The Canada Pavilion at the Venice Biennale

Abstract

This book examines the various figures and interests involved in the design and construction of the Canada Pavilion and explores how it was used over the past sixty years to exhibit the work of Canadian artists and architects. This publication intends not only to underline the pavilion's importance in the broader context of modern architecture, but also to highlight its role as an early example of cultural diplomacy. The book is fully endowed with archive material, such as photographs, drawings, and maps, along with a portfolio created by contemporary photographers (Francesco Barasciutti and Andrea Pertoldeo), showing the building before, during, and after the restoration. The essays of the various contributors to the book analyse the cultural and political context in which the Canada Pavilion committee worked (Cammie McAtee); the concept and construction of the building and the links with the architect Enrico Peressutti and the BBPR partnership (Rejean Legault); the pavilion's role in the postwar Italian cultural context (Serena Maffioletti) and its fortunes from its inauguration in 1958 to the restoration in 2018 (Josee Drouin-Brisebois); the restoration project itself (Susanna Caccia Gherardine), and, lastly, the relationship between the Canada Pavilion and the Biennale Gardens (Franco Panzini).

Contents

Introduction / Karen Colby-Stothart -- Portfolio 1958 / Studio Giacomelli -- The National Gallery of Canada Commissions an Exhibition Pavilion / Cammie McAtee -- The Harmony of Human Proportions: BBPR's Architectural Dialogues / Serena Maffioletti -- Designing the Canada Pavilion / Réjean Legault -- The Life and Times of the Canada Pavilion / Josée Drouin-Brisebois -- "A careful, museum-quality restoration": Rethinking and Rebuilding the Canada Pavilion / Susanna Caccia Gherardini -- "The Venetians are jealous of every tree": The Canada Pavilion and the Giardini della Biennale / Franco Panzini -- Portfolio 2018 / Andrea Pertoldeo -- Interview with Alberico Belgiojoso -- Interview with Cornelia Hahn Oberlander -- Sixty Years of Biennales: Exhibitions in the Canada Pavilion,1958-2018.