Palazzo Grimani

The exhibition Fausto Pirandello – The Nudes, a special initiative sponsored by the Italy Pavilion at 54, continues with great success. International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy, currently held at the Palazzo Grimani in Venice until November 27th 2011.

A theme of great fascination, cultivated by Fausto Pirandello throughout his production, is the female body nude. The exhibition describes, with more than twenty paintings, including six pastels displayed for the first time ever, the bodies, “stripped”, unrestrainable, threatening and tormented, designed according to an intuition which represents the weight of the body in the torment of the thought and of the human psyche.

It is therefore a unique opportunity to admire all these nudes by Fausto Pirandello, including three never before exhibited in Venice: Nude in perspective, from 1923, which opens the exhibition circuit, the bright Composition with nudes and yellow slippers, from approximately 1923, and the unbridled Nude on a white background, from 1928, which would have so much pleased Lucien Freud for its big thigh. Along the exhibition circuit, an interesting educational section compares, with the aid of a video and some photos, Fausto Pirandello’s works of with Lucian Freud’s: an ideal pictorial parallelism between the son of Luigi Pirandello, a playwright linked to personality disorders, and the grandson of Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis and interpreter of the disturbances of the human soul. The comparison between the two artists is not born out of their kinship condition, but of their own works. TD

From June 4th, 2011

The work of the Venetian painter, Tintoretto, will play an important symbolic role in the 54th International Exhibition of Contemporary Art entitled ILLUMinations, which will be held in Venice from June 4th, 2011. Many, in fact, are the contemporary artists who, such as Tintoretto – suggests Bice Curiger, director of the Art Sector for the Venice Biennale this year – try to establish an intense dialogue with those who see a work of art and defy convention.

So as to establish an artistic, historical, and emotional connection with the great Venetian painter and with Venice, 3 more grand paintings by Jacopo Robusti, known as the Tintoretto, will also be shown at the exhibition of the 2011 Art Biennale. Precisely today the titles were disclosed regarding the works that will be exhibited in the Main Pavilion of the Giardini and, as the President of the Biennale, Paolo Baratta, expressed, they will act as a “reminder to the living artists so that they not indulge in conventions”. This is in reference to “The Last Supper”, from the Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore, and to the “Theft of the body of St. Mark” and the “Creation of the Animals”, both preserved in the Accademia Gallery.

Exceptionally this year, the award ceremony, the inauguration, and the official opening will all coincide: the Biennale will open to the public on June 4th, 2011 at 10am and the opening ceremony will be held at 12pm.

COLLATERAL EVENTS

There will be 37 collateral events proposed by international organizations and institutions that will set up their exhibits and their initiatives in various parts of the city, which will coincide with the Biennale. The collateral events offer a wide range of contributions and investments that enrich the program of the 54th International Exhibition in an original and significant manner. TD

June 4th – November 27th, 2011
Giardini and Arsenale

The 54th International Art Exhibition, one of the world’s most important forums for the dissemination and illumination of current developments in international art, with the title of ILLUMInazioni – ILLUMInations, directed by Bice Curiger, an art historian, critic and curator of international exhibitions, and organized by la Biennale di Venezia, will be opening on Friday, June 3rd, and will be accessible to the public from Saturday, June 4th to November 27th 2011 in the Giardini and the Arsenale.

The exhibition ILLUMInazioni – ILLUMInations will be laid out in the Central Pavilion in the Giardini and in the Arsenale, forming a single itinerary, featuring 82 artists from all over the world, including 32 young artists born after 1975, as well as 32 women artists.

As usual, the Exhibition will be paralleled by 88 National Participations, a record for Biennale Arte (they were 77 in 2009), housed in the historical Pavilions in the Giardini, in the Arsenale, as well as in other locations around the city.

The Padiglione Italia in the Arsenale, organized by the Ministry for the Cultural Heritage and Activities together with PaBAAC – General Direction for landscape, fine arts, architecture and contemporary art, will be curated by Vittorio Sgarbi.

The countries that will be participating for the first time will be Andorra, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Haiti. Other countries will be participating after a long period of absence: India (1982), Congo (1968), Iraq (1990), Zimbabwe (1990), South Africa (1995), Costa Rica (1993, afterwards with IILA), Cuba (1995, afterwards with IILA). More than 40 Collateral Events will be arranged by international organizations and institutions, which will set up their exhibitions and initiatives in various locations around the city on the occasion of the Biennale.TD

3rd September 2010

On September 3rd 2010 the Great Hall of Palazzo del Cinema host the ceremony to John Woo’s for Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement at the 67th International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art in Venice.

The ceremony was followed by screening the world premiere of Jianyu (Reign of Assassins), the film by Su Chao-Pin, produced by Terence Chang, John Woo’s signature in the supervision and direction. Jianyu (Reign of Assassins), boasts of a variegated cast composed of, beside the protagonist such as the queen of Asian action films Michelle Yeoh, the Korean superstar Jung Woo Sung, and the Chinese and Taiwanese stars Barbie Hsu, Wang Xueqi, Kelly Lin and Angeles Woo.TD

From 29th August to 21st November 2010

The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement the 12th International Architecture Exhibition, which will take place in Venice, at the Giardini the Arsenale from 29th August to 21st November 2010, has been awarded to the Dutch architect, Rem Koolhaas. The decision was taken by the Board of the Biennale di Venezia, chaired by Paolo Baratta. in Time in 2008 as one of the 100 most influential people in the world, in 1975 Rem Koolhaas – together with Elia and Zoe Zenghelis and Madelon Vriesendorp – founded OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture).

