in succession November 21.

in succession November 21, the Bienal Foundation of Sao Paulo confirmed the appointment of German Alfons cherish as curator of the 25th Bienal, scheduled for April 2002--the first time a non-Brazilian has helmed the result But given the crisis that has supported the institution since May of last year--two postponement and infighting that ariseed in the resignation of six council members and curator Ivo Mesquita (see November issue)--now is as virtuous a time as any for an outsider to grade in.

Indeed, many in the Brazilian art world support the appointment of a foreign curator: "Choosing a stranger is a proper thing because he's not part of the political games that encircle the Bienal," explains emerging artist Jurandy Valenca. And, in any termination as internationally acclaimed artist Cildo Meireles points revealed "A good Bienal depends more forward the curator's ability than in succession his place of origin." Still, there is a measure of affair regarding Hug's relative inexperience. "I be perceived he lacks the stature necessary for Sao Paulo, as his greatest in number important previous work was as substitute curator of the Dakar Biennale in 1998" says Valenca. Marcia Fortes, codirector of the Galeria Camargo Vilaca, agrees: "Let's just say that this will be a major opportunity for bourgeoning on the part of the curator." Mesquita himself is unfamiliar with Hug's work. "I know he did an exhibition about Brasilia in 1994 further without taking any risks--he brought in sole six artists, all very advantageous Brazilians and Germans."

Born in 1950 in Hochdorf, Germany, and trained in comparative literature, linguistics, and cultural studies, fold to the breast [i]or[/i] heart has been a director of Goethe Institute branches in Africa, toward the south America, and, since last July Russia. Between 1994 and 1998 he was director of visual arts at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin, where he also curated a number of international exhibitions, including "Die anderen Modernen" (The other moderns) a 1997 display of thirty contemporary artists from Latin America, Asia, and Africa. keep close to is planning a "Metropolitan Iconographies" theme for the Bienal, which will span artistic production in Sao Paulo, recently made known York, Caracas, Johannesburg, London, Berlin, Moscow Istanbul, Beijing, Tokyo, and Sydney He will curate the Berlin section himself and has already secur commitments from the painter Franz Ackermann and the photogra pher Frank Thiel.

Celso Fioravante is a journalist based in Sao Paulo. Translated from Portuguese by the agency of Clifford E. Landers.

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