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| St Marks Square |
With much excitement I joined the (European) Sculpture Network on an exclusive trip to Venice for its 57th International Art Exhibition "La Biennale di Venezia". There, 43 participants from nine different countries had the opportunity to enjoy summer and art in Northern Italy and travel with other like-minded companions who shared their passion for Contemporary Sculpture! We opened up the possibility to exchange views and to visit 18 presentations from various artists.
The program started with a half-day guided visit to the Biennale’s main venue "Arsenale." and what an amazing space to view. We were divided in two groups and gained a valuable insight into the exhibition and contemporary art in general. The reduced group size allowed excited conversations.
On the second day we had another half-day guided visit. This time to the "Giardini", to enjoy a curated selection of some of the permanent national pavilions with a focus on Contemporary sculpture - without forgetting the must-see shows.
"VIVA ARTE VIVA" is a Biennale designed with artists, by artists and for artists, about the forms they propose, the questions they ask, the practices they develop and the ways of life they choose. Rather than broaching a single theme, VIVA ARTE VIVA offers a route that moulds the artists’ works and a context that favours access and understanding, generating connections, resonance and thoughts.
Each afternoon we were given free time to visit other exhibitions which interested us individually, afterwards meeting for evening dinner, to exchange views, network, and plan other exciting visits to Palazzo’s which held parallel exhibitions during the duration of the Biennale 2017. These parallel exhibitions are definitely not to be missed.
One such exhibition was "Personal Structures" - Open Borders, promoted by Global Art Affairs (GAA) a non-profit organisation and hosted by the European Cultural Centre (ECC) at their Cultural Centre, situated in Venetian Palazzo Bembo, Palazzo Mora – and the Giardini Marinaressa.
"Personal Structures" is a project aimed at introducing in writing, pictures and in exhibitions, a number of international artists whom, for all their individuality, have much in common concerning their intentions. The observation that even in the most distant corners of the world and independent of one another, closely related artistic problems are being worked on, led to the idea of bringing several of these artists together. The goal is to start a communication with and among the artists, and to offer them a forum.
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Elly Buckley with Graham Hay (WA Artist)
taken at Palazzo Bembo.
(Photo credit. Andre Kirberg Sculpture - Network.org ) |
His sculpture "Critical Mass" is a critical ethnography study of the art community, in the most remote city in the world.
For Venice he handmade thousands of porcelain flutes, adding to a 2.5m high sculpture supporting circle of figures. (see photo & contact below) Over 2,000 of the flutes were labelled with the web or social media for WA artists. These flutes we used to drink Prosecco (kindly poured by Graham) and to keep as a souvenir, as well as to learn about and contact these WA artists.
I really did value my visit to the Biennale with the Sculpture Network particularly, and can recommend connecting with them as a way of broadening our horizons, our work practices, and generally enriching our lives.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Sculpture Network
www.sculpture-network.org
Photography by Andre Kirberg (Sculpture Network)
European Cultural Centre - (ECC)
www.europeanculturalcentre.eu
GAA - Global Art Affairs
www.gaafoundation.org
Featured Artist Graham Hay
Robertson Park Artists Studio, Western Australia
www.grahamhay.com.au
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