The most important works by Koolhaas and OMA include the Netherlands Dance Theatre at The Hague, the Nexus Housing at Fukuoka in Japan, the Kunsthal in Rotterdam, the Grand Palais of Euralille and Lille, the Villa dall’Ava, the Très Grande Bibliothèque and the Seattle Public Library.

29th August – 21st November 2010
Giardini and Arsenale

Last May an early program of the 12th International Architecture Exhibition was presented: it will be opened to the public from Sunday 29th August to Sunday 21st November 2010 at the Giardini of Biennale and at the Arsenale. For the first time this year a woman will direct the Architecture Sector: Kazuyo Sejima who has recently been awarded the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize 2010 (together with Ryue Nishizawa). The title of the Biennale 2010 will be People meet in Architecture, and it will be held at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni of the Biennale (Giardini) and in the Arsenal by creating a single displaying itinerary with 43 participants: firms, architects, engineers and artists from all over the world. As usual, the Exhibition will present 56 national Participations to be held in the historical Pavilions in the Giardini, in the Arsenal and in various historical locations of Venice.

The inaugural and award ceremony of the 12th Exhibition will take place on Saturday, 28th August in the Giardini, with the awarding of the official awards assigned by the International Jury. The International Jury will be awarding the following prizes: Golden Lion for the best National Participation at the 12th Exhibition, Golden Lion for the best architect/artist of the Exhibition People meet in architecture, Silver Lion for the most promising young architect of the Exhibition People meet in architecture.TD

29th August – 21st November 2010
Giardini, Arsenale

Last 22nd January 2010 the new Director  of the 12th International Architecture Exhibition, Kazuyo Sejima, with the President of the Biennale, Paolo Baratta, met, at Ca’ Giustinian, the representatives of the 54 Countiries participating in the next Biennale which will take place from 29th August to 21st November 2010 at the Giardini dell’Arsenale. The title chosen by Kazuyo Sejima for the 12th International Architecture Exhibition is ‘People meet in architecture’, a title explaining the aim of the exhibition of this year: to help people and architecture to relate to one another and thus to bring the debate about the role of architecture in our society back to the forefront. Each architect on display will have his or her own independent area, being the curator of himself or herself. The area at the disposal of the architects, the artists or the technicians of every countries, will have to be created by considering the physical experience which will be enjoyed by the visitors of the exhibition. TD

Completed the artist selection of Making Worlds: 6 New Exhibitions in the Collateral Events section.

The Padiglione Venezia dedicated to Murano Glassware

Biennale art 2009 Roberto Cuoghi, Sunil Gawde, Gilbert & Gorge, Sherrie Levine complete the list of artists (this year more than 90, groups included) of the 53rd International Art Exhibition, entitled Making Worlds / Banting Duniyan / Weltenmachen/ Construire des Mondes / Fazer Mundos, opened to the public in Venice (Giardini and Arsenale) from 7th June to 22nd November 2009.

The exhibition which will be held at the Padiglione Venezia will be dedicated to the artistic Venetian glassware; it is organized by the Regione Veneto in combination with the 53rd Exhibition entitled ‘Fa come natura face in foco’ and curated by Ferruccio Franzoia.

The list of the Collateral Events of the Art Biennale has been enriched with six new exhibitions too, reaching the total number of 44 Collateral Events organized throughout Venice and on the dry land too.

Tribute to Pietro Cascella. Arsenale from 7th June to 22nd November 2009.

The ideal town. Certosa Island, from 6th June to 22nd November 2009.

The dance of the bees. Campo Santa Margherita, Dorsoduro, from the 4th June to 25th July 2009

Liu Zhong’s Praise of Nature. Querini Palace, Dorsoduro 2691 (Calle Lunga San Barnaba). Giudecca 795 Art Gallery, Fondamenta San Biagio, 795, from 3rd June to 15th September 2009.

Making (Percfect) World: Harbour, Hong Kong, Alienated Cities, Dreams. Arsenale, Castello 2126 (Campo della Tana), from 7th June to 22nd November 2009.

SubTiziano. Ca’ Foscari University, American, Iberian and Slavonic languages department, Ca’ Bernardo, Dorsoduro 3199, from 4th June to 22nd October 2009. TD

Several world previews from the animation cinema universe will enrich the 66th Venice Film Festival on the occasion of the presentation of John Lasseter and the Pixar Animation Studios directors with the Golden Lion award for lifetime achievement .

The world premiere screenings of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3D as well as of some sequences of the new Christmas feature film by the Disney–Pixar, The Princess and the Frog, will be on 6th and 7th September 2009. The latter, directed by Ron Clemens and John Musker, is the new transposition of the Grimm Brothers’ classic fable. It takes place in the New Orleans of the Twenties: the protagonist is a black princess, marked by the politically correct. After so many years, for The Princess and the Frog, the Disney is back to the hand made traditional animation.

The screening of Toy Story in 3D has got a great symbolic value, as it is the first film produced by the Pixar Studios, completely realized by means of computers. Then it was followed by Toy Story 2 (1999), directed by Lasseter as well. Now, taking the latest frontiers of the digital technology in 3D ‘towards the never-ending and beyond’, the two films have been carefully reproduced in 3D starting from the original digital files. Both films will be presented in the United States in a special ‘double feature’ 3D version next 2nd October. It seems that there are also other surprises in store. For the time being it is sure then that the tribute to the authors and the adventure of the Disney-Pixar will include a retrospective with the screenings of Finding Nemo, 2003 by Andrew Stanton and The Incredibles, 2004, by Brad Bird, in addition to the Italian premiere of Up by Pete Docter. TD

Tania Danieli