Venice: at the Church of the Penitents, an exhibition reflects on the environmental crisis

The Church of Santa Maria delle Penitenti, in Cannaregio, is hosting on the occasion of the 58th. Venice Biennale, from May 11 to November 24, 2019, the exhibition Artists Need to Create on the Same Scale that Society Has the Capacity to Destroy: Mare Nostrum.

Theofficial collateral event of the Venice Biennale, curated by Phong Bui and Francesca Pietropaolo, aims to address the issue of environmental crisis in theera of climate change-a topic of particular urgency in the city of Venice, which is at risk from rising seas.

The selected works were created by 73 international artists using a wide range of media: works that invite the public to reflect on the fragility of nature and human life, evoking the regeneration of living systems.

In the center of the church was Wolfgang Laib ’s installation Passageway (2013) focusing on the fleeting nature of human life’s journey. Lauren Bon, on the other hand, created the site-specific installation Inverted Mediterranean Pine (2019), using papier-mâché and charcoal produced by recent forest fires in California, and the soundscape Oratorio Mare Nostrum (2019), which intends to relate the cycles of the lagoon and the moon through a listening map made up of sound layers of the Mediterranean. Also by this artist is the sculpture St. Jerome’s Study (2007-2019), which references themes of translation and obliteration as well as the threat of oil spills in the sea. Untitled: Meditation on Water Surface (2007) is a video projection on painting by Shoja Azari and Shahram Karimi that evokes contemplation, while Metamorphism (2016-2019) is Julian Charriè;re’s work that focuses on themes of ephemerality and transformation. And again, Shirin Neshat ’s video entitled Sarah (2016) creates a physical and emotional landscape where the relationship between women and water is highlighted.

Within the work space of Brooklyn Rail, the magazine that will be staffed during the course of the exhibition, will be portraits by Phong Bui, In Conversation #1 (2019) that propose a democratic vision that embraces different generations, genders, ethnicities and disciplines. And still in this space will be placed the installation The Wall of Offering: To Venice With Love: an altar of paintings, drawings, photographs, and sculptures by different artists, including Yasi Alipour, Dana Buhl, Alex Katz, Jonas Mekas, Nathlie Provosty, Ugo Rondinone, Cordy Ryman, Amy Sillman, Jack Whitten, and Lisa Yuskavage. Also included among the works are Kiki Smith’s Singer (2008), a sculpture of a young woman welcoming visitors; a video of Newton Harrison ’s seminal lectures titled A Meditation on the Mediterranean (2019) and his Book of Lagoons (1974-1984); and finally, Lauren Bon’s Honey Collection from the environmentally endangered Mediterranean countries (2008-ongoing).

In the courtyard, however, is Maya Lin’s site-specific installation Water Everywhere, Not a Drop to Drink (2019): dew drops in blown glass that evoke the theme of water.

Throughout the duration of the exhibition, an interdisciplinary program of public conversations with artists, scientists, scholars, poets, and writers is planned: 1001 Stories for Survival.

Hours: Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Free admission.

Ph.Credit Samuele Cherubini

Venice: at the Church of the Penitents, an exhibition reflects on the environmental crisis

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