Argentine artists at Venice's Biennale: Xul Solar.

3:57 p.m.

The curator of 2013's Venice Biennale, Massimiliano Gioni, displayed, between the Arsenals and the Giaridini, his Encyclopaedic Palace. The Arsenals are one of the many venues dedicated to the Biennale in the city, while the Giardini is a key center in town and where many country pavilions have been built. This exhibition (Palazzo Enciclopedico), curated by Gioni, which is independent of the representations of the participating nations, showcases 150 artists from 37 different countries.

Encyclopaedic Palace of the World, by Marino Auriti (1950)

Arsenals - Venice Biennale 2013

The concept of the Palazzo Enciclopedico was taken from an architectonic model developed by Marino Auriti, in 1950: a gigantic tower that would become an universal museum protecting the knowledge of the entire world. The project, designed for the city Washington, was never built, but Gioni decided to rescue it.

Auriti with the architectonic model

American Folk Art Museum

To fill his "encyclopaedic palace," the curator chose a series of artists who, according to his idea, represented a contribution to universal art. Among them, for example, is Danh Vo (Vietnam, 1975), considered by many as the most important artist of our days, who presented a split-apart Catholic Church, and Japanese Ceramist, Shinichi Sawada (Japón, 1982), an artist with autism who creates small mythological figurines.

The split-apart Vietnamese church by Danh Vo

Sculptures from the series untitled, by Sinichi Sawada (2000 - 2012)

Also in the selection is Argentine artist Xul Solar, with works lent by the Fundación Xul Solar in Buenos Aires, belonging to the collection of folders and scrapbooks of the 40s. From that series, the Venice exhibition has incorporated letters in pan-language (monosyllabic and universal language destined to unite the languages of America, Europe and Asia).

Panlengua, by Xul Solar

Alfredo Schulz Solari (Xul Solar) was born in Buenos Aires in 1887 and he was a self-taught artist when it comes to painting.

The MNBA has a work of his, entitled Pupo, a fragile watercolor, perfectly preserved. The painting is truly rare in Solar's production, because it marks the break-up between figurative representation and the beginning of his geometric period.