The Venice Biennale is a major art event held every year, attracting worldwide attention. Since its opening on April 20, this artistic event has been particularly noted for the participation of numerous African pavilions, offering programming that is both impressive and surprising. To make this experience unique and enriching, side events are organized to enable the public to discover and explore this diversity of contemporary works. Julie Mehretu takes advantage of this effervescence to present an exhibition that resonates with the Biennial’s theme.
Julie Mehretu, American visual artist born in 1970 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, unveils her exhibition “Ensemble” at Palazzo Grassi until January 6, 2025. This retrospective features over 50 paintings and prints, offering a panorama of a twenty-five-year career. This is the largest exhibition of the contemporary artist’s work in Europe, highlighting her collaborations with numerous guest artists including Nairy Baghramian, Huma Bhabha, Robin Coste Lewis, Tacita Dean, David Hammons, Paul Pfeiffer and Jessica Rankin.
Curated by Caroline Bourgeois, Chief Curator of the Pinault Collection, and Julie Mehretu herself, “Ensemble” presents a selection of over fifty paintings and works on paper created by the artist over a 25-year period, including recent works from 2021 to 2024. Presented on both floors of Palazzo Grassi, the exhibition brings together 17 works from the Pinault Collection, as well as loans from international museums and private collections. The originality of this artistic presentation lies in the presence of works by her close artist friends, with whom she has enjoyed a long-standing relationship of exchange and collaboration.
Julie Mehretu’s “Ensemble” exhibition offers a non-linear visual journey through her work, inviting visitors to explore the richness of her artistic evolution. Her composed abstract paintings communicate with each other, creating a silent dialogue across time. This silent conversation brings the exhibition to life, highlighting the diverse influences that have shaped his art, such as art history, geography, history, social struggles, revolutionary movements and the subjectivity of the individuals who have shaped these areas of knowledge and creation.
“Ensemble” goes beyond a simple exhibition, offering an artistic communion between the works of Julie Mehretu and those of her artist friends. Despite formal differences, common concerns and guidelines emerge, showing that the artist is not isolated, but in relationship with others, their thoughts and sensibilities. The fruitful dialogue between the works of the various artists enables us to move beyond the idea of individual creation, and highlight mutual influences and inspirations. Each of these artists, like Julie Mehretu, built their art on geographical and cultural displacement, fleeing or leaving their countries of origin, such as Ethiopia, Iran or Pakistan.
The important collaboration with K21-Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen (Düsseldorf) for Julie Mehretu’s exhibition “Ensemble” adds an international dimension to this major artistic event. The future presentation of the exhibition in Düsseldorf in 2025 will enable a wider public to discover the artist’s work and deepen their understanding of it.
In addition to the exhibition itself, “Ensemble” is accompanied by a catalog, a visitor’s guide and a series of lectures and cultural events open to the public. These activities enrich the visitor experience by highlighting the participating artists, the themes explored in the exhibition and offering in-depth discussions on contemporary art and Julie Mehretu’s artistic practice. These cultural events are part of the transversal programming of Palazzo Grassi’s Teatrino, offering visitors a complete and immersive cultural experience.