EXHIBITION REVIEW: ANIMA MUNDI 2022
ITSLIQUID International Art Fair
Palazzo Bembo – Venice Grand Canal
Palazzo Albrizzi – Capello
Venice | April 07 – July 06, 2022

ITSLIQUID Group, in collaboration with EGO’ Boutique Hotel and ACIT Venice – Italian-German Cultural Association, is pleased to announce the remarkable success of ANIMA MUNDI 2022 – ITSLIQUID International Art Fair, from April 07 to July 06 2022, at Palazzo Bembo and at Palazzo Albrizzi – Capello, during the same period of the 59th Venice Biennale.

ANIMA MUNDI FESTIVAL 2022, curated by Arch. Luca Curci, has presented a wide variety of artists from more than 50 countries with more than 800 works of painting, photography, installation/sculpture, video art, architecture, design and performance art during its three appointments: RITUALS (April 07 – May 05), CONSCIOUSNESS (May 12 – June 03), VISIONS (June 16 – July 06).

In three months, ANIMA MUNDI FESTIVAL 2022 has been a liquid cultural hub between creatives, exhibition spaces and art lovers, visited by an audience of hundreds of people, artists, curators, art collectors and the art world’s professionals and personalities.

The festival focuses on the concept of ANIMA MUNDI, which according to several historical cultures, religions and philosophical systems, is an intrinsic connection between all living entities on the planet, which relates to the world in a similar way as the human soul is connected to the human body.

ANIMA MUNDI is the invisible energy behind all the natural and artificial elements that allow the planet to live. Thanks to the hidden connections of ANIMA MUNDI, all the ecosystems of the Earth, before and after the appearance of mankind, found their equilibrium, their ways to live and to develop themselves, to transform and to evolve. All the beings of the planet, plants, minerals, and animals are permeated by a secret force that has always stimulated human thought and research.

ANIMA MUNDI ART FAIR 2022 began with RITUALS: the openings took place on April 07 at Palazzo Bembo and on April 15 at Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello.

Sara Hawy and Sergio Patricio‘s breathtaking performance during the opening at Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello stunned the audience. The artists, combining their practices, created a new sphere of narratives related to diasporas, targets, and discrimination.

The first appointment of ANIMA MUNDI ART FAIR 2022 was enriched by the artwork of artists like Heikedine Günther, who displayed her series “Shapes & Spaces”. The work links excellently with the theme of the exhibition, as the interconnection between the smallest and the largest is revealed in Günther’s works through his in-depth artistic research of micro- and macrocosms. The concept was also explored by the two photographers Hilda Champion and Alessandro Giugni, that presented their ideas of the interaction between the inner and outer worlds in opposition: Giugni claimed that he felt the need to explain humanity in the context of the time we live in, without erasing its virtues and flaws, Champion’s goal was more to liberate the poetry of every day and aid people in seeing the unseen while examining the hidden connections.

To best deal with this topic, Barbara Gundlach started with what seems to be a very simple question: what is human memory and how does it affect our perception, existence and society? In the search for answers, she explored the multiple trails she stumbled upon and used them as guiding elements in her work. Her interest is to investigate the intricate relationship between the five human senses and the brain’s access to its own “archive,” as well as the actual surroundings.

The second appointment of ANIMA MUNDI ART FAIR 2022 was CONSCIOUSNESS. The opening took place on May 12 at Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello and on May 13 at Palazzo Bembo.

The concept has been examined by different performers in various ways, for example in “Alma Mater” by Denis Klein & Lena Rykner. The performance was a joint work about the bond of mother and daughter which dealt with connection, communication and transmission between generations. The performance “Invisibili” by Davide Pedriali was an adaptation of Italo Calvino’s book “Le città invisibili.” This title had two meanings: the first was about the well-known story, and the second was about the invisible person of the entertainment industry, who has received inadequate and unmotivated treatment for the past two years and continues to receive it today, severely restricting a sector that is trying to recover. Amélia Sampaio‘s performance “Suppliques,” in which she questioned the audience about otherness, the consciousness of the other, and the relationship between her freedom and that of the other, allowed her to connect to the theme in a personal way. BSP‘s approach to art occurred through music, through chromesthesia. She stated that it is as if her paintings have transcended the visual world and developed their own auditory language. Lastly, Levi Hibbert interpreted the theme with “Log on”, a film-centred performance installation that investigated the intricate relationship between black masculinity and queer communities, bringing the past into the present and new meaning to what it means to be black and queer in the now and beyond.

