Founded in 1951, Bienal de São Paulo is after the Venice Biennial the second oldest Biennial in the world. According to the ArtFacts.Net Artist Ranking the TOP 10 artists under 50 exhibiting at Bienal de São Paulo – Affective Affinities include; Andrea Büttner, Cameron Rowland,  Jennifer Tee, Zilvinas Landzbergas, Maria Laet, Ruby Onyinyechi Amanze, Mame-Diarra Niang, Luiza Crosman, Bruno Moreschi, Lhola Amira.  

ArtFacts Artist Rank |     Name | Year of Birth

721 | Andrea Büttner |  1972

2541 | Cameron Rowland |  1988

3567 | Jennifer Tee | 1973

4851 | Zilvinas Landzbergas | 1979

6917 | Maria Laet | 1982

10963 | Ruby Onyinyechi Amanze | 1982

32803 | Mame-Diarra Niang | 1982

76938 | Luiza Crosman | 1987

104870 | Bruno Moreschi | 1982

130202 | Lhola Amira | 1984

From September 7 to December 9, 2018, the 33rd Bienal de São Paulo – Affective Affinities aims to encourage each spectator’s individual appreciation of art by avoiding an overarching theme that could prompt pre-established understandings. The title selected by curator Gabriel Pérez-Barreiro resonates with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s novel Elective Affinities (1809), as well as Mário Pedrosa’s thesis ‘On the Affective Nature of Form in the Work of Art’ (1949).

However, the title is not intended to provide the exhibition with a thematic direction. Instead, it reflects the show’s organization, which draws on artistic and cultural links and affinities between participating artists. Like in Pedrosa’s text, it proposes an investigation into the ways that art creates an environment of relationships and communication, which begins with the artist and moves through the object to the viewer. Presence, attention and the way that the environment influences our experience, are the premises that guide the curatorial proposal, which functions as a response to a world of ready-made truths, in which the fragmentation of information and inability to focus attention can lead to alienation and passivity.

The curator believes in the positive impact of a radical change in the Bienal’s operating system. For this edition, alongside twelve solo projects selected by the curator –  Peréz-Barreiro, seven artist-curators invited by him have defined their exhibition proposals. They have been working with full autonomy to choose participating artists and artworks. The only imposition is that they include their own work in their exhibitions. Sected curators include; Alejandro Cesarco, Antonio Ballester Moreno, Claudia Fontes, Mamma Andersson, Sofia Borges, Waltercio Caldas, Wura-Natasha Ogunji.

33 Bienal de São Paulo – Affective Affinities

7 September – 9 December 2018

free admission