Exhibition Review: ANIMA MUNDI 2022 – RITUALS
ITSLIQUID International Art Fair
Palazzo Bembo – Venice Grand Canal | April 07 – 29, 2022
Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello | April 15 – May 05, 2022

ITSLIQUID Group, in collaboration with EGO’ Boutique Hotel and ACIT Venice – Italian-German Cultural Association, is pleased to announce the stunning results of the opening of RITUALS, first appointment of ANIMA MUNDI 2022, held in Venice, at Palazzo Bembo – Venice Grand Canal from April 07 to April 29, 2022, and at Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello, from April 15 to May 05, 2022, during the 59th Venice Biennale of Art, with the participation of more than 60 artists coming from more than 30 countries worldwide.

Click here to read more about the press release
Click here to see the photo full reportage at Palazzo Bembo – Venice Grand Canal
Click here to see the photo full reportage at Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello

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 allows 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, animals are permeated by a secret force that has always stimulated human thought and research.

The festival aims to discover these multiple forms of hidden connections between the soul and the body, mankind and the natural elements, the natural spaces and the cities. We invite artists to show their reflections about the various ways in which the ANIMA MUNDI expresses the relationships among all the existing entities and the natural and cultural systems and to represent by their artistic works the processes of the evolution of the world in which we all live. Artists, designers and architects are invited to talk about ANIMA MUNDI through photo reportage of cities, hidden places, photographic documentaries, personal experiences, presenting their works of photography, painting, sculpture/installation, design and architecture, video-art and live performance.

During the opening ceremony at Palazzo Bembo – Venice Grand Canal on April 07 we had the pleasure to show artworks signed by artists coming from all over the world, who questioned themselves about the concept of ANIMA MUNDI. Among them, Heikedine Günther from Switzerland, presented her series “Shapes & Spaces”. With her deep artistic exploration of micro and macrocosms, Günther’s works reveal the interconnectivity of the smallest and the greatest; indeed this series focused on persistent shapes and timeless space. Spaces of color opened up like windows to a metaphysical world: each work consisted of a front and a back page. The shapes dominate the front, showing images that have originated from Günther’s broad knowledge of astrophysics and her large collection of images from numerous cultures. The symbols created the shapes. The subtle structure, which surrounded us, was made visible in the filigree drawings as a reminder of the complexity of our world that cannot be unveiled since nothing is as it appears to be. The spaces invite one to lose oneself in their depth and endless gradients. From China, Siyu Liu presented her installations titled “Rolling Lamp”; her works shown clearly refer to the Chinese traditions and imaginary as for “Rolling Lamp 1C”. The shape of the center light is inspired by a product of nature: a gourd. In some countries, people use dry gourds as liquid containers for centuries. It becomes an important symbol of blessing and wealth in China because its pronunciation of ‘Hulu’ in Chinese is quite similar to ‘Fulu’. Fu refers to blessing and Lu to wealth.

Fhatuwani Mukheli‘s paintings ” Sister sister”, “Kid one day you will move mountains” and “Mother” openly represented his interest in the connection between parents and child, which could be understood as the result of the influence of ANIMA MUNDI, who expresses the relationships among all the existing entities and the natural and cultural systems. As this artist from South Africa told us, “I want show my life experience, how my mum brought up me and my siblings. I wanted to show a safe space, so I drew a father or a mother holding a child. My work is about family values and childhood memories. I love how people see and identify themselves in my work”. Corina Karstenberg was born in The Netherlands but her interest in African Art made her decide to quit her job as a restorer and she enrolled at the Radboud University, in Nijmegen. Indeed she wanted to better understand what had happened to the people in Africa, and how they had come to be treated as objects, at the end of the 20th century. Her artistic production has been influenced by two subjects: religion and culture which gave her the possibility to represent news items about issues of sex trafficking, drug addiction, poverty, diversity, and gender and sexuality. The process of the evolution of the world in which we all live has been studied and represented by Corina, revealing that the world nowadays is influenced not only by religion and the dominant Western Culture but also by binaries of gender, race, and identity.

