(L-R) Tina Gillen, artist; Sam Tanson, Minister of Culture; Credit: MCULT

On Friday 22 April 2022, Luxembourg's Culture Minister, Sam Tanson, inaugurated the Luxembourg pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale International Contemporary Art Exhibition.

In the presence of H.R.H. the Hereditary Grand Duchess, the artist Tina Gillen, chosen to represent Luxembourg at this 59th edition of the Biennale, Christophe Gallois, curator of the Luxembourg pavilion, and Bettina Steinbrügge, director of Mudam Luxembourg, institution designated organiser of the 2022 pavilion, Minister Tanson highlighted the importance of a presence at this Biennale for the career of an artist, for the visibility and the international context it offers.

The project entitled "Faraway So Close" by Tina Gillen, whose work is intimately linked to the medium of painting, is however much more than a simple exhibition of paintings. In line with classic Italian painting, Tina Gillen deconstructs reality, between nature and architecture in a series of very large formats arranged around a central “refuge”. Within the Sale d'Armi of the Arsenale, Faraway So Close offers a breather to the public, for which the biennial opens its doors on April 23.

Minister Tanson was delighted to be able to welcome guests back to the magnificent Sale d'Armi, which, following the signing of a contract with La Fondazione La Biennale di Venezia, will house the pavilion of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg until in 2037. Without the move of the pavilion to the spacious Sale d'Armi, located in the very heart of the Arsenale, the nerve center of the Venice Biennale, projects and scenographies such as Faraway So Close would never have been possible.

The Venice Biennale International Contemporary Art Exhibition will last from 23 April 2022 until 27 November 2023.