We Have the Exclusive 2015 Istanbul Biennial Artist List, Nearly 40 Names So Far

Brian Boucher August 26, 2015 ShareShare This Article

Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev
Photo: Hafenbar via Wikimedia Commons

We have the identities of over three dozen of the artists who will be participating in the 14th edition of the Istanbul Biennial. Curated by Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, the show is titled “Saltwater: A Theory of Thought Forms,” and opens September 5.

Though Christov-Bakargiev has granted some interviews about the show’s concept, she has kept mum about the artists she’ll include and the full list has yet to be announced. Jens Hoffmann and Adriano Pedrosa, who oversaw the 12th edition (2011) of the Istanbul Biennial, took the same tack, saying they did not want the show to be pre-judged in the press.

Christov-Bakargiev oversaw the highly acclaimed Documenta 13 (2012), which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. Some of the artists from that exhibition are taking part in the upcoming biennial. We were given the names of these participating artists by a curator, an artist, a gallerist, and an art advisor, all of whom spoke to artnet News on the condition of anonymity.

For Documenta, Christov-Bakargiev enlisted the help of numerous “agents”—far-flung curatorial advisors including artists, writers, and other curators. Similarly this time around, she has said that she will “seek the artistic advice of Cevdet Erek, the intellectual rigor of Griselda Pollock, the sensitivity of Pierre Huyghe, the curatorial imagination of Chus Martinez, the mindfulness of Marcos Lutyens, the acute gaze of Füsun Onur, the political philosophies of Anna Boghiguian, the youthful enthusiasm of Arlette Quynh-Anh Tran, the wise uncertainties of William Kentridge and manifold qualities and agencies to come as the process develops.”

Don’t call her the curator, by the way; she prefers to say she is “drafting” the show.

The three-dozen-plus artists known to be included, thus far, are:

Etel Adnan

Vernon Ah Kee

Haig Aivazian

Francis Alÿs

Ayreen Anastas and Rene Gabri

Giovanni Anselmo

Ed Atkins

Annie Besant

Anna Boghiguian

Kristina Buch