When: 07.05.2015 - 22.10.2015
Where: Palazzo Cavalli-Franchetti, Venice, Italy
About
On 7 May 2015, in the Palazzo Cavalli-Franchetti in Venice Italy, a press day was held ahead of the public opening of the Glasstress 2015 Gotika exhibition that has been organized by the State Hermitage in conjunction with the Berengo Studio in Venice as part of the parallel programme of the 56th Venice Biennale of Contemporary Art in 2015. Glasstress 2015 Gotika explores how deeply mediaeval ideas and methods of communication have crept into the modern perception of technical and spiritual progress and influence present-day society. The exhibition presents specially selected works from the collection of the State Hermitage in Gothic and Neo-Gothic style as well as new works by contemporary artists created at the Berengo Studio on the Venetian islands of Murano. More than fifty artists from twenty countries were invited to produce works in glass or using glass in collaboration with the Murano craftspeople, taking their inspiration from the artistic experience of the Gothic and Neo-Gothic styles, as well as present-day perception of the Middle Ages. Many of the pieces featured were devised by artists who had never worked with glass before. Great interest was aroused in the display by the pieces produced by Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, Jake and Dinos Chapman, and Wim Delvoye. Exhibitions of works by these figures have recently been held with great success in the State Hermitage. The exhibition is presented as part of the Hermitage’s 250th anniversary celebrations and is being held with the support of the Hermitage Foundation in Italy. It is also part of the “Hermitage 20/21” projected that was created in 2007 and is aimed at studying, collecting and displaying works by artists of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.