Asian artists at the Giardini's central pavilion at the Venice Art Biennale

South Korea

Kim Yun Shin (1935)

Kim Yun Shin's sculptures on display in the Giardini's central pavilion are made of wood or stone.

All his sculptures since the end of 1970 have the same title: “Add Two Add One Divide Two Divide One” and are linked to the Chinese philosophy of Yin and Yang.

Kim Yun Shin, Add Two Add One Divide Two Divide One

India

Bhupen Khakhar (1934-2003)

Bhupen Khakhar, Fischerman in Goa, Venice Art Biennale

Bhupen Khakhar, Fischerman in Goa Bhupen Khakhar was one of the first Indian painters to create works relating to the taboos of Indian society and homosexuality.

In this painting “Fischerman in Goa” we can see three men, one of whom is naked.

The scene takes place by the river.

Here Bhupen Khakhar fetishises the sexuality of the male body through gestures, but also through the metaphor of the fish that the man in the centre of the painting holds in one hand while his other hand slips under the shirt of the other fisherman.

This is the first time Bhupen Khakhar's work has been shown at the Venice Art Biennale.

Ram Kumar (1924-2018)

Ram Kumar is a writer, but also an Indian painter.

He has already been exhibited at the Venice Art Biennale in 1958.

Ram Kumar, Women
Philippines

Anita Magsaysay-Ho (1914-2012)

Anita Magsaysay-Ho occupies an important place in the history of modernism in Southeast Asia.

In her “Self-Portrait” she depicts herself working in her studio, which is immersed in a kind of blur while her face, by contrast, is sharp and luminous.

Anita Magsaysay-Ho, Self-portrait, Venice Art Biennale

Anita Magsaysay-Ho
Sri Lanka

George Keyt (1901-1993)

George Keyt was one of the most important Sri Lankan painters of his generation.

In his work “Nayika Vasantha Raga”, one senses both the influence of Cubism mixed with that of Henri Matisse.

George Keyt, Nayika Vasantha Raga, Venice Art Biennale