Maria Eichhorn investigates the hidden history of the German Pavilion in Venice

Maria Eichhorn investigates the hidden history of the German Pavilion in Venice

Commissioner: ifa – Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen
Curator: Yilmaz Dziewior
Artist: Maria Eichhorn

Maria Eichhorn (Bamberg, 1962) is the artist selected to represent Germany at the 59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia.

Renowned for her conceptual works, through which she investigates institutional structures of power and the connection between politics and business (for example, in her Projekte in Münster 1997, to analyze the concept of land ownership, she bought a lot in the center of the city of Munster and, after selling it, she devolved the profit to an organization fighting gentrification), at the Art Biennale 2022 she focused on the transformations of the German Pavilion which, despite various renovations after World War II, still maintains many elements dating back to the Nazi period.
By removing portions of plaster and a part of the pavement of the central hall, the artist unveiled the structural changes the pavilion underwent in 1938, disclosing remains of the original 1909 building.

Views of the installation by Maria Eichhorn in the German Pavilion, 59th Venice Art Biennale; photos © Riccardo Bianchini / Inexhibit.

Views of the installation by Maria Eichhorn in the German Pavilion, 59th Venice Art Biennale; photos © Federica Lusiardi / Inexhibit.