Ca’ Pesaro – International Gallery of Modern Art

A major retrospective was inaugurated on Saturday, December 17th, in Venice, at the Museum of Ca’ Pesaro, aimed at discovering, tracing back and documenting, through more than two hundred works – including paintings, drawings, watercolours and etchings – the creative career of Gennaro Favai (Venice 1879-1958), a Venetian artist who succeeded in combining an extraordinary mastery of painting technique with the expressive needs of Symbolist poetry.

Gennaro Favai was friends, among others, with Mario De Maria and Mariano Fortuny, and was able to move with equal ease between Venice, the lively cosmopolitan milieu of Capri and the great cultural capitals of the time.

Set up on the 2nd floor of Ca’ Pesaro, the exhibition is divided, according to an “episodic” rather than chronological cut, into three main groups, namely: the “Venetian Views”, from his first phase, full of decadent and nocturnal accents; the core, represented by his “Mediterranean Trip” between Taormina, Syracuse, Capri and Algiers (in the ‘10s, ‘20s and ‘30s of the 20th century), with the creation of a new morphology of landscape characterized by intense colours and strong contrasts of light and shade of the Mediterranean light and, finally, “bird’s eye views” of a transparent and visionary Venice of his last period.

The path is completed by a section dedicated to his relationship with some of his illustrious contemporaries – i.e. Modigliani, Medardo Rosso and Raoul Dufy – of whom there are portraits on display along with caricatures dedicated to the Venetian, as well as a selection of self-portraits and still lifes made throughout the course of his artistic career, set in a reconstruction of the environment in his studio.PB

From November 24th 2011 to February 26th 2012

The exhibition “A Tribute to Lorenzo Lotto. Paintings from the Hermitage at the Academy Galleries” was opened in November 24th 2011 in Venice. It was made possible by the exceptional loan granted by the Museum of St. Petersburg to the Venetian galleries of two paintings rarely – if ever – seen before in Italy, namely: “the Portrait of Spouses” and the “Madonna delle Grazie“.

It is an exceptional event, a small solo exhibition which will remain open only until February 26th 2012, whose organizers have been able to make the most of the work of two of the most important galleries in the world. It is an exhibition of research, with the limits of spectacularity that this often involves, but also with the results and innovations that emerge from the activity of research, restoration and presentation of new works.

An exhibition of research, as we said, that focuses around specific moments in Lotto’s career or on distinctive themes.

The two Russian paintings belong to very different but somehow mysteriously symmetrical periods of the painter’s career: the last years of his happy period in Bergamo, the most serene in Lotto’s life, on the eve of his return to Venice, and the last years of his stay in Venice just before leaving the lagoon city for Treviso, where he would find himself “alone, without faithful government and very troubled in his mind”.

Therefore, the exhibition offers a rich and composite path that puts the two works in dialogue with other paintings by Lotto from European museums and from the collection of the Academia Galleries. The path of the present exhibition, curated by Matteo Ceriana, also includes contemporary paintings and sculptures derived from works of the Venetian master and documents that help tracing out his historical and artistic context.PB

Info and booking: phone (39) 041 5200345, www.gallerieaccademia.org
Ticket: full price € 11.00, reduced € 9.00

From February 4th to 21st 2012

THE GRAN THEATRE IN ST. MARK’S SQUARE
From 11 to 21 February 2012 

This year too, on the occasion of Carnival 2012, a big Stage will be set up in St. Mark’s Square. The “Grand Theatre” will be the heart of one of the most famous events in the world. Besides the traditional shows, such as the “Angel Flight”, the “Festa delle Marie” (or “Feast of Marie”) and the “More Beautiful Mask”, it will also host performances of the most innovative companies, including shows of choreographic companies and circus-theatre shows. The programme of the evening events to be held in St. Mark’s Square will include dances, parties with early evening aperitif entertainment and Dj sets to accompany electrifying happy hours.

THE WINE FOUNTAIN
From February 4th

In this 2012 edition too there will be in St. Mark’s Square the “Fountain of Wine“, a beautiful fountain set up just in front of the Ducal Palace, from which fine wines – strictly of Venetian production- will flow, which will be offered to the public. Carnival will be officially opened precisely by the Fountain, on February 4th 2012, and, after the official opening toast, let’s give free rein to dance! In the Piazzetta San Marco people will dance the waltz until late at night!

VENETIAN FESTIVAL ON WATER 
February 5th

On Sunday, February 5th 2012, you cannot absolutely miss “The Venetian Festival on Water”, the highlight of the popular folklore of Carnival events. An imposing water parade will slip moorings from Punta della Dogana and sail along the Grand Canal until reaching the popular Rio di Cannaregio, where it will march among the jubilant crowd thronging on the shores, waiting for the now acclaimed “Svolo della Pantegana”. The regatta will be accompanied with songs of the Venetian tradition. Upon arrival of the boats, the wine and food stands will be opened, in which the public will find cicheti (nips), Venetian specialties and traditional Carnival sweets par excellence: fritole and galani.

