Bernard Vienat (Geneva, 1985), is a Swiss art historian and curator. After studying philosophy, art history and economics in the University of Bern and at the Freie Universität Berlin, Vienat earned a master degree in curatorial studies from the Goethe Universität and from the Städelschule (Frankfurt am Main). His writings and curatorial projects arose from his interest in the plurality of existing perceptions upon reality and their poetic-aesthetic impact in the social sphere, mainly through performance and installation art in public spaces. These concerns can be seen in the several art exhibition he has curated, such as There Will Come Soft Rains at Basis e.V. Frankfurt am Main (2018) the double exhibition “Let’s invent a language to narrate my story”, displayed simultaneously in Dienstgebäude (Zürich) and andata.ritorno (Geneva). As founder of art-werk and Vorticidad, he is currently pursuing his research between Europe and Mexico City.
to me
The idea and development of the Vorticidad project derived mainly from two factors: First, a deep interest in Latin American art, manifested already in a research trip carried out in 2008, through Argentina, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia; and second, a seminar held in the Free University of Berlin regarding Theodor Adorno’s Aesthetics Theory.
“Without getting into details, Adorno’s thoughts on the necessity of an art reaction that echoes social evolution and vice versa drove me to reflect about the current socio-economical and cultural context and, furthermore, to investigate specific cases capable of reflecting these processes nowadays.
The development of the Mexican art scene since the late nineties, allowing the interaction among art theorists and artists focused on developing such practices as relational art, collective art and socially engaged art drove me to further explore this art scene and its history.
Vorticidad is, for me, a way to gather these kinds of projects together thus being able to investigate them in greater depth and present them before a broader audience. By carrying out this series of discussions, I aim to synthesize the different existing postures regarding a new aesthetic that has been argued and debated since the beginning of the 21th century. This work also represents to me the chance to learn a lot from these charismatic art figures while trying to pass on some of the ephemeral moments they have created”.