Exhibition Review: CONTEMPORARY VENICE 2021 – 8TH EDITION
Venice | September 30 – October 21, 2021
THE ROOM Contemporary Art Space

ITSLIQUID Group, in collaboration with Venice Events, is glad to present the wonderful success of the opening of CONTEMPORARY VENICE 2021 – ITSLIQUID International Art Fair, hosted in Venice at THE ROOM Contemporary Art Space from September 30 to October 21, 2021, with the participation of 60 artists from more than 30 different countries.

Click here to read more about the press release
Click here to see the photo full reportage

The eighth edition of CONTEMPORARY VENICE 2021 analyzes the relationship between body and space, and the hybridization between identities and cultural/physical/social/urban settings in contemporary time, through two main sections: MIXING IDENTITIES and FUTURE LANDSCAPES.

MIXING IDENTITIES analyzes the hidden parts of our identities, through an immersive experience inside the fascinating universe of the complex labyrinths of our consciousness. While FUTURE LANDSCAPES explores the concept of the borders and the structures between body, mind and soul, the human identity and the city, the space and the ground.

CONTEMPORARY VENICE 2021 was inaugurated on September 30 at THE ROOM Contemporary Art Space, with the extraordinary presence of dozens of visitors and artists. Among the photographers, we had the pleasure to interview Taisuke Sato, who came directly from Japan to present his series of pictures focused on human loneliness. “A feeling of being very lonely – I tried to express this by slowing down the speed at which I shoot my street photography. It’s just like the way I shoot architectural photography. The result is a photograph that carefully shows every detail”: he looks at his subjects from a step back and tried to always offer different points of view. Emanuela Bertuccioli talked about her professional life split between teaching in a Photography Academy in Rome and the passion of being in the street shooting randomly. Her photos appear as a mixture of reality and surreality, and the black and white make the observer concentrate on the aesthetic and formal aspects.

Katti Borrè, from Belgium, proudly showed us her artworks born during the pandemic lockdown. She was used to traveling a lot before the Covid-19, and when she had to stay at home, she wanted to keep going around with her imagination. For this reason, she created a series of cityscapes pictures – “It’s a strange strange world” – in which she mixed the profiles of two different cities in one unique view. Even the digital works of Salvatore Milano are a bridge between the real and the fiction world: each of them narrates a story about authentic values and individual and collective behaviors. They are defined by the artist as ‘Emotional art’ and are conceived as a universal therapy.

The laser engravings and digital printing on paper pieces by Christophe Szkudlarek reveal the artist’s love for textile design and illustration. They are all about exotic voyages and cultures – Vietnam, India, Africa, far away islands and a tropical atmosphere are the main themes of his artworks. Anna Wloczek, from Poland, was inspired for her large diptych by an art residence in Greece. Called “Crosses”, the painting replicates the symbol of Christianity, but at the same time lets it confuse with a geometrical abstract pattern which reproduces the blue shades of the Greek flag and the typical domes’ profile.

Sophie Donatien and Giulia Carini both worked on the idea that nature is a kind of humanity. Sophie Donatien, from French Martinique, always used to live surrounded by the power of nature and its expressions, beautiful plants and flowers, and she translates them in her canvases. She creates compositions that aim to give life to matter through the collage, mixing or juxtaposition of elements coming from nature and artifacts, making the natural embrace the artificial. Giulia Carini from Parma, Italy, as well painted flowers to represent her loved ones in the watercolor titled “Dreaming of being together”. The flowers – a symbol of beauty – are close one to the other, and during the lockdown, they remind her of the family and friends she couldn’t see. They somehow gave her the possibility of connecting with them through art.

Rachel Burgoyne came to visit us from Minnesota, USA and presented her series of fantastic women portraits. They appear like strange creatures from another planet; the colors of their skin are vivid blue or green and perfectly contrasts with the background of the paintings, made of complementary colors. Romana Jelinkovà as well uses strong colors to express her freedom from the Czech Republic communist regime. Inspired by the Velvet Revolution (1992), the velvet color is the main character of most of her spontaneous artworks; then, through the use of blue, she also manages to better take out her own thoughts and feelings.

Both Aline Abi Fadel and Sel’s artworks include masks. Aline Abi Fadel, from Lebanon, inserted them into three-dimensional canvases that play with textures, colors, and shapes. She used the Hydro-Dipping and Spray painting techniques to decorate the mask, and other different styles such as Pouring, Dripping and Fingering to complete the paintings. Sel placed her masks into wall installations in the shape of circles crossed by two perpendicular axes. They are related to maths and the perception of the macro Universe, but through the masks’ faces, they are also deeply connected with our micro-universe as individuals. The paintings of Mark Rodgers are figurative views of his private and intimate life: the woman he is in a relationship with is his Muse. He represented her in the most human and confidential way, naked in their bedroom, and through the poses and gestures, she reveals her own personal character.

Katja Bednarik Sudec works with different media and layering, and mostly deal with images that are part of our consciousness, as written or visual truths integrated into the individual or society inherited as communicative memory. According to her, this can be observed in the everyday life, in rituals or stories (fairytales, legends,…) which are the main part of our society.

As always, we are proud to have presented also a video screening program with many great video artists. Among them, we can mention Arianna Poverini, who projected a video inspired by Italo Calvino’s novel “The aquatic uncle” from “Le Cosmicomiche”, all focused on water images, and waves and glaciers sound. Last but not least, Youla Boudali, dancer, choreographer and performer from Greece, talked to us about the “Open Light” project, which is a performative experiment realized during the Covid-19 lockdown starting from a site-specific light installation, and that she presented during CONTEMPORARY VENICE 2021 as a video work. The aim of the project was to revisit the elemental concept of ‘light’ through a shop window, representing the ideas of home and safety, but also of consuming desires. It is a personal reinterpretation of spirituality.

organized by ITSLIQUID Group
curator Luca Curci
in collaboration with Venice Events
project manager Giulia Tassi
project coordinators Amaride Ferrante, Veronica Piras, Giulia Spagnuolo
collaborators Camilla Morandin, Michela Sperandio, Ilde Strobbe
graphic designer Marina Caracciolo
supported by REDS10 | TOIMANA

VENUE
THE ROOM Contemporary Art Space
Calle Larga San Marco, 374 – 30124 Venice, Italy
October 01 – October 21, 2021
09:30 AM – 05:30 PM | Monday – Friday

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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.

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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 LOCATION

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.