Socle du Monde Biennale 2021
Welcome Back My Friends to the Show that Never Ends
June 12th – October 31th 2021

Planned originally for last year, the 8th edition of the Socle du Monde Biennale 2021 “Welcome Back My Friends to the Show that Never Ends” is finally opening this summer. The show’s title originally did not refer to a post-pandemic opening of art exhibitions but has since gained another significance. Established in 2002, Socle du Monde is the oldest Danish Biennale of contemporary art.

The central focus of this year´s edition is the integration and embedment of the City space. As a result, the three museums, a former high school, a church, parks, public and private buildings are transformed into showplaces for sight specific exhibitions. Hereby linking past, present and future by fostering an exchange between different generations of international artists, as well as connecting historical works by Arte Povera with new emerging positions. Furthermore, a highlight of this year’s Biennale is the Open Call, which is occurring for the first time, inviting artists from various fields to join in with their works.

WHAT TO EXPECT
The juxtaposition of the public and the private is examining interpersonal interaction and communication, be it between close friends, or generations. Spencer Tunick’s performance, in which thousands of naked strangers join into a unitary whole, exemplifies how the artist explores social frameworks, community and intimacy. Jaume Plensa anchors mutual tolerance in everyday life with a public intervention, placing aluminium doors throughout Herning that display the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Antony Gormley’s over 10,000 miniature clay figures are questioning our responsibility facing the world.

With architectural interventions, playful objects and installations, thought-provoking images and sound, Socle du Monde 2021 invites visitors to participate in a festival-like experience where the real and the artistic life merge, where geographic and artistic boundaries are blurred, and where old and new friends meet.

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS:
El Anatsui ++ Giovanni Anselmo ++ Alighiero Boetti ++ Pier Paolo Calzolari ++ Herman de Vries ++ Bjørn Poulsen ++ Sven Dalsgaard ++ Luciano Fabro ++ Mahsa Karimzadeh ++ Muriel Gallardo Weinstein ++ Antony Gormley ++ Eva Steen Christensen ++ Kari Anne Helleberg Bahri ++ Kimsooja ++ Joël Andrianomearisoa ++ Jannis Kounellis ++ Charles LeDray ++ Piero Manzoni ++ Marisa Merz ++ Mario Merz ++ Klaus Munch ++ Giulio Paolini ++ Pino Pascali ++ Giuseppe Penone ++ Jan Henderikse ++ Michelangelo Pistoletto ++ Jaume Plensa ++ Emilio Prini ++ Maria Roosen ++ Christian Megert ++ Spencer Tunick ++ Gilberto Zorio ++ Yayoi Kusama – Various artists from the Open Call