VENICE PURSUES REBIRTH WITH THE WORKS by FABRIZIO PLESSI
Venice appears as an entity in perpetual, liquid movement; it is an immense boat projected into a dream, into the nostalgia of all those who frequent it. For its natives, Venice is a desire that comes true, day by day. For Fabrizio Plessi, a great master of video art and an adopted son of the city, Venice is the projection of the creative gesture: “Its fluidity exerted a great influence on my thought; Venice represents the grammar of my language.
THE SPIRITUAL KEY TO THE WORK IN THE FIRST
TWO WORDS OF ST. MARK’S GOSPEL, PAX TIBI
On September 1, on the occasion of Plessi’s eightieth birthday (he was born in Reggio Emilia on April 3, 1940), the artist’s mutual love for Venice materialized into the opening
of “The Golden Age”. This prestigious exhibition, which is curated by Gabriella Belli and Elisabetta Barisoni, will be running at the Correr Museum, in Piazza San Marco, until November 15. After creating a number of installations focused on water, this time the artist has drawn inspiration from the charms of a precious icon that has become a symbol of the city; “I found a spiritual key in the first words of St. Mark’s Gospel, in that pax tibi that appears in the paws of the golden lion. I made them appear every twenty minutes among the golden waterfalls – they are a flash of light”. These “waterfalls” illuminate the windows of the Correr Museum in an ever-changing flow that feeds the cherishing eyes of the people gathered in the square with noisy jets of golden splendour. These
SOON CA' PESARO WILL HOUSE A SEQUENCE OF LIQUID CAPITALS
ON NOCTURNAL BACKDROPS AND BOATS SPRINGING FROM BLONDE METAL
These “waterfalls” illuminate the windows of the Correr Museum in an ever-changing flow that feeds the cherishing eyes of the people gathered in the square with noisy jets of golden splendour. These flashes of dazzling light stand out on a dark background that reminds us of the difficult period we are experiencing: “The gold and the black are the only colours I asked my daughter to buy for me during the pandemic”. To exorcise and dispel fears.
ITS FLUIDITY EXERTED A GREAT INFLUENCE ON MY THOUGHTS.
VENICE REPRESENTS THE GRAMMAR OF MY LANGUAGE
By the way, this show of visual and perceptual richness (as well as of enduring memory) will also appear in other exhibition spaces in the city creating surprisingly fascinating variations: in October and November, the halls of Ca’ Pesaro will house a sequence of “liquid capitals” on nocturnal backdrops that enhance their ghostly charms; then, a lot of small boats will appear, caught on the verge of leaving from springs that gush from blonde metal; instead, Golden Lava will create dazzling markings on slabs of stone that, in a different context, will gather in a circle to welcome a further exaltation of glittering footprints. Finally, the wind room will attract the eye and project it into the shining folds of a glorious past through a robe suspended in mid-air and moved by an invisible body that increases its unfathomable mystery.
FLASHES OF DAZZLING LIGHT ON A DARK BACKGROUND
HINT TO THE DIFFICULT PERIOD WE ARE LIVING
These installations renovate the long- lasting, inextricable bond between Plessi’s heart and creativity and this recurring, materialized mirage, which started on the occasion of the 2005 Venice Biennale when the artist placed a 44-meter high vertical boat in front of the entrance of the Gardens; the boat emerged from the lagoon and was covered by a technological waterfall.
Plessi exhibited in prestigious museums across the world, from the Guggenheim in New York and Bilbao to Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome, from IVAM in Valencia to the Ludwig Museums in Budapest and Koblenz and the Miró Foundation in Barcelona, just to name a few. However, for him, Venice is still just Venice, the city that imprints on his thoughts and transforms into gesture.
