Gloria Allora & Calzadilla

This volume celebrates the exciting new work of Allora & Calzadilla, who are representing the United States in the 54th Venice Biennale. The artistic collaborative of Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla's exhibition at the Venice Biennale, titled Gloria, comprises six new works developed partly in response to the U.S. Pavilion site. Combining performance, sculpture, video, and sound elements, the works use poetic shock and unexpected juxtaposition to reflect upon competitive enterprises such as the Olympic Games, international commerce, the military industrial complex and even the Biennale itself. The result is a series of artistic experiments that explore the nature of physical, visual, and audible experience. This publication documents Allora & Calzadilla's exhibition in the U.S. Pavilion, including a plates section displaying images of the works as they are installed in Venice as well as documentation of performances by professional athletes affiliated with U.S.A. Gymnastics and U.S.A. Track and Field. Essays by exhibition curator, U.S. Commissioner Lisa Freiman, and art historians Carrie Lambert-Beatty and Yates McKee explore the themes addressed in Gloria and place Allora & Calzadilla's works within a larger art historical and social context.