BIENNALE GUIDE 2011 - The Art Newspaper

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CANNAREGIO ● NATIONAL PARTICIPATIONS ● COLLATERAL EVENTS ● OTHER EVENTS ● CLASSICS ● FOOD & DRINK ★HIGHLIGHTS Cannaregio: secrets worth discovering The real life of Venice goes on in this characterful and varied area, which has the city’s nearest equivalent to a normal shopping street, but also some of its most fascinating churches and palazzi Tintoretto’s house, Cannaregio CHRISTOPHER SEDDON 14 A favourite area of many Venetophiles due to its relative tranquillity and rich history, Cannaregio offers a real breadth of Venetian experiences. The second largest sestiere after Castello, it sits between the upper part of the Grand Canal and the northern lagoon. Some of the finest Grand Canal palaces can be found here, and some of the city’s best churches, but it is also home to a variety of authentic local areas, including the downbeat surrounds of Santa Lucia Station, the busy main “high street” Strada Nova and the atmospheric former Jewish ghetto. And the view across the lagoon from the Fondamenta Nuove to San Michele, the Cemetery Island, provides quintessential Venetian melancholy. 14 THE ART NEWSPAPER VENICE GUIDE 2011 13 4 10 12 3 19 18 11 9 6 2 8 517 15 16 7 1 DOMINIC BELL 1 Georgia Palazzo Pisani Santa Marina, Calle Delle Erbe, Cannaregio 6103/A Exhibition: Any-Medium- Whatever Artist: Tamara Kvesitadze ● Second time around in Venice for Kvesitadze, who was also Georgia’s choice in 2007. She shows a number of figurative sculptural mises - en-scene, including F=-F, a wall of mask-like faces; and Relationship, several frescolike panels in the late gothic Palazzo’s courtyard. http://tamarastudio.com/ 2 Latvia Palazzo Albrizzi, Canareggio 4118 Exhibition: Artificial Peace (Contemporary Landscape) Artist: Kristaps Gelzis ● Both a series of paintings and an installation: vast fields of luminescent paint are lit in the darkness with blue fluorescent bulbs. For Gelzis, the shadows formed by the viewer are an integral part of the work, and “light becomes a kind of emotional binding substance between the visitor and the artwork”. www.biennale.lv 3 Macedonia, Former Yugoslavian Republic of Palazzo Pesaro Papafava, Calle de la Rachetta, Cannaregio 3764 Exhibition: Zero: the Trailer Files Artists: Art Collective Zero (Sinisha Cvetkovski, Mishko Desovski, Perica Georgiev, Gorancho Gjorgjievski, Bedi Ibahim, Aleksander Stankoski, Igor Toshevski, Zlatko Trajkovski) Exhibition: Leap Artist: Zarko Baseski ● Two markedly different shows at this grand gothic palazzo: the experimental, arte povera-esque art of the Zero Collective, which existed between 1985 and 1992, occupies one space; Baseski’s monumental grey Nietzsche-inspired figurative sculptures hog the other. baseskiatvenice.com 4 Romania Istituto Romeno di Cultura e Ricerca Umanistica, Cannaregio 2214 (also at Giardini, p5) Exhibition: Romanian Cultural Resolution-documentary Artists: Club Electro Putere (Adrian Bojenoiu, Alexandru Niculescu) and various artists ● Curators Bojenoiu and Niculescu founded cultural centre Club Electro Putere in Craiova in 2009, and here reflect its activities and explore developments in Romanian art in the postcommunist era. Various artists will create a new work, The Iron Curtain: a Memory Box, in September. 5 Switzerland Teatro Fondamenta Nuove, Cannaregio 5013 Exhibition: Chewing the Scenery Artists: Pauline Boudry and Renate Lorenz, Tim Zulauf / KMUProduktionen ● Curated by Andrea Thal, this multi-faceted project consists of two installations in the box-like theatre, and performances during the vernissage and occasionally thereafter. Boudry and Lorenz’s film installation No Future, 2011, riffs on the legacy of punk in analysing queer and gender politics. www.chewingthescenery.net 6 Future Pass ★ Palazzo Mangilli-Valmarana, Campo Santi Apostoli, Cannaregio 4392 (also at Abbazia di San Gregorio, Dorsoduro 172, p26) Artists: Group show of over 100 artists including Xu Bing, Wim Delvoye, Yayoi Kusama, Takashi Murakami Organisations: UNEEC Foundation for Culture and Education; Today Art Museum; Wereldmuseum; National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts; Fondazione Claudio Buziol 4 Jun-6 Nov ● Asian-oriented group show; see Dorsoduro (p26). www.fon dazioneclaudio buziol.org CANNAREGIO ● NATIONAL PARTICIPATIONS ● COLLATERAL EVENTS ● OTHER EVENTS ● CLASSICS ● FOOD & DRINK ★HIGHLIGHTS All exhibitions run 4 Jun - 27 Nov 2011 unless stated otherwise Latvia: Kristaps Gelzis 15 THE ART NEWSPAPER VENICE GUIDE 2011 © THE ARTIST 7 Karla Black ★ Palazzo