SAN CLEMENTE PALACE KEMPINSKI UNVEILS ART EXHIBITS AROUND VENICE BIENNALE
Betty Boop by Joana Vasconcelos
San Clemente Palace Kempinski Venice, the luxury resort located on its own private island in the Venetian lagoon, just eight minutes away from St. Mark’s Square, has launched two new exhibits in honor of the 58th Venice Biennale. Sculptures by English artist Tony Cragg and Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos are both currently on display around the resort’s historic gardens.
Tony Cragg’s four sculptures are currently on display at San Clemente Palace: his works Caught Dreaming, Runner and We are exhibited in the main garden, while his work Pair is on display in the hotel’s lobby. These artworks will be on display until November 17, 2019. Cragg currently lives in Wuppertal, Germany, and is known for creating sculptures that reference nature.
Meanwhile, San Clemente Palace is also exhibiting works by renowned Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos in a new exhibit curated by Nina Moaddel titled, What are you hiding? May you find what you are looking for. To create this exhibit, Vasconcelos was inspired by the 58th Venice Biennale’s theme, May you live in interesting times, with artworks referencing Portuguese pop culture, while reinterpreting contemporary art. Vasconcelos’ works play with the viewers’ perception through a sharp sense of humor that shuns dogmatism and at the same time explores issues of identity, migration and the exploitation of women.
On display in San Clemente Palace’s 12th-century church is Vasconcelos’ large-scale sculpture, called Madragoa (2015-2019), inspired by Lisbon’s façades, and exploring the intersections of art and architecture. In the gardens of San Clemente Palace is a piece titled, I’ll be Your Mirror #1 (2019), a giant Venetian carnival mask made of mirrors, which has previously been exhibited in the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. Viewers can look through the mask from any angle without ever losing sight of their own reflection. Also featured in the gardens is Betty Boop PA (2019), Vasconcelos’ most iconic work and part of the artist’s famous shoes series. The high-heeled shoe is crafted out of saucepans and questions the meaning of the word “feminine” in today’s world. Vasconcelos first became known internationally after her participation in the 51st Venice Biennale in 2005; and in 2012, she became the first woman (and the youngest artist) to exhibit at the Palace of Versailles.
For more information about San Clemente Palace Kempinski Venice, please visit: http://www.kempinski.com/en/venice/san-clemente-palace-kempinski.
ABOUT SAN CLEMENTE PALACE KEMPINSKI VENICE:
The resort hotel has an impressive heritage and is uniquely situated on San Clemente Island in the Lagoon of Venice. Set among a centuries-old park, antique courtyards and a 12th-century church, the hotel provides the perfect setting for total relaxation, just minutes from St. Mark’s Square. All 190 rooms and suites provide a stunning view of Venice, the lagoon, the gardens or the inner courtyards. The hotel also offers six convention rooms for up to 450 people, and together with the whole complex and its surrounding grounds, it is the ideal place for weddings and other events, with the historic scenery providing an unforgettable setting.
