Exhibition review: BORDERS | BODIES+CITIES SKIN
Venice | June 14/15 – July 04, 2021
THE ROOM Contemporary Art Space | Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello

ITSLIQUID Group, in collaboration with Venice Events and ACIT Venice – Italian-German Cultural Association, is proud to announce the great success of BODIES+CITIES SKIN, first appointment of BORDERS – Venice International Art Fair, held in Venice, at THE ROOM Contemporary Art Space from June 14 to July 04, 2021, and at Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello from June 15 to July 04, 2021, with the participation of around 70 artists from more than 20 different countries.

Click here to see the photo full reportage

BORDERS ART FAIR is a contemporary art fair that presents collective and solo projects by leading and emerging international artists; it is divided into three appointments: BODIES+CITIES SKIN, FRAGMENTED IDENTITIES and FUTURE LANDSCAPES. The 2021 edition represents a forum for direct exchange of ideas and contacts between collectors, artists, photographers, designers and art professionals. The art fair features paintings, sculptures, photography art, installations, video art and live performance.

The festival focuses on the concept of “borders”, between the soul and the body, the human being and the city, the city and the ground; it analyzes the idea of human and urban borders, how people live them and how they are modified in contemporary society. BODIES+CITIES SKIN is about humankind that wants to wear his city like a second skin without borders or limits. City’s body is in constant evolution. It changes its skin and shows a renewed body. This mutation follows the direction of human development and it is a clear and true statement of cities changing time. From borders as individual bodies and souls to boundaries of cities in which we live, each line delimitates a surface and could be the starting point to something new, undiscovered. Limits are everywhere, barriers keep us inside or outside spaces and societies. Their passing creates a crossover of identities and urban environment. The ways we move, we relate to anything and to the world, make us go beyond boundaries.

At THE ROOM Contemporary Art Space, we welcomed the visitors on June 14 starting from 03.00 PM, and in the morning we had various interesting interviews with the artists. Svetlana Konegen, a Russian-born artist currently living in Italy, talked about her life-long love for Roman, Latin and Greek Classical cultures, and the importance that languages and words have in our everyday life: letters and alphabets are the greatest gifts for humans and they are deeply connected with our bodies and souls. Ania Freindorf continued to show us her research through the glaciers of all seven continents. She promoted her wild expeditions through her photos, with whom visitors are able to actually dive into the ice. Melli Müller, a Berlin-based artist, dancer and choreographer, was interviewed about the two short films she displayed in the exhibition. Her interest is in the tension that exists between life and the performing state, and between opposite feelings as arousal and pain. Her works are an experiment on spatial, physical, mental, and emotional territory ownership.

Among our artists, Gianni Depaoli, whose particular works were made of squid’s skin and ink used to draw figures on a methacrylate surface, and Alfio Sacco, who lives in Switzerland, and came to Venice to introduce us to his photographic style, which captures the right instant at the right time, in an amazing dialogue between human bodies and the city’s contest.

At THE ROOM Contemporary Art Space we had also an entire space dedicated to the artistic and cultural collective called Cultura Orquìdea: the Colombian artist and researcher Claudia Isabel Navas flew from Paris to present us the concept of the project “Beyond Borders“. Composed of 9 artists from the USA, France and South America, the group Cultura Orquìdea focuses its work around the migration and survival in different types of environments, starting from the various species of Colombian Orchids, and arriving to the people portrayed in the photo-reportages of Wes Pope, John Lee, Christian McManus, Yvette Marie Dostatni and Nicolas Courbon. The room was pervaded by a unique atmosphere, with the video-sound flowers installation of Claudia Isabel Navas and Ramón Laserna as the perfect background of the history of humanity narrated through the portraits on the walls.

On June 15, we opened the doors of Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello. Alessandro Cemolin surprised the visitors with his big prospective canvases, which represented dystopic artificial cities where the urban elements have overwhelmed the human ones. Violetta Sevostianova and Julia Kruse both reflected on identities but in different ways. Violetta Sevostianova, during her interview, told us about the importance of becoming aware of our own true identity, which is often a complex mixture of cultures, dreams, ancient and new worlds, and that she always researches in her paintings. The Ukrainian artist Julia Kruse, instead, talked about building her identity: the eternal conflict between Russian and Ukrainian cultures led her to the world of arts, but also to leave for Switzerland in 2015, for continuing her path. Even the personal story of Paula Temple has been full of artistic incitements from the beginning. After a long career as a Professor of Art in the United States, she moved to France, where she currently lives. She came to the opening event and presented her four figurative works with challenging compositions of multiple human and natural forms, crowded onto the picture plain. Elia Kleiber fascinated the visitors with a strong tension between lines and colors, which is the transposition of the contrasts between individuals, and also between our inner and outer self.

Once again we had the pleasure to have Tamàs Kacsàk, Una Marzorati (unamarz) and Rhonda Donovan among our selected artists. Tamàs Kacsàk, from Hungary, this time displayed some of his provocative portraits made of original animal fur. Una Marzorati (unamarz) reached us from London, where she lives, to show us her origami canvases with which she explored infinite and mesmerizing geometric patterns: for her, the origami are like cells that form different organisms. Rhonda Donovan’s artworks highlighted the similarity between the human skin and the surface to paint, in a total destruction and deconstruction of the well-regulated traditional flat canvas. John Zieman participated with a short film with an innovative technique: he animated his writing, then literally projected those text animations, painting with light, upon the human form – the subjects literally “embody” the writing, and this layered portrait is the purer relationship between the mind and the body.

