«All We Are Saying Is Give Pizza Chance»: L’effetto YBA e l’irruzione di una nuova generazione alle Biennali degli anni Novanta del Novecento

Abstract

The chapter addresses the rise of the Young British Artists (YBA) in their home country and their subsequent international spread during the 1990s as seen in connection with the Venice Biennale occurring between 1993 and 2003. Particularly, the author argues that the Aperto ’93 section devoted to young artists at the Arsenale for the 45th Biennale was an unexpected starting point for the YBAs on the global stage and their first Venetian appraisal convinced home institutions such as the British Council to finance a large program of international exhibitions for this new artistic generation. Throughout the 1990s the Biennale thus became a major stage for the rising YBAs, which in turn deeply influenced the artistic language and installation practices shown at the Venetian exhibition. In conclusion, the chapter intends to present the 1990s at the Biennale as a decade of progressive struggle between different artistic generations – of both artists and curators – that climaxed with the 50th Biennale in 2003 and eventually shaped the new face of the Venetian exhibitions for the new millennium.