June 11–September 24, 2022
You are invited to a walk-through exhibition in Val Bregaglia by the 2022 Biennale Bregaglia. The exhibition features pieces by twelve well-known artists from across the country and the world, the majority of which were especially made for the 2022 Biennale Bregaglia in close cooperation with the curators Bigna Guyer and Anna Vetsch. The connectivity of the villages in Bregaglia is the biennale’s subject for this year. Vicosoprano, the former capital of Val Bregaglia, is where the exhibition’s focal point is located.
The public can enter the Biennale Bregaglia 2022 on June 11. The theme of the art show is how the communities of Bregaglia are connected. The village of Vicosoprano, which is situated in the center of Val Bregaglia, serves as the venue for this second Biennale Bregaglia. The artists can draw from a wide range of sources in Vicosoprano to depict both the historical context of the valley and the characteristics of daily life there.
Artists
The following artists are represented at the 2022 Biennale Bregaglia: Nevin Aladağ, Julian Charrière, Zoé Cornelius, Andriu Deplazes, Jeanno Gaussi, Nilbar Güreş, Christian Hörler, Alexandra Navratil, Jiří Makovec & Jiajia Zhang, Val Minnig, Rico Scagliola & Michael Meier, and Lena Maria Thüring.
Wild card
A wild card was revealed in addition to the artists chosen for the 2022 Bregaglia Biennale to provide an emerging artist with the chance to exhibit their work in front of a large audience in a widely recognized exhibition both domestically and abroad. Artists were asked to create site-specific works of art that addressed Val Bregaglia. Over 70 applications for the wild card were submitted altogether. Zoé Cornelius, a Lausanne-based artist born in 1992, is the winner of the wild card.
Curators
The two art historians Bigna Guyer and Anna Vetsch are in charge of curating the 2022 Biennale Bregaglia. The curator team is particularly concerned in issues surrounding site-specificity, how art and daily life are intertwined, and art mediation. The co-initiator of initiatives like stadtprojektionen in St. Gallen and curator and co-project manager for art at La Mobilière, Vetsch works as a freelance curator. Guyer, who is now working on a dissertation regarding contemporary sculptural practice, served as the curator of the Canton of Zurich’s art collection from 2018 to 2022.
The two curators give a broad interpretation of the overarching theme of village interconnection in Val Bregaglia and locate it in the valley’s geography, natural forces at work, the placement of the villages, as well as various natural-historical events and social-historical developments like the trade route to the south, the construction of the pass road and Albigna dam, the Reformation, and witch trials. Oral history is a significant resource that provides accounts from the local populace that can be used to infer present living circumstances in the valley.
History of Biennale Bregaglia
The group Progetti d’arte in Val Bregaglia hosts the Biennale Bregaglia. Val Bregaglia has developed into a significant location for contemporary art exhibitions in recent years. The organisation Progetti d’arte in Val Bregaglia, which was established in 2012, has dedicated itself to promoting and putting on local contemporary art exhibitions, initiatives, and events.
Publication
Scheidegger&Spiess/Edizioni Casagrande is publishing a book on the occasion of the Biennale Bregaglia 2022, which, in addition to an extensive picture section, also contains a text on each of the exhibited works. For more information, visit here.
Fringe programme
Throughout the duration of Biennale Bregaglia, numerous events and a comprehensive fringe programme are planned, including guided tours, panel discussions, artist talks and readings. For more information, visit here.
Biennale Bregaglia 2022
June 11–September 24
Vicosoprano, Switzerland
Free admission