FESTA DELLE MARIE 
February 11th

This year too, at the Carnival of Venice 2012, the traditional “Festa delle Marie” (“Feast of Marie”) could not miss. The event, a unique moment to admire the costumes of the Venetian tradition, unfolds over several days. It will be inaugurated on Saturday, February 11th, with the procession of the twelve Venetian girls selected in the previous weeks. The pedestrian parade, accompanied by costumed historical groups of the European Committee of Historical Re-Enactments and Carnival Associations, will l

eave San Pietro in Castello, walking along the entire Riva degli Schiavoni and finally reaching St. Mark’s Square, where the presentation of the “Marie” to the citizens will take place.

ANGEL FLIGHT 
February 12th

The “Angel Flight”, a traditional reminiscence of the homage once brought to the Doge, offers the exciting flight of a secret guest of the city of Venice, from the top of the bell tower of St. Mark’s up to the centre of the square. The event will officially open the Carnival festivities on February 12th 2012. The angel, a star of the international glamour, whose name this year still remains unknown, will wear a beautiful costume inspired by the Carnival theme.

ROWING OF SILENCE 
February 21st

The Venice festival will end on Tuesday, February 21st 2012, with the Rowing of Silence: an impressive procession of boats that will pass along the Grand Canal with no artificial lighting, from Rialto to St. Mark’s. All buildings overlooking the city’s most famous canal will instead be lit with thousands of candles in order to recreate the atmosphere of ancient times and revive the image of an unreal and magical Venice, free from noise (motor-boat traffic will be banned) and by candlelight.PB

From January 2012

The Bevilacqua – La Masa Foundation is planning for 2012 an intense calendar of very interesting exhibition events.

It will start on February 2nd 2012, with two exhibitions: the one to be opened at the Gallery in St. Mark’s Square, a collective end-of-stay exhibition of the young artists currently assignees of studies; and the other, to be presented in Palazzetto Tito, a collection of interesting creative re-workings of legendary Moleskine notebooks made by artists, architects, designers, illustrators and writers active in the international scene.

In March 2012, the Bevilacqua La Masa Foundation will host the final initiative of the project, “A special day”: an exhibition event which will see on display in the halls of Palazzetto Tito works by Antonio Bigini, Tomaso De Luca, Sabina Grasso and Andrea Romano, which will be accompanied by a series of meetings and debates.

From April 3rd, it will be the turn of the exhibition organized in collaboration with the Modena Photography Foundation. On display at the Gallery in St. Marks’ Square, 49 photos, 9 videos and an installation by international artists. The works belong to the collection of contemporary photography of the Cassa di Risparmio di Modena Foundation.PB

From November 16th 2011

On November 16th 2011, at the Giorgio Cini Foundation on the Island of San Giorgio (Venice), at 11.30 am, the new ELONORA DUSE ROOM was officially presented to the public, a new permanent space dedicated to the memory of the great Italian actress.

The project stems from the desire to turning the Eleonora Duse Archives of the Giorgio Cini Foundation into a “place” open to the public to discover and visit.

The valuable collection of materials housed at the Study Centre for documentary research on the European theatre and music drama represents an inexhaustible source to understand the life and art of one of the most important Italian theatrical actresses of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the undisputed symbol of modern theatre. Precisely in Venice she had been looking for – and virtually found – a welcoming atmosphere and a home where to live for quite some time.

The new space dedicated to Duse will give visitors the chance to admire part of the documents preserved in the rich Archives: autographs, including letters, scripts, accounting documents and company records, as well as original photographs, personal items, clothes and a part of her furniture. The layout of the setting up allows displaying and developing different themes that characterized her art or distinct periods of her life, themes which will form the guidelines for temporary exhibitions.

From December 17th 2011 to April 1st 2012

At Palazzo Franchetti, the seat of the Venetian Institute of Sciences, Letters and Arts of Venice, an exhibition entitled “Photography in Japan (1860-1910) is being held since Saturday, December 17th 2011. Masterpieces”. It is the first retrospective ever organized in Italy dedicated to the great Japanese and European performers who worked in the field of photography between 1860 and the very early years of the 20th century.

“Photography in Japan (1860-1910). Masterpieces”, the first retrospective in Italy dedicated to the great Japanese and European performers who worked in the field of photography between 1860 and the very early years of the 20th century.

The exhibition presents 150 original prints, the masterpieces of one of the most important chapters in the history of photography – born in Europe but immediately experienced in Japan – just at the time when, leaving an isolation that had lasted for three hundred years, the Land of the Rising Sun opened up to America and Europe, influencing, with the images and expressions of its creativity, the taste of the entire Western world.

