CEO Adrian Collette AM said: “We are excited to announce Marco Fusinato and Alexie Glass-Kantor as Australia’s representatives at Biennale Arte 2021 and look forward to the realisation of this work that will reflect the richness of Australia’s creativity. Representing Australia at the Venice Biennale offers one of the most significant international opportunities for Australian contemporary visual artists. Australia’s continued participation at Venice maintains our commitment to Australian contemporary visual arts and artists and connecting Australian and global audiences.”
The 2021 artistic team was chosen through an open call for applications, assessed by an independent expert panel of visual arts professionals. The Venice Selection Panel for 2021 comprised Rhana Devenport, Juliana Engberg, Kelly Gellatly, Julie Gough and Aaron Seeto.
The Australia Council is Commissioner for Australia’s National Participation at the Venice Biennale 2021.
Media contact:
Brianna Roberts, Media Manager
Australia Council for the Arts
T +61 2 9215 9030
b.roberts [at] australiacouncil.gov.au
