Indy museum to present artists' work at Venice Biennale

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The Indianapolis Museum of Art will present the work of two Puerto Rico-based artists at the International Art Exhibition at the 2011 Venice Biennale in Italy.

Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla are known for their art which is a mixture of sculpture, photography, video, sound and performance.

Allora, born in Philadelphia, earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Richmond (Va.) and her master's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Calzadilla, a native of Puerto Rico, earned his bachelor's degree from the Escuela de Artest Plasticas in San Juan and his master's degree from Bard College in New York City. The artists met while studying abroad in Florence, Italy.

Their works is often characterized as simultaneously critical and playful, thought provoking and politically incisive. The artists were finalists for the Hugo Boss Prize in 1005. Their works are held in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Tate Modern, and Centre Georges Pompidou, among others.

The museum says the new commissions by the pair will explore social issues such as national identity, democracy, militarism and freedom.

The works will be on view at the U.S. Pavilion at the exhibition from June 4 through Nov. 27, 2011.

The museum also plans a variety of related programs, including a forum on art and global dialogue for teens in Indianapolis, Puerto Rico and Venice.

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Auction Central News International contributed to this report.

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