organized by ITSLIQUID Group
curator Luca Curci
in collaboration with ACIT Venice – Italian-German Cultural Association, Goethe Institut, Venice Events
project manager Giulia Tassi
project coordinators Veronica Piras, Giulia Spagnuolo
collaborators Camilla Folin, Sevgi Özkan, Camilla Serafini, Nisa Sezgin
graphic designer Marina Caracciolo
supported by ASOCIACION BOGOTANA DE ORQUIDEOLOGIA | CEREM MONACO | COMUNE DI TROINA | CREARTS | CULTURA ORQUÍDEA | DUPON | EMBAJADA DE COLOMBIA | ENLACES ARTISTICOS | FREYLER ART GALLERY | GREENWEBSPACE | GREEN CROSS FRANCE | HAAN | HUB DESIGN | INSTITUT DE FRANCE | ITALNEON | LEGAMBIENTE | MUSÉUM NATIONAL D’HISTOIRE NATURELLE | SPIRIT OF ARMENIA – VEREIN ZUR FÖRDERUNG ARMENISCHER KUNST | WISHAPAQAR – NODE OF SPACE AND HUMAN PERCEPTION

VENUES
THE ROOM Contemporary Art Space
Calle Larga San Marco, 374 – 30124 Venice, Italy
June 14 – July 04, 2021
09:30 AM – 05:30 PM | Monday – Friday

Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello
Cannaregio 4118 – 30121 Venice, Italy
June 15 – July 04, 2021
10:00 AM – 06:00 PM | Monday – Friday

---

COVID-19 Protection Concept – ITSLIQUID Group

The health and safety of our staff and visitors are of predominant importance to ITSLIQUID Group. This Protection Concept governs how we intend to operate after Italy’s lockdown has ended, the rules that will be applied inside the exhibition spaces and how these will be implemented in practice. Read more.

---

ABOUT US

ITSLIQUID is a web based information platform, founded in 2001 by Luca Curci, dedicated to world wide distribution of information about calls for entries, exhibitions and events at some of the world’s leading art galleries, museums and foundations selected. ITSLIQUID has already built a readership of more than 250.000 qualified subscribers. Among them architects, designers, artists, collectors, art critics, curators, dealers, and other personalities of the International art, architecture and design world. It provides advertising services, press office services for events and projects, articles and specials published on the website, media partnerships services.

During the last 20 years, ITSLIQUID Group has became a cultural hub between creatives, exhibition spaces and art lovers. Among our international partners, Art Now Fair, Art Vancouver, Design Tokyo, INDEX Qatar, INDEX Saudi, The Big 5 Construct Dubai, The Big 5 Construct Qatar, Photo LA Los Angeles and international magazines like Art Style. ITSLIQUID Group supports some of the most important no-profit organizations, like UNFCCC – United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, SSCS – Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, One Tree Planted, The Ocean CleanUp and Plastic Oceans, with the goal to increase public awareness about environmental issues. Click here to find out more.

ITSLIQUID GROUP includes a section dedicated to the organization of international art events, managing exhibitions of painting, photography, video art, installation and performance; it organizes solo and collective shows, art residencies and international contests. Its object is to use new technologies to globalize the language of art, to connect artists working in every part of the world.

ITSLIQUID Group manages a variety of art spaces all over the world; among them THE ROOM Contemporary Art Space in the heart of San Marco Square in Venice and different historical buildings, THE LINE Contemporary Art Space in the London city center and other different partners worldwide. Since its beginning, the group has organized more than 250 events all around the world, involving more than 5.000 artists, in more than 60 international venues in Italy, USA, Canada, UK, Spain, France, etc. Most of the last events have been realized in museums (CCCB – Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona in Spain, NCCA – National Center for Contemporary Arts in Moscow, etc.), galleries and private foundations.

ITSLIQUID is based on fluidity, motion, connection and accessibility. Making things easy to do. Welcome.

OUR LOCATIONS

THE ROOM Contemporary Art Space, located in San Marco square, in the heart of Venice is available to host solo show and group exhibitions of the most talented emerging and established artists, designers and architects selected by our professional team among the numerous show participation requests.

Overlooking the unique San Marco square, THE ROOM Contemporary Art Space presents a rich program of exhibitions, talks, meetings, workshops and courses about art, architecture, design and fashion with architects, designers, artists, collectors, art critics, curators, dealers, and other personalities of the International art, architecture and design world. Being part of our program is an exciting opportunity to improve your network and get new inspirations.

THE ROOM Contemporary Art Space is a fascinating and prestigious venue where our professional team will be at your disposal to assist you, offering a unique exhibition experience, giving you the opportunity to display your artworks in Venice, one of the most suggestive cities in the art world, and broadening your artistic career and exhibition background.

Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello is one of the most known palaces of the Renaissance in Venice. It is an historical building dated back to the 16th century, and it has been owned by several noble venetian families, as demonstrated by the frescoed ceilings, the artistic stuccos and the fine furnitures that enrich its rooms. The Palace welcomes visitors with its beautiful private garden on the ground floor, and then it gathers the guests in its large first floor salons, in which past and present dialogue together. The restored Old Masters’ frescoes and the contemporary art masterpieces that are periodically shown in the exhibitions hosted here, make Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello the perfect location for the balance between old and new, between ancient environment and contemporary art, architecture and design.

Today the building is managed by ACIT Venice – the Italian-German Cultural Association – which is considered one of the most important intercultural associations in Europe. Thanks to the ACIT unceasing cultural activity, Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello has nowadays frequent collaborations with the Goethe Institute and with other local and international institutions, maintaining its ancient reputation. Because of these relations, it presents a huge program of memorable art exhibitions, conferences, congresses and concerts. Among the last institutional exhibitions, its participation in the 58th Venice Biennale with the Guatemala pavilion, the Dominican Republic pavilion and the Grenada pavilion. ITSLIQUID Group already had the pleasure to held some festivals and exhibitions in Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello, as MORPHOS Festival and FUTURE IDENTITIES Festival, both in 2014.