Venice 2019 – The Biennale di Venezia stages the Olympics of contemporary art, but beside the official exhibitions at Arsenale and Giardini much more can be discovered. We selected 6 intriguing exhibitions linked with architecture and design on show across the city which have inaugurated during the Venice Art Week 2019.
- RELATED STORIES: read more about Venice Biennale 2019 on Archipanic…
A library of exile in Venice Jewish Ghetto
Museo Ebraico + Ateneo Veneto , Campo Ghetto Nuovo 2903/b, Sestiere Cannareggio [Map].
In 1516, Jewish families were forced into a small area of the city, separated by Christians. This year, author and ceramicist Edmund de Waal narrates a history of displacement and loss with Psalms, a double exhibition at the Canton Scuola, a 16th-century synagogue in the Ghetto Nuovo, and at the nearby Ateneo Veneto. On show his ceramic works and a library of books by exiled writers. “This project is about exile – what it means to have to move to another country, to speak another language. My library for the Ateneo – two thousand books within a porcelain-covered pavilion – is the most significant sculpture of my life.” Says Edmund de Waal.
Dysfunctional art and design meet at Ca D’Oro
Galleria Giorgio Franchetti alla Ca’ D’Oro – Calle Ca’ D’Oro 3934, Sestiere Cannareggio [Map].
What defines an artwork, why can artworks not be functional and when does design become art? Carpenters Workshop Gallery and Lombard Odier explore the blurring boundaries of art and design with the DYSFUNCTIONAL exhibition at the Galleria Giorgio Franchetti alla Ca’ D’Oro in Venice. On display works by Vyrgil Abloh, Nacho Carbonell, Studio DRIFT, maarten Baasd and Matthieu Lehanneur which seek to forget functionality whilst celebrating the power of artistic expression and extraordinary craftsmanship. Read more…
Fornasetti’s dreamlike installation at Fondaco dei Tedeschi
Fondaco dei Tedeschi – Calle del Fontego, Sestiere San Marco [Map].
Barnaba Fornasetti e Valeria Manzi take over the department store of the Fondaco dei Tedeschi with the site-specific installation The rule of dreams. Fornasetti‘s iconic figures such as women faces, cheeky monkeys and hands cleaving the air are expressly arranged to interact meaningfully with the historical place.
Shopping Hillary Clinton’s emails
Despar Teatro Italia – Campiello De L’Anconeta 1944, Sestiere Cannareggio [Map].
Kenneth Goldsmith created a temporary supermarket where you can shop Hillary Clinton’s emails. One of the most controversies of the run up to the 2016 US Presidential election which every American citizen has heard about but never really read are on now show. The exhibition features 60.000 pages sent from the domain clintonemail.com between 2009 and 2019 can be finally read.
Dante’s Inferno, Russian style
Arsenale Nord, Tesa 94, Sestiere Castello [Map].
Vasily Klyukin invites you to Hell. The Russian visionary designer and artist has built a 900 sqm immersive and multisensorial exhibition inspired by the most ‘infamous’ literature work of all times: the Divina Commedia by Reinassance master Dante Alighieri.
Sculptures, sound installations, video mapping as well as light and digital art will accompany visitors through a hell of an experience. Titled In Dante Veritas, the exhibition was curated by Paola Gribaudo and organized by the State Russian Museum of Saint Petersburg and the City of Venice.
Glass stress… In an abandoned glass furnace
Fondazione Berengo Art Space, Campiello Della Pescheria, Murano [Map].
An abandoned glass furnace has ben turned into an exhibition space for the 30th anniversary of the Berengo Foundation. How glass can change our perception of space? Ai Weiwei, Tony Cragg, Thomas Schütte, Prune Nourry, José Parlá and Xavier Veilhan responded with art works ‘melting’ Venetian glass blowing heritage with contemporary art and design.