Among the photographers taking part in this exhibition, there is Hilda Champion a German/American fine art photographer. In her works the reality recorded is mostly a perceived reality. Indeed, her aspiration in photography is less about showing the world as it is, but rather to release the poetry of the ordinary and help people see the unseen, investigating the hidden connections between the soul and the body, mankind and the natural elements, the natural spaces and the cities from her point of view. Since 2015, Alan Lacke Cairo has been developing his constant work as a plastic artist. Talking about his works presented in this exhibition, he told that his art is based mainly on scientific information, mathematical laws, cosmic energies, and history. There is always research for the essential in his work: the research of the spirit of things, of what is beyond the surface, of the visible. His works bring the viewer to silent contemplation, which conveys an almost mystical sense of seeing the world.

The opening ceremony of RITUALS at Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello was held on the 15th of April. On this occasion, we had the pleasure to see the performance, born to an “artivist” collaboration between Sara Hawy and Sergio Patricio, “Healing transition”. The reflection about nowadays took the artists to create a “pastiche” of actions attempting to empower more people to join a common vocabulary to embrace the togetherness and feeling we are not too late to protect our human rights, also thanks to the power of Art. The reflection on the new world we are living in is the starting point also for Ronan Liétar‘s creations. It was distinctly represented in “Bug”: this work was the result of errors in transferring digital photo files from a memory card to a computer hard drive. In his work, he isolated these pure products of chance, compositions playing with colors and patterns in a certain harmony: from chaos creation is born.

With its explosion of colors, Giulia Carini’s work gave us the possibility to reflect on the concept of ANIMA MUNDI from another point of view. Indeed, this concept can be found not only in Western religions but in Oriental philosophies too, like Buddhism and Hinduism. In fact, they talk about the existence of universal energy constantly changing and flowing in and out of ourselves, of nature, and the universe. One of the ways to become aware of this vital force is to become aware of our breathing as in many different prana meditations. Prana means ‘Life Force’ and it’s the sum of all the energy that is manifest in the universe. So in her artwork “Breathe” she wanted to represent the act of breathing as a unifying force, as one breath of the Universe that flows through all phenomena. When we breathe out, the trees and forests breathe in, and vice versa. The Italian photographer Alessandro Giugni presented his idea of the connection between the inner and outer world: indeed the artist affirmed that he feels the need to tell the human being contextualized in the time in which we live, without hiding the merits and weaknesses.

Anna Mielniczuk‘s work wanted to capture a whimsical spirit that aims to uplift, provoke thought, and instill wonder in the viewer. Guided by curiosity, and citing her immigrant upbringing in Chicago as a
major influence, Anna described her artistic practice as an ongoing exploration of mystery, hope, humor, and beauty. Within her body of work, she developed dialogues between symbolic imagery, organic shapes, mark-making, and colors, creating a harmonious visual vocabulary that reappears and reinvents itself. Her work develops intuitively and organically, championing the imperfect and echoing the past as much as it does the present. Also, our rich screening program of selected video artworks let us know more about the concept of ANIMA MUNDI, and the participation of all artists in this exhibition revealed different points of view to image the soul of the world.

organized by ITSLIQUID Group
curator Luca Curci
in collaboration with EGO’ Boutique Hotel and ACIT Venice – Italian-German Cultural Association
project manager Giulia Tassi
project coordinators Amaride Ferrante, Veronica Piras, Giulia Spagnuolo
collaborators Caterina Ballarin, Marta Chinaglia, Francesca Clementi, Elisabetta Eliotropio, Ilaria Falchetti, Irem Iba, Maddalena Masotto, Benedetta Reale
graphic designer Marina Caracciolo
supported by Maria Oddy |Phuket9 Real Estate Development | Sasha Assaul Design

VENUES
Palazzo Bembo – Venice Grand Canal
First floor
Riva del Carbon, 4793 – 4785, 30124 Venice, Italy
April 08 – April 29, 2022
09:30AM – 05:30PM | Monday – Friday

Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello
Associazione Culturale Italo-Tedesca (ACIT)
Cannaregio 4118, 30121 Venezia, Italy
April 19 – May 05, 2022
09:30AM – 05:30PM | Monday – Friday

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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, 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, 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 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, 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.

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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 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 furniture 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.

Palazzo Bembo, based on the first floor and 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 participation 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.