MIRRAGES XXXVI
This month is dedicated in Venice ant the 57th Biennale di Venezia. The whole city vibrates in the rhythm of Art. The 57th International Art Exhibition, titled “VIVA ARTE VIVA “and curated by Christine Macel, will be open to the public from 13 May to 26 November 2017 at the Giardini and Arsenale venues, also Biennale feature 85 National Participations in the historic pavilions at the Giardini, the Arsenale, and the city of Venice, but also and Collateral Events that extend from Piazza San Marco and the Palazzos to Murano Island.
The most famous Palazzo in Venice is: Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, on the Grand Canal that hosts the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. The Palazzo Ca’ Corner della Regina that hosts the Fondazione Prada, which 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 exhibition “The Boat is Leaking. The Captain Lied”.
In the Collateral Event of the 57th Venice Biennale, the Pallazo Fortuni coinciding with the 2017 Venice Biennale, the Axel & May Vervoordt Foundation and the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia present the exhibition “Intuition” bringing together Historic, Modern, and Contemporary works related to Dreams, Meditation, Telepathy, Creative Power and Inspiration, among them are on presentation works by: Lucio Fontana, Joseph Beuys, Marina Abramović and Anish Kapoor.
Shirin Neshat presents the series of artworks “The Home of My Eyes” at Museo Correr, Venice, The series comprises 55 photographic portraits of Azerbaijan citizens inscribed with ink. The artist conceived of the series as “A portrait of a country that for so long has been a crossroads of many different ethnicities, religions, and languages”. Only separated from Iran in the first half of the 19th century, Azerbaijan especially resonated with Neshat, as it shares much of the same history, religion, ethnicity, and culture with her native country.
Damien Hirst presents “Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable” at Punta della Dogana and Palazzo Grassi, the two Venetian venues of the Pinault Collection. The exhibition tells the story of the ancient wreck of a vast ship, the “Apistos” (Infidel), and presents what was discovered of its cargo, the impressive collection of Aulus Calidius Amotan, a freed slave better known as Cif Amotan II, which was destined for a temple dedicated to the sun.
Michelangelo Pistoletto in his site specific installation suspend a series of mirrors from the centre of the 16th-century Basilica di San Giorgio Maggiore in a work titled ‘’Suspended Perimeter–Love Difference’’, also “The Time of Judgment”, on view in the Sala del Capitolo is a sort of self-confession of the four most widespread religions in the world: Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism.
At Palazzo Mora the great Australian Land Artist Andrew Rogers presents “We Are”, a series of eight large bronze and stainless steel sculptures, this installation is a further iteration of his series titled “I Am”. Rogers’ practice explores human emotion through the light, organic forms that define his sculptural works, as well as the importance of the individual in affecting change. The artist sees the works in the series “I Am” and its derivative “We Are” as a metaphor for the dichotomy of human nature. During May we will publish an Interview with the artist, in which explains his project in detail and its relation with Land Art also why he didn’t create an in-situ Land Art project but a series of sculptures.
Taking inspiration from an EU edict proposing open access to publicly funded research, the University of the Arts Helsinki (Uniarts Helsinki) announced the “Research Pavilion: The Utopia of Access”. The project analyzes the implications of liberal policies on artistic practice, also by showcasing how universities and academies function today as experimental laboratories within contemporary art and examining the limits and consequences of open access in the arts, education, research, and politics.
From the Press Material we have received about: Spain, Canada , Swiss, Turkey, Iceland, Portugal and Dutch National Pavilions, at first we distinguish the Swiss Pavilion with the exhibition ‘’Women of Venice’’. The exhibition reflects on the history of the Pavilion and Switzerland’s contributions to the Venice Biennale from a contemporary perspective, and to initiate new work, specific to this context. Follows an Interview with Teresa Hubbard and Alexander Birchler, for their film installation “Flora”, based on discoveries made in the course of their research on the largely unknown American artist Flora Mayo who studied in Paris in the 1920s, at the same time as Giacometti, and who was his lover. They use a documentary approach to delve into the archaeology of film in their work and weave together fictional and documentary material to reconstruct and re-imagine life and work of Flora Mayo, also giving voice to her previously unknown son.
Carolee Schneemann is the recipient of the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement of the 57th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. Carolee Schneemann on 13/5/17 will be awarded at Ca’ Giustinian, the headquarters of La Biennale di Venezia, during the awards ceremony and inauguration of the 57th Exhibition.
Good Month (!)
1/5/17
Efi Michalarou