The exhibition circuit, organized by sections, is also enriched by the works of some great photographers of the origins, including – first of all – the English Felice Beato (1833 – 1907) who, with a small group of Japanese artists, gave birth to a style called the Yokohama School, as well as to a special technique. These personalities were able to combine photography, the most avant-gardist art form of the time, with the tradition of Japanese graphics, making photographic prints on albumin paper lightly hand-coloured individually by refined craftsmen.

The exhibition ends with works by the great interpreters of Japanese and foreign photography, such as Kusakabe Kimbei, considered the master in creating sophisticated hand-coloured albumin photographs.PB

Open every day except on Tuesday

Opening hours: 10:00 am – 06:00 pm

Tickets: Full price € 9.00, reduced € 7.50

From 26th December 2011 to 6th January 2012

A thick programme of theatre shows for everybody will entertain old and young, locals and tourists during the Christmas holidays and New Year’s Eve in Venice and Mestre.

The underlying theme will be the circus and clowns.

The first event is in Terraferma/Mestre, at the Momo Theatre. From 26th to 30th December the show will be “Circoparola” by Pantakin (written by Tiziano Scarpa). On 1st January the show will be “Quisquilia” – a poetic, funny circus theatre. On 31st December, the show at the Toniolo Theatre (10:30 pm), will be “A qualcuno piace carta” with Ennio Marchetto.

Amusement and entertainment at the Goldoni Theatre in Venice are to be expected with the Baccalà Clown (from Switzerland), performing in “Pss Pss” on 26th December, followed by “La cucina dell’arte” (Circus Ronaldo, Belgium) from 30th December to 1st January. The grand finale, on Twelfth Night, is “Fair play – Una maratona di risate” (Slapsus, Italy).

Until 30th April 2012

On 9th December 2011, on the Island of Murano, in the Museum of Glass, the exhibition “1861-2011: UN’ISOLA, UN’ARTE, UN MUSEO” [one island, one art, one museum] was inaugurated. It is a great retrospective exhibition on the art of glass-making, which allows visitors to learn about the history and life of this Venetian island, famous all over the world for its glass works of art. In 1861 an archive that held information on the long history of glass making in Murano was created. The archive had a museum section as well, which soon became the most important section because many glass items (ancient and modern) produced in the island were donated by the owners of the kilns. To mark the 150th anniversary of the creation of the archive, a great exhibition containing almost two hundred items was opened. The items were made in the last 150 years and are the most significant elements in the museum’s collection. They are an example of the unique skills of their creators.

The exhibition includes items shown during the Biennale exhibitions and creations by master glass makers and glass factories that had not been previously exhibited. There will also be new donations, which have increased the museum’s collection of XX century items.

Open until 21st February 2012
Campo San Polo


On Wednesday 9th December, in Campo San Polo, the largest ice skating rink ever set up in Venice was inaugurated. It will be open to the public until Venice Carnival end, 21st February 2012.

There is a 450 square metre egg-shaped rink, surrounded by a ‘village of stalls’, a traditional Christmas market, with locally made arts-and-crafts items and food and wine.

Opening hours: Mondays to Thursdays from 3 pm to 7 pm, Fridays from 3 pm to 9 pm, Saturdays from 11 am to 9 pm, Sundays from 11 am to 7 pm. There will be special prices and special season tickets (10 entries) and ice skates to rent.

Until 1st January 2012

Until 1st January 2012 the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice is the venue of the third edition of Massimo Barbero’s curated project “Themes&Variations”. It will be held in the halls of the Gallery dedicated to temporary exhibitions. The masterpieces of the museum are thematically and scientifically compared to pieces of art created by more modern artists from other collections. The aim is to guide visitors and help them fully understand the work of the new art movements at the beginning of the XX century, by putting them in their historical context and comparing them to other paintings, sculptures and more recent creations. This exhibition is a unique opportunity to see how themes and symbols evolved into new kinds of artistic expression.

The subject of this edition’s exhibition is “Script and space”. The “script” can be seen in the transition from the cubist and futurist collages of Pablo Picasso and Carlo Carrà to the crypto-script of Dadamaino and Riccardo De marchi, including the all-round work of Rudolf Stingel, which is connected to the expressionist script of Jackson Pollock. “Space” opens with Rufino Tamayo’s cosmos and reaches Mario Nigro, François Morellet and Arthur Duff. The exhibition ends with homage to Gastone Novelli (1925-68), one of the main Italian artists in the 1950s and 1960s.

The end of the exhibition is the “Gastone Novelli and Venice” exhibition, dedicated to one of the main Italian artists in the 1950s and 1960s and organised with the help of the Rome Gastone Novelli Archive. The relationship of the artist is reconstructed through his poetic script, his great, balanced canvases with signs, marks, colours and words. There are some notebooks from the 1960s with pictures of Venice, as well as pictures painted between 1964 and 1968. some are unpublished and dedicated to the city or painted in his Venetian art studio.TD