The

Defining

Themes

of

Today’s

Biennial

Art

In a separate article, I laid out the artists who appeared in the greatest number of editions of the 130 biennials I analyzed. Those individuals—who appeared in nine or more shows—are as follows:

Ali Eyal

Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Basel Abbas & Ruanne Abou-Rahme

Carolina Caycedo

Christian Nyampeta

Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige

Jumana Manna

Kader Attia

Kapwani Kiwanga

Kiluanji Kia Henda

Lawrence Abu Hamdan

Monira Al Qadiri

Nolan Oswald Dennis

Raven Chacon

Saodat Ismailova

Sammy Baloji

Seba Calfuqueo

Sky Hopinka

Tabita Rezaire

Tarek Atoui

Torkwase Dyson

Tuan Andrew Nguyen

This cast of characters not only dominates the recent past, but the near future: No fewer than eight also feature in “In Minor Keys,” the show curated by the late South African curator Koyo Kouoh for the soon-to-open 61st Venice Biennale: Attia, Baloji, Caycedo, Dennis, Dyson, Hadjithomas and Joreige, Nguyen, and Rezaire.