Pisani Santa Marina, Calle delle Erbe, Cannaregio 6103 Artist: Karla Black Organisation: Scotland + Venice 4 Jun-27 Nov ● The increasingly ambitious Scottish artist creates a sequence of all new sculptures for this rambling 15th-century palazzo. Using domestic make-up products including eye shadow, Vaseline and soap and unpromising everyday materials like cellophane and soil, the Turner Prize nominee creates an amalgam between colour field painting and arte povera sculpture. www.scotlandandvenice.com 8 Passage 2011: an Actionistic, Transalpine Drama Scuola dell’ Angelo Custode,Campo Santi Apostoli, Cannaregio 4448 Artists: GÆG Wolfgang Aichner / Thomas Huber Organisation: Pilotraum 01 e. V. 5 Jun-11 Sep ● Two Munich-based artists will drag a specially constructed red boat from the Zillertal Alps, Austria, over the border into Italy, an Alpine reimagining of Werner Herzog’s Amazonbased “Fitzcarraldo”. After it arrives at Lago di Neves, the artists will bring the boat by road to Venice. Barring any catastrophes, that is. www.passage2011.org
CANNAREGIO ● NATIONAL PARTICIPATIONS ● COLLATERAL EVENTS ● OTHER EVENTS ● CLASSICS ● FOOD & DRINK ★HIGHLIGHTS 9 Pino Pascali: Return to Venice / Apulian Contemporary Art ★ Palazzo Michiel dal Brusà, Strada Nova, Cannaregio 4391/A Artist: Pino Pascali plus group show of Apulian artists Organisation: Fondazione Museo Pino Pascali 1 Jun-1 Aug In 1968, Pino Pascali won the Venice Biennale Sculpture Prize only to die a few months later in a motorcycle accident. This show presents a selection of work by the increasingly influential arte povera artist, including some previously unseen works. Also shown is a selection of contemporary art from the Apulian region. www.museopinopascali.it 10 Jan Fabre: Pietas Nuova Scuola Grande di Santa Maria della Misericordia, Fondamenta della Misericordia, Cannaregio 3599 Artist: Jan Fabre Organisations: GAMeC – Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art, Bergamo; Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna; State Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki 1 Jun-16 Oct ● Five typically theatrical new marble sculptures by the Belgian artist, among them a reinterpretation of Michelangelo’s Pietà, titled Compassionate Dream (Pietà V). Fabre gives the figure of Christ his own face, while Mary’s head becomes a skull. To walk among Fabre’s over- PS “ Not more than 10 minutes from San Marco is a quiet campo with the incredibly beautiful church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli ” RICHARD ARMSTRONG Director, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation the-top creations, set on a gilded podium, visitors must first change into slippers. www.janfabre.be 11 Ca’ d’Oro (Galleria Franchetti) Calle Ca’ d’Oro, Cannaregio 3933 ● One of the most stunning jewels of the many that line the Grand Canal, this ornate gothic masterpiece takes its name from the 24-carat gold which studded its exterior. Built in the 1420s, it was first restored by Baron Giorgio Franchetti more than a century ago, and houses the Baron’s painting collection, including Mantegna’s Saint Sebastian, 1506. www.polomuseale.venezia. beniculturali.it 12 Campo dell’Abbazia ● Among Venice’s most peaceful retreats, this quiet backwater is dominated by two notable buildings: Santa Maria dell’Abbazia della Misericordia, a baroque church with allegorical statues by Clemente Moli, and the gothic Scuola Vecchia della Misericordia. 13 Chiesa della Madonna dell’Orto Campo Madonna dell’Orto, Cannaregio ● A gothic masterpiece to rival the Frari, often called the Tintoretto church – it contains a number of major works by the Renaissance master. They include a fearsome Last Judgement in the chancel, close to which is Tintoretto’s tomb. 14 Museo Ebraico Campo del Ghetto Nuovo, Cannaregio 2902B ● The Jewish museum in the former Venice Ghetto, with artefacts from the 17th to 19th centuries. Daily tours include visits to several of the synagogues, elaborate chambers hidden within the area’s tall tenements. www.museoebraico.it 15 San Giovanni Crisostomo Campo San Giovanni Crisostomo, Cannaregio ● Small Renaissance church whose highlight is Giovanni Bellini’s painting of Saints Jerome, Christopher and Louis, 1513, one of his last works. 16 Santa Maria dei Miracoli Campo dei Miracoli, Cannaregio ● Known as the “marble church”, this fine early Renaissance church, built by Pietro Lombardo, has a coffered ceiling painted with prophets’ faces. 