Jim Dine – Dog on the Forge presents around 50 works from the artist. Paintings, drawings, bronze and wood sculptures, as well as an impressive outdoor installation of large-scale bronze sculptures. The exhibition debuts monumental and site-specific works conceived specifically for the Biennale Arte 2024. Never-before-exhibited paintings and sculptures will be arranged in dialogue with each other and with artworks spanning from the ‘80s through today. Curator Gerhard Steidl drew inspiration from Dine’s relentless odysseys between the United States and Europe, as well as his lifetime dedication to the concept of visual, cultural, and linguistic hybridization. “My whole life, I’ve been in motion. I find it difficult to sit still. It’s a hyperactive quality, I would say. I’ve always enjoyed going from studio to studio, country to country. For me, traveling is like using red. It’s another thing to make the picture.

Installed in a 14th-century palazzo on the Grand Canal, here the ancient meets contemporary in a palatial, Venetian context, casting a reflective light on Jim Dine’s personal history and perspective. Reinterpreting his now classical language of tools, hearts, self-portraits, Venuses and Pinocchios (which will have a dedicated room in the exhibition), the show will take over the two floors of the palazzo overlooking the Grand Canal as well as its 18th-century sculpture garden. When asked about the new paintings, Dine remarks, “I’m not interested in making them pretty. I’m interested in carving out images that will move you.” Conceived as a poetic journey, the exhibition outlines the complexity of an intimate oeuvre deeply rooted in his knowledge of European art history, and a relentless exploration of language and self.