Exhibition Review: ANIMA MUNDI 2022 – VISIONS
ITSLIQUID International Art Fair
Venice | June 16/17 – July 06, 2022
Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello | Palazzo Bembo

ITSLIQUID Group, in collaboration with ACIT Venice – Italian-German Cultural Association and EGO’ Boutique Hotel, is eager to present the remarkable results of the VISIONS opening events, third and last appointment of ANIMA MUNDI 2022, hosted in Venice, at Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello from June 16 to July 06, 2022, and at Palazzo Bembo from June 17 to July 06, 2022, during the 59th Venice Biennale of Art, that counted the huge participation of more than 150 artists from more than 40 different countries worldwide.

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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 develop themselves, to transform and 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.

On June 16, the opening day at Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello, several participating artists travelled from all over the world to join the event. Many performers inaugurated the exhibition: Giulia Soldan, Elena Cuboni & Daniele Rizzitano shared their connection with our planet and the living beings that inhabit it, through their meditation practices with a purification and fumigation ritual, while playing the Didgeridoo, an ancestral instrument and alchemical quartz crystal bowls symbols and light language following the sound flow.

The themes of ANIMA MUNDI and VISIONS were extensively explored through artists’ points of view on art and on their own artistic journeys. NATHA Out Of the Blue thinks that “the ideas of each artwork sometimes are guided through my intuition from the voice within”. Her art attempted to create a deep connection between the artwork and the viewers. Similarly, the public was approached by Kopplstätter‘s paintings, in which women, their vulnerability, passions, and bodies emerged as abstract and dreamy visions: as tension builds in the juxtaposition of density and looseness, intensity and silence, vital brushwork features appeared increasingly free in front of the surface. Juxtaposition is the artistic process also used by Zahra Tharani. The British-Portuguese painter shared with us her “Les Enfants” in which she expressed her thoughts and feelings, as often happens in her still life paintings; her themes frequently centre upon the human condition, society, and family ties.

The mysterious force that pervades Earth’s plants, minerals, and animals inspired Jim Nickel and Simone Origio’s artistic research. On the one hand, Jim Nickel explored his ways of conveying the complexities of shape, shadow, and colour. His artistic radar detects anomalies, and senses interest, weathering, and pattern, allowing him to pursue the conflict between thought, word, and vision. On the other hand, Simone Origio focused on two antithetical ways of depicting the relationship: the ancient symbol of the labyrinth and Aurora. The structural paradox that characterizes the two realities – the first complex, the second essential – hides the same function. Human life is therefore full of paradoxes and complexities that were also communicated in the work of Kostas Spiropoulos. According to the author, human limitations often shift between tragedy and comedy, therefore, art, by means of a cartoon, acquires a conceptual scope. Conversely, another exhibiting artist, Martha Madrigal, had as her objective to investigate the deep and inherent quality of the human being. The artworks visible during VISIONS revolved around the life cycle, and how this physical world needs to be nourished and mothered, suggesting different visions of the reality we live in.

The present reality not only is something ideal, but also something physical; that is why changing light, mood, and tonal harmonies of the seasons were at the centre of “Mothecombe Glow” by self-taught artist Julie Hammonds. This enduring theme suffused her work with a contemplative quality. While on the subject of nature is worth mentioning Roberto Colombo and his abstract photographies: the author’s youthful visions reflected an escape to another world, a dreamlike journey. The theme of the journey and self-development, that transforms and evolves, can be perceived either as collective or personal as revealed by Marguerite Copeland: through the art presented in Venice she started a healing and transforming pathway that allowed the artist to regain her passion and to share it with the viewers. VISIONS may be considered as a mindful route both for our exhibiting artists and for our public, as an example, Ella Pattison‘s illustration depicted her unconscious mental state and extremes of feeling, such as happiness and sadness. She created a world in which each piece of work constructively interacted with the others.

On June 17, we had the pleasure to open the exhibition at Palazzo Bembo, our splendid Palace on the Grand Canal. The viewers were invited by Giorgia Pezzoli to interpret her creations in order to immerse themselves in her art. In this way, her works would not be “closed” but could reveal new “veins” with each viewing. Individual interpretation, which makes an image more personal and more powerful, had also a relevant space for Christopher Schaller. The black and white photographer concentrated on capturing the subject, the light, shapes, and energy of the moment. To him, the lack of colour contributed to the homogenization of natural and artificial elements, which represented the concept of ANIMA MUNDI and became an abstraction.

