Critics weren?t ebullient, which the Sweden born Rector of the Städeleschule in Frankfurt and in charge of the Biennale, Daniel Birnbaum received: ?Venice is nice and the art as well ? nothing more? was the title by Karlheinz Schmid the publisher of the Kunstzeitung and the NZZ called it a ?community library?. We are missing the great master piece, the passion, like for example the exhibition of the legendary Harald Szeemann.
100 artists took place and showed their pieces in several rooms of the former Italian pavilion Giardini. However the start is jubilant: you enter a dark hall, which is filled with a large quadratic and with illuminated gold wired installation, which has a sort of mystique silence. The installation is homage for the Brasilian artist Lygia Pape (1927 ? 2004) and transforms the room into a geometric cosmos. This is followed by a hall of mirrors with bright lighting of the Italian Michelangelo Pistoletto. At the opening he destroyed 20 of 22 mirrors in order to receive more media attention. Caused by the shattered mirrors the spectator just gets a ?broken? picture of himself.
Of course you can discover interesting pieces. There are some 90 artists in the main exhibition, Making Worlds. Participating countries are amounting to the record number of 77, with exhibitions in their own pavilions, and a further 44 collateral events from international institutes and organizations are exhibited in various places across the city of Venice.
Francois Pinault took the opportunity and opened his second museum ? next to the Palazzo Grassi ? the ?Punta della Dogana?. The old tollhouse lies on the headland of the Canal Grande opposite the Marcus plaza. After he sealed the deal with the mayor of Venice Massiomo Cacciari the art collector took over the building and assigned star-architect Tadao Ando the reconstruct it. With the first exhibition ?mapping the studio?, Pinault shows a good touch, because the US-Pavilion with Naumans ?Topological Gardens? won the golden lion at the Biennale.
The most inspiring discovery in Venice was the ingenious ?School of sight? an exhibition, which includes art from all epochs. The Palazzo Fortuny, which was founded by the luxury cloth salesman Mariano Fortuny (1871 ? 1949) and contents the large collection ?In-Finitum?. The ingenious but also disputed Belgian antics salesman Axel Vervoordt staged a mix of fascinating art pieces, artefacts, historic documents and tacky everyday items. Vervoordt managed to create an amazing exhibition with many different aspects of art. For instance you stand in front of a sarcophagus of an ancient Egyptian Iris, which is surrounded by sculptures of Picasso and Giacometti.
53. Biennale of Venice through 22nd of November 2009
?In-Finitum?, Palazzo Fortuny, San Beneto through 16th of November 2009
www.museiciviciveneziani.it
