This post was originally published on artnews.com
The Venice Biennale has traditionally been viewed as a survey of the present, but this year, it was arguably an exhibition about the past. More than half the 331 participants were dead, as sure a sign as any that a long-running trend for canonizing the uncanonized may finally have reached its apex. Many of those artists were from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the South Pacific, and that too is proof that the Western art world has officially begun undoing its Eurocentric bias.
How permanent will all this rewriting be? Will the canon of, say, 2084 reflect the changes seen at the Venice Biennale 50 years earlier? It’s too soon to know. One telling factor will be whether museums and galleries begin offering shows to these new entrants to the canon. Another will be whether this Biennale’s detractors—there were some, even before the show opened—maintain their sizable audiences.
What is obvious, right now, is that the under-recognized are officially recognized. This much was clear not only at the Biennale but also in institutional programming this year. Below, a look at 10 artists who got their due in 2024.