16 THE ART NEWSPAPER VENICE GUIDE 2011 17 Teatro Fondamenta Nuove Fondamenta Nuove, Cannaregio 5013 ● A rare Venetian bastion of contemporary culture, even when the biennale isn’t on. www.teatrofondamenta nuove.it 18 Alla Vedova (aka Ca’ D’Oro) Ramo Ca’ D’Oro, (nr Calle del Pistor), Cannaregio 3912 ● The best restaurant in Venice, according to Italian artist Paolo Ventura (see p9): a well preserved bacari (stand-up bar), serving classic “cicchetti” bar snacks, including particularly delicious meatballs. An excellent à la carte menu is also served at the tables. Tel: +39 041 528 5324 19 Antica Adelaide Calle Larga Doge Priuli, Cannaregio 3728 ● Top local cuisine, including superb lobster risotto, with some quirky, traditional Venetian dishes (such as heart and goose) and good Italian wines. Tel: +39 041 523 2629 Santa Maria dei Miracoli CHRISTOPHER SEDDON ● NATIONAL PARTICIPATIONS ● COLLATERAL EVENTS ● OTHER EVENTS ● CLASSICS ● FOOD & DRINK ★HIGHLIGHTS Giardini: Palazzo delle Esposizioni (p3) Bice Curiger has brought three works by Tintoretto into ILLUMInazioni, including two of his greatest paintings, The Stealing of the Dead Body of St Mark, 1562-66, from the Accademia, and The Last Supper, 1592-94, from San Giorgio Maggiore. The latter is awe-inspiring in its usual home: Tintoretto clearly meant it to be seen from the altar rails and adjusted the perspective to place the viewer within the work. Cannaregio: Madonna dell’ Orto (p16) Nicknamed the Tintoretto church, the artist’s tomb resides here, along with a host of paintings. Among the works is a remarkable Last Judgement (above), which stunned John Ruskin: “By Tintoret only has this unimaginable event been grappled with in its Verity.” T 17 THE ART NEWSPAPER VENICE GUIDE 2011 CANNAREGIO Tintoretto in Venice : a spotter’s guide Born and buried in humble Cannaregio, and feted by art lovers from Bice Curiger to John Ruskin, ILLUMInazioni guest artist Tintoretto has left his astonishing mark all over Venice The Last Judgement, 1562 (detail) intoretto had a dramatic, expressive painterly style that earned him the nickname “Il furioso”, and he was hugely ambitious, aiming to fuse the drawing of Michelangelo with the colouring of Titian. But just as crucial was his mind: he matched technical gifts with a conceptual rigour, not just in his vivid readings of ancient texts, but in the staging of his paintings. Time and again, he created astonishing responses to the context in which his works were placed, and it is this feeling for space, a precursor for the installation art of today, that lends his work such a contemporary edge. It is now believed that he was born Jacopo Comin in 1518, though his family name has long been thought to be Robusti, but he was called Tintoretto due to his father’s profession—he was a dyer, or tintore. He spent his entire life in Venice, and his house in Cannaregio is marked with a plaque. Unlike Titian, many of whose greatest works left Venice for the courts of Spain and Austria, most of Tintoretto’s paintings remain in his native city. He covered vast acres of canvas over his lifetime, so wherever you are in Venice, a Tintoretto is never far away: below are some of the best. Castello: San Zaccaria (p22) Birth of St John the Baptist, late 1550s, is relatively restrained Tintoretto, but the tumbling angels and ecstatic light still reflect his fervent drama. The painting may depict the Birth of the Virgin— scholars are unsure. Dorsoduro: Accademia (p29) Several masterpieces here, including Miracle of the Slave (1548), a hugely dynamic multi-figure composition. It is one of a sequence of images in the life of Venice’s patron saint St Mark, originally painted for the Scuola Grande di San Marco, now the city’s hospital. Isola di San Giorgio: San Giorgio Maggiore (p31) Usually the home of Tintoretto’s late, great Last Supper, removed to the Giardini for the Biennale, this still features two important paintings: the Gathering of Manna, 1594, and his last ever work, The Entombment, 1594, finished by his son Domenico. San Marco: Doge’s Palace (p40) Several Tintorettos are found in the rooms of the Venetian state but one stands out: Paradise, 1588-92, an enormous canvas featuring hundreds of figures rising in circular tiers to Christ and the Virgin, framed by a radiant sky: “the most precious thing that Venice possesses,” said Ruskin. San Polo: Scuola Grande di San Rocco (p45) This extraordinary cycle of paintings, covering the ceilings and walls, was made between 1564 and 1587. Some of the artist’s greatest works are here, but it is the whole epic endeavour that makes it the crucial Tintoretto experience. You may need a strong spritz afterwards.
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