Scotland and Venice Biennale

Exhibition Context

The UK has participated in the Venice Biennale of Art since its inception and from the earliest days this included representation from throughout the British Isles.

In 1897 (the Biennale's second year), thirty-three artists were classified as Scottish (alongside nineteen of their English contemporaries), establishing a pattern of large group exhibitions which continued up until the Second World War. Numerous Scots participated throughout these years, including James Guthrie (1897), Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1899, in a section devoted to Scottish decorative art), E.A. Walton (1903), S.J. Peploe (1909), James Pryde (1922), F.C.B. Cadell (1924) and J.D. Fergusson (1928).

In 1948 (the first Biennale to be held after the Second World War), the British Pavilion was entirely given over to Turner and Henry Moore. Further small group shows followed and in recent years the British Pavilion has been devoted to one contemporary Artist. Scottish artists that have exhibited since the Second World War have included William Turnbull and Eduardo Paolozzi in 1952, Paolozzi again in 1960, and in 1978 Mark Boyle.

In the same period new opportunities presented themselves to artists beyond their national pavilions. Scottish artists have featured prominently in this way. In particular, an exhibition organised by the Scottish Sculpture Trust and curated by Clare Henry and Angela Wrapson featured the work of three sculptors, David Mach, Arthur Watson and Kate Whiteford in 1990.

A comparatively recent development has been the Biennale's colonisation of the Arsenale, the former Venetian military dockyard, whose vast buildings have been host to curated (as opposed to nationally selected) exhibitions, bringing together contemporary artists from across the continents. Scots, such as Christine Borland, Douglas Gordon and Roderick Buchanan, have been selected to present work here.

Since 2003, constituent parts of the UK - Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland - have developed separate exhibitions as a complement to the British Pavilion, broadening the range of the country's representation at the Biennale. In that year, Scotland presented Zenomap, an exhibition of the work of Claire Barclay, Jim Lambie and Simon Starling, curated by Francis McKee and Kay Pallister as well as other artists associated with Scotland.

This was followed in 2005 by Selective Memory, featuring work by Alex Pollard, partnership Joanne Tatham and Tom O'Sullivan, and Cathy Wilkes, curated by Jason Bowman and Joanne Bradley. Scotland and Venice 2007, curated by Philip Long will feature the work of Charles Avery, Henry Coombes, Louise Hopkins, Rosalind Nashashibi, Lucy Skaer and Tony Swain