The Milk of Dreams: inspiring women artists headlining the Venice Biennale 2022
Curator Cecilia Alemani focuses the long-awaited 59th edition of the Venice Biennale on contemporary women artists, embracing, ‘symbiosis, solidarity and sisterhood’

Cecilia Alemani is not only the first Italian woman to curate the Venice Biennale, but is also its first curator to ensure that an overwhelming majority of the 213 artists exhibiting are women or gender non-conforming.
Now is a time of new beginnings, as the world tentatively emerges from the pandemic. Alemani describes the artist demographic of the main exhibition, ‘The Milk of Dreams’ as ‘a choice that reflects an international art scene full of creative ferment and a deliberate rethinking of man’s centrality in the history of art and contemporary culture’.
Cecilia Alemani by Andrea Avezzù.
The exhibition borrows its title from The Milk of Dreams, a pivotal book written by the British-born Mexican surrealist Leonora Carrington, who was also involved in the Women’s Liberation Movement in Mexico. Alemani was drawn to how the book captures ‘a magical world where life is constantly re-envisioned through the prism of the imagination’. Carrington’s paintings likewise convey female sexuality from her own perspective. She met the surrealist Max Ernst in London in 1937 and they fell in love. They were separated by the Second World War, after which he married the eminent Peggy Guggenheim, whose eponymous Venice collection will team up with the Museum Barberini to exhibit the joint show ‘Surrealism and Magic: Enchanted Modernity’ during the Biennale.
Alemani has placed a strong emphasis on surrealism, but as she declares, ‘I don't need to include Salvador Dalí’, because she was overwhelmed by the brilliance of the contemporary women artists whom she met over hundreds of Zoom studio visits during the pandemic, ranging from by the emerging Hungarian artist Zsófia Keresztes to the groundbreaking Samí artists Máret Ánne Sara and Pauliina Feodoroff at the Nordic Pavilion.
Nordic Pavilion, Venice
One of the most exciting artists to be exhibited across the 80 national pavilions in the Giardini, Arsenale and wider Venice is Latifa Echakhch, who will represent Switzerland with The Concert. A winner of the Marcel Duchamp Prize who has also exhibited at the Centre Pompidou and Tate Modern, the Moroccan-French visual artist described how she has ‘no other goals, but questioning the world around me’. Echakhch’s work is ‘inspired by how everyday objects can be transfigured into signifiers of identity, history and mythology’.
RELATED STORY
Venice Biennale 2022: 15 national pavilions on our radar
Another unmissable show will be that of American artist Mary Weatherford at Museo di Palazzo Grimani. Her powerful exhibition ‘The Flaying of Marsyas’ reflects on her conversation with the Italian Renaissance painter Titian’s late titular masterpiece of 1570 – 76. Similarly ambitious is the retrospective of 100 paintings and drawings by the thought-provoking South African artist Marlene Dumas, on view at the iconic Palazzo Grassi.
Installation view of Latifa Echakhch, L'air du temps, Winner of Prix Marcel Duchamp 2013, Centre Pompidou, Paris, 2014, Courtesy of the artist
American art will have a substantial presence at the Venice Biennale 2022. The work of American modernist sculptor Ruth Asawa is part of the main exhibition, while Simone Leigh will take over the widely anticipated US Pavilion. The influential artist describes how she has, ‘created a multi-faceted body of work incorporating sculpture, video, and installation, all informed by her ongoing exploration of Black female-identified subjectivity’.
Ensuring a turning point in the history of art, Alemani’s extensive roster of contemporary women artists participating in the 59th Venice Biennale will set the tone for future editions. As Alemani underlines, her approach to curating the postponed 59th edition was, ‘not built around systems of direct inheritance or conflict but around forms of symbiosis, solidarity and sisterhood’. Whilst Europe is overshadowed by war, the much-anticipated Venice Biennale will offer a defiant sense of hope and inclusivity.
Padiglione Centrale. Courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia
INFORMATION
The 59th Venice Biennale will run from 23 April – 27 November 2022. labiennale.org
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
-
OPPO celebrated smartphone photography excellence at Paris Photo 2023
Smartphone giant OPPO announced the next steps in smartphone photography during its Paris Photo showcase
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Hermès blasts off to ’the silky way’ for breathtaking London event
Behind-the-scenes of Hermès’ ‘Brides de Galaxy’ in London yesterday evening, a jaw-dropping event celebrating the carré silk scarf and its instantly recognisable prints
By Jack Moss Published
-
Nail artist Ama Quashie on working with Chanel, Phoebe Philo, Alaïa, and more
Ama Quashie has mastered the craft of the manicure, fingertip by fingertip
By Hannah Tindle Published
-
Triennale Milano exhibition spotlights contemporary Italian art
The latest Triennale Milano exhibition, ‘Italian Painting Today’, is a showcase of artworks from the last three years
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Walls, Windows and Blood: Catherine Opie in Naples
Catherine Opie's new exhibition ‘Walls, Windows and Blood’ is now on view at Thomas Dane Gallery, Naples
By Amah-Rose Abrams Published
-
Edinburgh Art Festival 2023: from bog dancing to binge drinking
What to see at Edinburgh Art Festival 2023, championing women and queer artists, whether exploring Scottish bogland on film or casting hedonism in ceramic
By Amah-Rose Abrams Published
-
Last chance to see: Devon Turnbull’s ‘HiFi Listening Room Dream No. 1’ at Lisson Gallery, London
Devon Turnbull/OJAS’ handmade sound system matches minimalist aesthetics with a profound audiophonic experience – he tells us more
By Jorinde Croese Published
-
Hospital Rooms and Hauser & Wirth unite for a sensorial London exhibition and auction
Hospital Rooms and Hauser & Wirth are working together to raise money for arts and mental health charities
By Hannah Silver Published
-
The best London art exhibitions to see now
Your guide to the best London art exhibitions, as chosen by the Wallpaper* arts desk
By Hannah Silver Published
-
‘These Americans’: Will Vogt documents the USA’s rich at play
Will Vogt’s photo book ‘These Americans’ is a deep dive into a world of privilege and excess, spanning 1969 to 1996
By Sophie Gladstone Published
-
Brian Eno extends his ambient realms with these environment-altering sculptures
Brian Eno exhibits his new light box sculptures in London, alongside a unique speaker and iconic works by the late American light artist Dan Flavin
By Jonathan Bell Published