58th Venice Biennale

Artistic director Ralph Rugoff curated its central exhibition, May You Live in Interesting Times, and 90 countries contributed national pavilions.

His main exhibition's theme is "May You Live in Interesting Times", which refers to an apocryphal curse attributed to ancient China but likely of Western origin.

The theme, which Rugoff considered interesting for its ambiguity, intends to reflect how misreadings and fake news have lasting impact on reality.

[4] While recent biennials have addressed social issues, Rugoff wanted his exhibition to focus on art's ability to provide alternate realities and question habits of thought.

A large George Condo canvas opens the Arsenale amid other figurative paintings of real and imaginary people by Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Nicole Eisenman, and Henry Taylor.

One room of the central pavilion was cacophonous, with a slamming security gate by Shilpa Gupta and a cow on a circular railroad by Nabuqi.

[22] On September 10, 2019, Hillary Clinton visited the exhibition and said that the attention given to her emails was one of the "strangest" and most "absurd" events in U.S. political history, adding, "Anyone can go in and look at them.

"[23] Other shows in Venice that coincided with the Biennale included designer Virgil Abloh's metal furniture at Carpenters Workshop Gallery.

[1] Stylistic themes across the 58th Biennale included figurative painting, immersive video installation—including a virtual reality work by Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster—and kinetic sculpture.