ART CITIES:Venice-The Boat is Leaking. The Captain Lied, Part I

The Fondazione Prada brings together three major figures from the German cultural scene—the photographer Thomas Demand, the stage and costume designer Anna Viebrock and the film-maker Alexander Kluge, for “The Boat is Leaking. The Captain Lied”. The exhibition unfolds on the ground and the first two floors of the Ca’ Corner della Regina in Venice (Part II).

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Fondazione Prada Archive

In a dialogue of polyphonic references and constellations between the contributions of each artist, “The Boat is Leaking. The Captain Lied” spans film, art and theatre media. The confluence of image spaces and scene settings for a variety of atmospheres transforms the historic palazzo of Ca’ Corner della Regina into a metaphorical site for the identification of the worlds we live in and our personal attitudes towards them. The exhibition aims to provide comprehensive insight into the respective production of Alexander Kluge, Thomas Demand and Anna Viebrock, whose artistic endeavours have always extended beyond the aesthetic and imaginative, and were conceived with political and historical intentions. All three artists reveal themselves as pathfinders and clue seekers, witnesses and chroniclers of times past and present. As stated by Kittelmann, “It is a particularly lucky coincidence that Alexander Kluge’s filmic production, Thomas Demand’s photographic work and Anna Viebrock’s stage settings are brought together in this collective exhibition concept, melding what are usually distinct artistic forms of expression. Until now their different creative fields have prevented them from engaging in this kind of symbiotic collaboration, even though they know one another personally and have often exchanged ideas”. The exhibition is generated, intended as a space for experiences and encounters. This visually powerful, multi-layered environment bestows expression and meaning on the everyday and on the worlds of yesterday and today, between apparent normality and catastrophe, in a society divided between lust for life and loss of trust, extreme distress and never-ending hope.

Info: Fondazione Prada, Ca’ Corner della Regina, Santa Croce 2215, Venice, Duration: 13/5-26/11/17, Tue 12:00-18:00, www.fondazioneprada.org