Abstract, fluent, and monumental are how we could define Yvon van der Weide‘s art. The sculptor, who mostly works in stone and wood, created artworks using a variety of materials such as bronze, epoxy, and chrome. Abstract art and paintings might also represent access to freedom of the imagination and, exhibiting artist, Liubov Kolbina was inspired by this sense of mysticism that surrounds her paintings. By looking at her artworks, visitors could travel to a place one rarely visits: the subconscious mind. Similarly, Eva Marc’h‘s aim was to convey messages of Freedom, to open consciences in order to make the public think through emotion and their own interior.

Intangible visions were accompanied by more concrete interpretations of art. On the one side, Constance Jaeggi‘s photography was focused on the work and daily routines of the Devil’s Horsemen staff during the last period of the Covid-19 lockdowns when there was a glimmer of return to normality. Françoise Gagné was also deeply interested in the real world. During the exhibition, he wanted to highlight what is extraordinary and most often ignored from our surrounding environment, be it natural or a cultural construct. Anna Dieste also embraced the everyday world in her photographs. Buildings, façades, and balconies converged in the author’s most important and inexhaustible source of inspiration: our world.

However, the present-day world has its own flaws, and some artists gave us the possibility to reflect on what we are doing to our planet as in Vethan Sautor‘s series of sculptures entitled: “Endangerment”. The artist intended to raise awareness of the extinction and endangerment of species: by creating real-sized sculptures he closed the gap between the subject and the viewer. The Portuguese biologist and artist Andreia Rocha wanted to sensibilise our public to the environmental problems as well, by encouraging them to think of their own bodies in a more abstract way, to make people aware of what they are actually made of and that there is a connection between all living beings. In the same way, Giulia Carini purpose in her works titled “Vibrations” was to enhance the infinite connection between us, the Cosmos, and everything that exists as unifying energy vibrating by the rhythm of our interactions.

Jane Morten‘s works were comparable to the allegories of life. The exhibited sculptures lead the way for our visitors in unexplored territory. John Würtz, instead, aimed at creating unique structures through a continuous process of destruction and rebuilding that conveys a sense of constant change. Changes may originate different visions of reality, that is why Thanakorn Chai Telan shared his perspective through his works with camera and lens, as in one of his photographs entitled “2050”. Kim Piffy portrayed in each of her pieces her individual experiences, her fragmented, bold, and busy mixed-media collages preserved the forces of creation and destruction into singular images. Artistic approaches may be traditional or innovative like Jean Cherouny‘s rollerblade painting: bursting with athletic energy and spirit, her work simultaneously involved the eye, mind, and body.

The opening ceremony at Palazzo Bembo also hosted two performances, one of which was “Synthetic Bodies” by Torres. The relationship between society and the individual, as well as social interaction, was at the heart of Torres’ work. According to him the borders between human intelligence and artificial intelligence, man and machine are getting increasingly blurred. Finally, in both our venues, Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello and Palazzo Bembo, we provided our visitors with an intense video screening program. Among our video artists is it worth mentioning Architect Eileen Meyer and The Angels Factory Dobri Gjurkov, who had their own dedicated screening.

ITSLIQUID Group was also proud to host Fedor Deichmann’s debut solo show with us: “Impressions and Improvisations“. Fedor’s artistic range was multifaceted, displaying both the ability to paraphrase and converse with art history as well as the ability to spontaneously articulate and capture colour, form, and texture in its purest form as a kind of impromptu spiritual performance. Deichmann combined two of his signature artistic styles: abstract expressionism and figurative impressionism.

ITSLIQUID Group considered this year’s edition of VISIONS a great success and a unique possibility for our exhibiting artists to explore the deep connections of the world, which are often invisible at first sight, and to freely express their interpretation of ANIMA MUNDI in their art.

organized by ITSLIQUID Group
curator Luca Curci
in collaboration with EGO’ Boutique Hotel, ACIT Venice – Italian-German Cultural Association
project manager Giulia Tassi
project coordinators Amaride Ferrante, Maddalena Masotto, Veronica Piras
collaborators Marcella Bellifemine, Maria Teresa Cafarelli, Elisabetta Eliotropio, Francesca Facchini, Ilaria Falchetti, Giulia Morroni
graphic designer Marina Caracciolo
supported by Helene N. Sims – Claudette Fulton | Invicta project shipping srl | Trinity Church Wall Street

VENUES
Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello
Associazione Culturale Italo-Tedesca (ACIT)
Cannaregio 4118, Venezia, Italy
June 17 – July 06, 2022
09:30AM – 05:30PM | Monday – Friday

Palazzo Bembo – Venice Grand Canal
First floor
Riva del Carbon, 4793 – 4785, Venice, Italy
June 20 – July 06, 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, 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.