The bond between man and natural space was analyzed by Amanda Valle in her work “Back in the Island”, a short film exploring her creative journey as she returned to her home in the Dominican Republic. Following an emotionally draining period, Amanda sought comfort in the local culture by immersing herself in the colours and textures that were once so familiar. A journey of self-discovery, the short film became the main source of inspiration for the artist’s new series of paintings including “el gallo y el anillo” and “viralata,” which the visitors of CONSCIOUSNESS were able to admire at Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello.

Violaine Vieillefond, with her triptych “Water Canvases, Blue,” had the dual purpose of paying homage to Monet and his waterlilies and offering a tribute to the beauty and fragility of the element water, which can be a danger to life on earth and in particular to the city of Venice, where the exhibition takes place. During the second appointment of ANIMA MUNDI, we had the pleasure to host also the solo exhibition of Cecile Lobert, at Palazzo Bembo and connected to the main theme already from its name: Bare Consciousness. The paintings of this series captured the silent, ongoing conversation between Lobert’s inner soul and the outside influences of her physical and emotional settings, revealing a naked, unadulterated view of consciousness.

The third and last event of ANIMA MUNDI ART FAIR 2022 was VISIONS. During the openings, which took place on July 16 at Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello and on July 17 at Palazzo Bembo, various performers reinterpreted the concept of the exhibition through their art. Among them, Torres proposed a work, “Synthetic Body”, based on the relationship between society and individual and social interaction, dealing with his body and the senses. Giulia Soldan, Elena Cuboni & Daniele Rizzitano, instead, used a purification and fumigation ritual in conjunction with meditation to communicate their connection to the world and the creatures that live there. They also played the Didgeridoo and alchemical quartz crystal bowls, while painting symbols and light language that flow with the sound.

The photographer Anne Dieste analysed the relationship between natural spaces and cities. The artist stated that architecture is the totality of our history, our artistic heritage, as well as our home and, for this reason, it deserves to be immortalized and admired from every angle. The concept of ANIMA MUNDI was explored in all its facets by the guest artists. Constance Jaeggi examined the bond between humans and animals through her shots, from which the photographer’s emotions and feelings emerge powerfully. Through her abstract paintings, on the other hand, Liubov Kolbina allowed the visitor to travel to a place one rarely visits: the deep and inner world of your subconscious mind. Thanakorn Chai Telan related the theme of the exhibition with an analysis of the relationship between man and nature, realized in the photographs featured in the exhibition. Fedor Deichmann, whose solo exhibition we were pleased to host, applied the intuitive flow method in the creation of his artworks, where the piece seemed to create itself naturally as a kind of spiritual performance. He views his art and its creation as a meditation on the essence of being human – and believes that in its highest form the interplay of colour and form has the ability to heal and rejuvenate people to view the world through fresh eyes. Nature, ancient culture, classical music and East Asian spiritual practices serve as his creative inspiration.

It was very interesting also the contribution of the video artists; among them there were Terry Flaxton that, with “Carnival of lights”, merged together ancient and contemporary rituals, media and descriptive techniques; and Ivan Stanev that tried to find a metaphysical fulcrum in space-time, waiting for a sudden hopeless revelation, through the work “Religious Mantis.” 

ANIMA MUNDI 2022 has unveiled its evolving, never-ending symphony. With more than 20 years of experience and more than 250 international art exhibitions, ITSLIQUID Group is pleased to have showcased every artist who contributed to the idea of ANIMA MUNDI.

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ABOUT US

ITSLIQUID is a web-based information platform, founded in 2001 by Luca Curci, dedicated to the worldwide 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, and media partnerships services.

During the last 20 years, ITSLIQUID Group has become 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, and 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 centre 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, the USA, Canada, the 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.

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OUR LOCATIONS

Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello is one of the most known palaces of the Renaissance in Venice. It is a historical building dating 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 furniture that enriches 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, is 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 hold some festivals and exhibitions in Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello, such as MORPHOS Festival and FUTURE IDENTITIES Festival, both in 2014.

Palazzo Bembo, located in the historic district of San Marco, the heart of Venice, is available to host solo shows and group exhibitions of the most talented emerging and established artists, designers, and architects selected by our professional team among the numerous show participants requests.

Palazzo Bembo is one of the late Gothic Venetian buildings built in the right middle of the famous Canal Grande, a few meters from the renowned Rialto Bridge. Its name comes from the humanist and literary cardinal Pietro Bembo, known for the so-called “linguistic question” during the Italian XV century.

The facade of the building, with all its gothic pentafore, is as fascinating as the interior which is divided into three floors and characterized by large salons. The seventeenth-century staircase overlooks the internal courtyard that leads to the noble floor, where decorations are dating back to the same century, in Baroque style. The exhibition space, on the first floor, overlooks the Canal Grande and the Rialto Bridge, giving a suggestive view both day and night.