The 55th International Art Exhibition at the Venice Biennale will take place from June 1st to November 24th, 2013 at the Giardini and at the Arsenale (preview: May 29th, 30th and 31st 2013), as well as in various venues the city.

The title chosen by curator Massimiliano Gioni for the 55th International Art Exhibition is: Il Palazzo Enciclopedico / The Encyclopedic Palace. Massimiliano Gioni introduced the choice of theme evoking the artist self-taught Italian-American Marino Auriti that“on November 16, 1955 filed a design with the US Patent office depicting his Palazzo Enciclopedico (The Encyclopedic Palace), an imaginary museum that was meant to house all worldly knowledge, bringing together the greatest discoveries of the human race, from the wheel to the satellite. Auriti’s plan was never carried out, of course, but the dream of universal, all-embracing knowledge crops up throughout history, as one that eccentrics like Auriti share with many other artists, writers, scientists, and prophets who have tried - often in vain - to fashion an image of the world that will capture its infinite variety and richness.”

http://www.folkartmuseum.org/?p=folk&t=images&id=6430

Artists showing will include:

Marino Auriti
Born in 1891 in Guardiagrele, Italy
Died in 1980 in Kennett Square, USA
 
Enrico Baj
Born in 1924 in Milan, Italy
Died in 2003 in Vergiate, Italy
 
Morton Bartlett
Born in 1909 in Chicago, USA
Died in 1992 in Boston, USA

Hans Bellmer
Born in 1902 in Katowice, Poland
Died in 1975 in Paris, France

Graphic Works of Southeast Asia and Melanesia, Hugo A. Bernatzik Collection 1932–1937
 
Arthur Bispo do Rosário
Born in about 1910 in Japaratuba, Brazil
Died in 1989 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
 
Frédéric Bruly Bouabré
Born in 1923 in Zéprégüé, Ivory Coast

James Castle
Born in 1899 in Garden Valley, USA
Died in 1977 in Boise, USA

George Condo
Born in 1957 in Concord, USA
 
Aleister Crowley and Frieda Harris
Born in 1875 in Royal Leamington Spa, UK
Died in 1947 in Hastings, UK
Born in 1877 in London, UK
Died in 1962 in Srinagar, India
 
Robert Crumb
Born in 1943 in Philadelphia, USA

Guo Fengyi
Born in 1942 in Xi’an, China
Died in 2010 in Xi’an, China
 
Haitian Vodou Flags

Carl Gustav Jung
Born in 1875 in Kesswil, Switzerland
Died in 1961 in Küsnacht, Switzerland
 
Augustin Lesage
Born in 1876 in Saint-Pierre-les-Auchel, France
Died in 1954 in Burbure, France

Achilles G. Rizzoli
Born in 1896 in Marin County, USA
Died in 1981 in San Francisco, USA

Friedrich Schröder-Sonnenstern
Born in 1892 in Jasnoje, Russia
Died in 1982 in Berlin, Germany