Dundee lecturer represents Scotland at 56th Venice Biennale
Published On Tue 5 May 2015 by Grant Hill
Graham Fagen, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Dundee and one of the UK’s foremost contemporary artists, is leading Scotland’s representation at the 2015 Venice Biennale.
The Biennale is regarded as the largest and most prestigious visual arts exhibition in the world, and millions of visitors from around the world will visit it from 9th May to 22nd November. Although this will be the fourth time that Graham, who works with PhD, Master of Fine Art and final year BA (Hons) students at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, has been involved in Scotland’s representation at Venice this will be his be his first solo exhibition there.
Graham is presenting an entirely new body of work, including sculptures, drawings, and a five-channel audio-visual installation, commissioned and curated by Hospitalfield in Arbroath. The exhibition will be held at Palazzo Fontana, a Venetian palace located on the Grand Canal in the Cannaregio district of Venice. This is the first time the venue will be used for an exhibition of visual art and is a new location within the city for Scotland + Venice.
Drawing on his long-term commitment to collaboration across multiple art forms and disciplines, Graham will bring together internationally renowned composer Sally Beamish, the musicians of Scottish Ensemble, reggae singer Ghetto Priest and music producer Adrian Sherwood to realise an ambitious installation.
Graham said, “The Venice Biennale offers an exciting platform to showcase my work in a truly international context. I am honoured to have been recognised and chosen by the Scotland + Venice partnership to participate in Scotland’s presentation at this year’s Biennale.
“Having their support has enabled me to work collaboratively with the renowned composer Sally Beamish and to rekindle my long term collaborations with producer Adrian Sherwood and the fantastic vocals of Ghetto Priest.”
This will be the seventh presentation from Scotland + Venice, the partnership between Creative Scotland, the National Galleries of Scotland and the British Council Scotland. Venice is an important project that helps to build Scotland’s profile and reputation as an international centre for the visual arts.
Lucy Byatt, Director of Hospitalfield, said, “I first began working with Graham on the long-running Royston Road Project in north Glasgow (1992-2002) for which he made a series of important works. Working together again on the 2015 Scotland + Venice presentation is an extremely rewarding experience; an important international platform for Graham and a vital opportunity for Hospitalfield as we develop the visibility and programming for this important and long-lived Scottish art institution.”
Amanda Catto, Visual Arts Portfolio Manager, Creative Scotland, added, “Scotland + Venice has a long-established history of promoting new work by leading Scottish artists at la Biennale di Venezia. Graham Fagen’s presentation will continue this tradition of showcasing some of the best Scottish contemporary art within the context of one of the world’s most important exhibitions of visual art. We look forward to welcoming visitors to experience this presentation first-hand.”
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