2025-04-03
This year's Documenta took a different form. Two locations, two exhibitions, and one festival. Documenta 14 is one of the most important events related to contemporary art. It is a cyclical event - held every five years and lasting 100 days. The event has been held in Kassel since 1955, however, this year's edition is also taking place in Athens.
Adam Szymczyk, the curator of the 14th edition, says that Athens offers an opportunity to “reflect and work in a place that has become synonymous with the difficult reality of social and economic crisis”.
From 8 April, the exhibition can be seen in Athens, followed by the opening of the exhibition in Kassel in June, although the two exhibitions will not be similar. The curator encourages people to see both exhibitions for the full picture. The exhibition in Athens was opened by the presidents of Germany and Greece. The innovation is not only the choice of two venues to present the exhibition, but also the invitation of 160 artists to create works for both events.
Documenta 14 features works by Piotr Uklański, Artur Żmijewski, Krzysztof Niemczyk, Władysław Strzemiński, Oscar Hansen, Alina Szapocznikow and Andrzej Wróblewski. In particular, Artur Żmijewski and his work 'Glimpse' captures the attention of those viewing the exhibition through its provocative nature. In a twenty-minute silent film, Żmijewski showed the French refugee camp in Calais, where around 6,000 people live. This short documentary shows the place and the conditions in which people live, so there are many walls made of plywood and tents in this film. A camp from Berlin, which resembles a prison in its appearance, is shown next, before moving on to the streets of Paris, where black refugees are camped out on the streets.
The opening of the exhibition in Greece has caused mixed feelings among the people of Athens. There are claims that it lacks a greater emphasis placed on Greek art. The attendance at the opening was also not as high as expected. The exhibitions of the Greek section can be seen in Athens until 16 July.