Porto Alegre, the capital city of Brazil’s most southern state, recently opened the Eighth Mercosul Biennale, which runs from September 10 through November 15. The team of curators, led by Jose Roca from Colombia, Alexia Tala from Chile, the Sao Paulo-based Caue Alves, and Paola Santoscoy, along with guest curator Aracy Amaral, selected the theme of "Essays in Geopoetics" for the exhibition. 

Exploring the globally relevant issues of geographic boundaries, migration, cultural and ethnic identity, and citizenship, the Mercosul Biennale achieves impressive coherence even as it presents the works of 105 artists from 31 different countries. The biennale has taken over nine locations in Porto Alegre, a city of 1.5 million whose historical center boasts neo-classical buildings, exquisite stained glass ceilings, iron balustrades, and grand staircases.

Highlights of the biennale include the work of Eugenio Dittborn, a Chilean artist whose exhibition "Airmail Paintings" takes over the entire building of Santander Bank. Cao Guimaraes's video works transmit nostalgia, loneliness, and emptiness in the simple movement and sound of playground swings, while Carlos Vergara's paintings, photographs, and sculpture transcend their local subject matter into archetypal forms. Gal Weinstein's camouflage carpeting of the lobby of the main exhibitio, reflects the Google Earth map of a region in Rio Grande do Sul.

For more selections from the Mercosul Biennale and descriptions of the work on view, click on the slide show at left.