documenta 14: Learning from Athens

documenta 14, the most anticipated event in the international art calendar in 2017, unfolded in two venues, first in Athens, Greece, from April 8-July 16, and then in Kassel, its traditional venue, from June 10-September 17. An intimidating cultural extravaganza, not least because it was held in two cities in two countries and commanded a princely sum of nearly $50 million to organize, it presented a glut of works that occupied both cities. In Kassel, the displays were spread around the entire city at venues such as documenta's permanent grounds, documenta Halle, Neue Gallerie, and Friedrichsplatz; local institutions and museums including Stadtmuseum, Hessisches Landesmuseum, Naturkundemuseum; and alternative spaces such as Weinberg-Terrassen, Gottschalk-Halle, and KulturBahnhof (a former underground train station). To see all of the works would have required spending at least a full week in Kassel—a luxury most art professionals can no longer afford given the saturated art world calendar,...