A Bit Of Venice Love

  Ah, Venezia…

  

  As we prepare for our 4th visit, I am beyond excited. 

  This is such a magical place, and to be there for the Biennale always makes it even more special. The city will be filled with contemporary art from all over the globe. We can't wait.

  We have been watching episodes of the Commissario Brunetti mystery series, getting all giddy….Also watching the weather, as today we start to pack..Yee-Haw! Looks perfectly pleasant, so this should be an easy chore.

  I've also been going through photos from past visits, and just had to do this quick post. Quick, because the garden needs attention before we go, and I need to head out there!

  

What a city.

The colors floor me, every time we go.

There's always time for an afternoon break….

The 'Frog Boy' before he was encapsulated in a plastic box(sadly).

Che Bella!

  The reflections in the water are astoundingly beautiful, as well as being an artistic subject matter for centuries gone by.

  As much as we love the uber contemporary art, we always stop into museums and churches to catch up on the old stuff. I love this old/new aspect at Biennale time.

Water reflects the sunset...

  Below are just a couple of favorite art installations from 2013 Biennale that I really liked. 

  I hope to be doing lots of posting this year…

  I'll try to post lots of art…maybe in short nightly batches of photos. We'll see. When you add in food and drink, the nights get a little, well, dreamy!

  Here is a shot of one part of a larger installation we stumbled on one late afternoon.

  I thought it was pretty great….

  One of my favorite pavilions from the 2013 show was the Portuguese Pavillion. It was a moored boat which had it's surface covered in the beautiful blue & white painted tiles that this country is known for.

  Among other exhibits onboard, the lower deck had been turned into a blue and white fantasy land of woven yarn and lights…it was so surreal to walk through!

We were the only ones on board, too!

  The other favorite I am featuring here was in one of the pavilions in the public gardens. Forgive me, but I don't have my notes, but I do have this, which I've copied and pasted:

In the Australia Pavilion, which is due for demolition and redesign after the end of this biennial, Simryn Gill had a section of the roof removed, exposing her works to the elements. Here, she pasted words torn from 144 books onto 12 large white panels in “Let Go, Lets Go” (2013). 

  This work was exceptional, to me. I love this. The vision, which included the work being open to the elements, was just fantastic.

  Texture, color, words!, nature in her action of breaking things down…what a fine work.

  On entering into the space, you notice that the ceiling is gone…there is one wall covered in white panels…already starting to pull away from the wall.

Large panels covered in…? What?

Bugs of some sort?

Swarms of them?!?

Ahhh…Bits of pages torn from books…!

  Then you notice the pile of books that have also been left to the elements...

  The moment I opened the first book, it all came together in a rush of wow.

For someone who loves to read, loves installation works, loves texture…yikes.
Perfection.

  Art aside for now, I just can't wait to be back in our little apartment on the canal!

  

  More coming soon, dear readers!

I swear, this was not a set up….just good timing on Johnny's part!