Critical irony in Russia's special mention "Fair Enough" pavilion in 2014 Venice Biennale

The "Fair Enough" exhibition of Russia's 2014 pavilion at the ongoing Venice Biennale gives a clever response to the Absorbing Modernity: 1914-2014 theme that Biennale director Rem Koolhaas assigned to curators.

Curated and designed by the Strelka Institute, Russia received one of three Special Mentions out of 84 national pavilions during the 2014 Biennale awards ceremony.

The pavilion will be open until November 23.

Have a look at it right below.

Project description:

"This year for the first time in Biennale’s history national pavilions had a theme, set by the Biennale Curator Rem Koolhaas — Absorbing Modernity: 1914-2014. According to Koolhaas, the hundred years saw the global dissemination of modernism, and architectural diversity was replaced by the universal language of modern architecture. Koolhaas invited the national pavilions to tell the story of modernization for the past hundred years and ponder on the national elements in architecture."

"The Russian pavilion's 'Fair Enough' exhibition responds to Koolhaas’ curatorial theme by the concept itself: 20 Russian architectural ideas are presented, using the universal language of the international trade fair, the ultimate example of global modernity Rem Koolhaas describes and the main platform for spreading it. “Fair Enough” is not a fair of products, but an Expo of ideas."

"Rather than presenting a linear story of Russia’s modernization, Fair Enough applied architectural history to meet contemporary needs. The exhibition took urban ideas from the past century — some celebrated, some obscure; some seemingly outdated, some supposed failures — and gave them new purpose."

"To maximize its utility, each exhibited project was stripped to its conceptual essence. To illustrate their continued relevance, the concepts were updated and applied to challenges, now confronting architects around the world.

Each booth of the pavilion showcased a different example of Russian modern architecture, illustrated through a combination of historical and new materials, and described to visitors by a representative who preached the virtues of the concept, provided its history, and connected it to contemporary needs."

"Because the exhibition is a trade show, 20 companies were invented to represent these ideas and how how they would be sold now. The use of the advertising language and images acknowledges the commercial ways that architecture and design are communicated the free market system today.

Each exhibit marks a milestone in modernization and clears a path for new efforts. Together, they form a marketplace of urban invention — made in Russia, open to the world. The ultimate goal of the show is to use the past to provoke critical thinking about the present and inspire new ideas about the future. This is the essence of the pavilion’s slogan: Russia’s Past, Our Present."

Learn more about "Fair Enough" here.

For more Bustler articles on the Venice Biennale 2014, click here.