“The artist wanted them to remain in the city where they were conceived,” said Philippe Segalot, the New York dealer who brokered the transaction.
Near Polke’s paintings in the Italian Pavilion is a show-stopping installation by the French artist Sophie Calle. In one of two stark rooms, viewers are presented with a wall text explaining that Calle learned her mother had a month left to live the same day she received a call inviting her to exhibit at the Biennale. In the next room, is a video of her mother resting peacefully in her final hours with medical attendants hovering over her; her favorite music, Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, plays in the background as the screen eventually fades into darkness.
Calle also represents France in its national pavilion. Again, she transformed the space into an autobiographical installation, here of paintings and videos, asking 107 women to interpret a breakup letter from a man she had been involved with. Actresses acted the letter, a singer sang it, a criminologist analyzed it, an editor annotated it, a photographer shot it, and a crossword puzzle specialist created a crossword puzzle of it. There was even a parrot who ate the letter.
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