Art's Biggest Stage

Since 2007, the library of the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts, has built an unparalleled archival collection related to the Venice Biennale – a global celebration of contemporary art, complete with national pavilions and thematic exhibitions in grand villas. In "Art's Biggest Stage: Collecting the Venice Biennale, 2007-2019", readers can experience these art extravaganzas through related ephemera from the Clark's holdings: artist editions, books, posters, publicity materials, and miscellany (as diverse as pop-up books, tote bags, and wallpaper), much of it illustrated with new photography. By publishing this fascinating and ever-growing trove of memorabilia for the first time, "Art's Biggest Stage" will serve as an on-going companion to the Biennale and a resource on the Clark's collection. In addition, it uses the objects at the Clark as a lens to explore the same questions of nationhood, identity, and spectacle that are central to the experience of the Biennale itself.