Eugenio Viola Announced as Curator of the 24th Bienal De Arte Paiz in 2025
IBA Stage: 9th Biennale Gherdëina – Doris Ghetta
15 July 2024International Call for the Contemporary Art Biennial SACO1.2 “Dark Ecosystems”
2 August 2024
Photo credit: Gregorio Díaz. Courtesy of the artist and Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá – MAMBO.
24th Bienal de Arte Paiz
November 2025 – February 2026
bienaldeartepaiz.org/en
Fundación Paiz para la Educación y la Cultura is delighted to announce the appointment of Eugenio Viola as the curator of the 24th Bienal de Arte Paiz in 2025. The Biennial, which will take place in Guatemala City and Antigua Guatemala from November 2025 to February 2026, has been Central America’s most important art event since its inception in 1978, playing a fundamental role in the projection and development of art from the region.
Eugenio Viola is an Italian art critic and curator, specialised in the experiences and theories related to performance and bodily poetics. Carving out a unique space in the contemporary art scene, his career spans continents and hemispheres, intertwining curatorial practice, interdisciplinary research, and academic scholarship. Viola holds a Ph.D. in ‘Methods and Methodologies of Archaeological and Historical-Artistic Research’ from the University of Salerno and has curated over 100 exhibitions around the world, including the Italian Pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale (2022) and the Estonian Pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale (2015). He is currently the Artistic Director of MAMBO – the Bogotá Modern Art Museum in Colombia.
Commenting on his appointment, Viola states:
“I am humbled and honored to have been selected as the curator of the 24th Bienal de Arte Paiz in Guatemala, which holds a significant place in the Mesoamerican and Latin American artistic landscapes, with resonance in the broader international context.
In an increasingly interconnected yet fragmented world, art is a powerful medium to reflect, challenge, and inspire. It can offer different perspectives on reality, presenting alternative views to the contradictions of our contemporary era. Art can promote inclusivity, creating bridges between distant universes to reconnect and reconcile different perspectives, cultures, and times. With these ideas in mind, I envision a polyphonic, inclusive, and participatory project. It will resonate with the complex web of languages, religions, cultures, and historical perspectives that shape our globalized society while engaging with Guatemala’s rich and multicultural artistic ecosystem, which I have already had the privilege of experiencing throughout my career.
I am sincerely grateful to the selection committee for entrusting me with this role and believing in my abilities. I am committed to approaching this prestigious nomination with the highest ethical awareness and responsibility while upholding the esteemed legacy of the Biennial and contributing to its future. I am eager to embark on this journey and look forward to the vibrant and enriching experiences this Biennale will surely bring.”
Sonia Hurtarte, Executive Director of Fundación Paiz, comments:
“We are honored to welcome Eugenio Viola as the curator of the 24th Bienal de Arte Paiz. His extensive experience and visionary approach resonate deeply with the Paiz Foundation’s mission to use art as a catalyst for social change and education, reinforcing our commitment to these ideals.
By blending the global and the local, Viola’s expertise enriches the Biennial’s international reach and advances our mission to promote contemporary art in Guatemala, while also providing a platform that fosters international visibility for Guatemalan artists.
His curatorship is set to explore critical themes, featuring artists from diverse backgrounds and generations, ensuring a Biennial that is not just relevant, but also transformative for the artistic community and the public at large.
It’s a cultural exchange that will nurture national talent, foster a broader dialogue, and strengthen Guatemala’s local art ecosystem, enhancing appreciation and participation in contemporary art. We are thrilled to unveil details about the 24th Bienal de Arte Paiz and as we navigate such transformative times for art in Latin America, Eugenio Viola emerges as the ideal curator to cultivate and amplify this excitement within the global art community.”
Eugenio Viola
Born in Naples, 1975, Eugenio Viola, Ph.D., is the current Artistic Director of MAMBO – Bogotá Modern Art Museum in Colombia, where he curated the first institutional exhibition in Colombia of artists such as Voluspa Jarpa, Alexander Apostol, Ana Gallardo, Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa, and Dor Guez.
As Senior Curator of PICA – The Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts in Perth, Australia (2017–2019), he curated the first Australian institutional exhibitions of Kimsooja, Amalia Pica, and Cassils. At the MADRE Museum in Naples, Italy (2009–2016) Viola held various curatorial positions, curating retrospective shows devoted to Vettor Pisani and Giulia Piscitelli; the first major institutional exhibitions in Italy of Boris Mikhailov and Francis Alÿs, and a complex site-specific project of Daniel Buren.
Viola has also collaborated with numerous international institutions, curating exhibitions for artists such as Su Huy-Yu (MOCA – Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei, 2023); Giulia Cenci (Centro Cultural Recoleta, Buenos Aires, 2023); Regina José Galindo (PAC-Milan, 2014 / Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt, 2016); Karol Radziszewski (CoCA – Centre of Contemporary Art Znaki Czasu, Torun, 2014); Mark Raidpere (EKKM – The Contemporary Art Museum of Tallinn, 2013); Marina Abramović (PAC – Milan, 2012); Francesco Jodice (MSU – The Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb, 2011), ORLAN (MAMC – Musée d’art moderne et contemporain, Saint Etienne, 2007), among others. He has edited over 60 catalogs and books and is a member of the IKT- International Association of Contemporary Art Curators and the CIMAM- International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art.
About Bienal de Arte Paiz
The Bienal de Arte Paiz, a pioneer in the projection and development of art in Central America, has been the region’s most important contemporary art event since 1978, making it the sixth oldest Biennial in the world and the second in Latin America. Through free exhibitions and events, the Biennial provides various ways for the public to access contemporary art knowledge, bringing together artists, curators, critics, and local and international personalities. It serves as a platform for exhibition, creation and dissemination of national artistic production.
The Biennial is a cultural project of the Fundación Paiz, a non-profit entity that for more than forty years has dedicated itself to supporting the development of education and culture in Guatemala with the conviction that art is an essential tool for social development.
