Giardini, Venice
Geoffrey Farmer
Geoffrey Farmer
Canadian PavilionThe National Gallery of Canada is very proud to organize, with Kitty Scott, Carol and Morton Rapp Curator, Modern and Contemporary Art, Art Gallery of Ontario, the Canada Pavilion presentation of work by artist Geoffrey Farmer at La Biennale di Venezia 2017 – 57th International Art Exhibition, in Venice, Italy. Geoffrey Farmer is an artist known for his laboriously crafted projects of epic proportions combining theatrical techniques with historically sourced material. Farmer was born in 1967 in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he continues to live and work. He attended the San Francisco Art Institute in 1990–91 and the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in 1992. Over his twenty-year career, his installations have been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions around the world at venues including the Louvre in Paris, the Tate Modern in London, Documenta (13) in Kassel, Germany, the Migros Museum für Gegenwartkunst in Zurich, the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, the Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton, the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, the Vancouver Art Gallery, and the National Gallery of Canada. For his exhibition at the 57th International Art Exhibition of la Biennale di Venezia, Farmer will install A way out of the mirror in the Canada Pavilion and its beautiful Giardini gardens. Canada’s representation at the Biennale has played a part in shaping the role and place of Canadian contemporary art within international circles. The Canada Pavilion has helped to launch the international careers of many of our most celebrated artists, including Emily Carr, David Milne, Alfred Pellan, Paul-Émile Borduas, Jean Paul Riopelle, Jean Paul Lemieux, Alex Colville, Guido Molinari, Michael Snow, General Idea, Liz Magor, Geneviève Cadieux, Rodney Graham, Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller, Jana Sterbak, Rebecca Belmore, David Altmejd, Mark Lewis, Steven Shearer, Shary Boyle and BGL. Located in the heart of the historic Giardini di Castello, the Canada Pavilion boasts one of the most desirable locations in Venice. The Venice Biennale is the only international visual arts exhibition to which Canada sends official representation.