Changing Venice: Modern Art Hi-Jacks the Grand Canal by Daphne Beames
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When Venetians first elected a Mayor with a penchant for change they may have unleashed more than they expected. Massimo Cacciari swiftly set about encouraging patrons of the arts to create and re-design modern art museums and has overseen an extensive programme of renovation on and around the historic 4km long Grand Canal – not least the controversial fourth bridge (Venice’s first for 70 years) designed by Spanish architect, Sanitago Calatrava.
For the past five years, scaffolding and netting have scarred Venice’s main traffic route; but the Grand Canal – a mirror image of a gigantic ‘S’ - now sports the brand new make-over that was timed to co-incide with the 53rd Bienniale International Art Exhibition and the Venetian Film Festival of 2009.
Canalazzo Trip
Most visitors to Venice arrive at the Piazzale Roma (the car, bus and ferry terminal) and board a gondola, water-taxi or vaporetto for a ‘canalazzo trip’ down the Grand Canal to the Bacino San Marco. The first evidence of impressive change is visible almost immediately in the form of a sweeping arc of clear, turquoise glass and burnished steel. Constitution Bridge (also called ‘Fourth Bridge’ or the ‘Passageway of Light’) at last links the Piazzale with the Railway Station and has been hailed by Cacciari himself as “Italy’s most important, contemporary architectural achievement in decades”.
Not all Venetians agree, however, and Arrigo Cipriani (owner of Harry’s Bar) dislikes it and asks, “Can you imagine what it will be like with chewing gum stuck to the glass?” Certainly the pigeons have already left their mark on the brass and the innovative, but uneven, steps have led to stumbles and litigation!
In line with an extensive refurbishment programme, new by-laws have been passed forbidding the fast passage of boats that once churned up green sediment, damaging to façades with ‘pavements on the water’. Cleaner water is now an added attraction, making for more enjoyable rides, while pumps and engineering measures of the ‘meso’ programme are also in place – designed to save the sinking city by stemming the threat of rising waters from the lagoon.
New-Style Galleries
Today, as pleasure boats glide past charming palazzos characterised by definitive, elegantly arched Venetian windows, and under the perfectly restored, 16th-century Rialto Bridge - tourists are met by an enticing riot of colourful banners and abstract art forms advertising the avant-garde delights on offer in the water-city’s new-style galleries and museums.
Beyond the Ponte de Rialto (a life-size setting for Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice”) two literary landmarks still recall a more gracious, romantic past. There is the Mocenigo Palace (former playground of Lord Byron and currently up for sale to the highest bidder) and the Palazzo Ca’ Rezzonico (last home of Robert Browning and now a museum). Here a poignant inscription on an ornate façade tells its own, haunting story:
“Open my heart and you will see, Graved inside of it, Italy”.
And Venice has opened its heart to embrace both the rich and strange. Directly opposite Ca’ Rezzonico stands the white marble Palazzo Grassi: a modern art gallery, currently enjoying an injection of cash from French billionaire François Pinault who displays part of his personal collection here. It is one of three must-see sights in Venice’s new, contemporary firmament of star sights.
The Grassi Palace
The Grassi Palace, with its very own 600-seat garden theatre, designed by architect Giorgio Massari in the academic classical style, was purchased by the Fiat Group in 1983. Step over the threshold to view an eye-opening exhibition that portrays the collector’s deeply passionate vision of art.
There is a dialogue linking the works of established artists like Jeff Koons and those of the emerging younger generation (e.g. Matthew Day) that produces a profound feeling both of intimacy and of creativity. Rich and contrasting colours play in the mind’s eye, exciting the imagination. This is soul food.
The stunning show, “Mapping the Studio”, devised by innovative curators Alison Gingeras and Francesco Bonami opened simultaneously at this dazzling venue, and at the brand new Punta della Dogana gallery. The exhibition plays in special light-filled spaces and combines artworks with visual historic sites. It signals the Pinault Foundation’s intention to showcase contemporary art culture in the city of Venice.
The new-look canaletto ride continues towards the old, wooden frame of the Ponte deli Accademia. Tenders are out for a make-over of this historic bridge (decried by locals as the ‘Disneyfication’ of an ancient rite of passage); but the Accademia Gallery, itself, has resisted change and remains home to the greatest collection of Venetian and European painting in the world.
A Study in Modernity
Next along the shoreline, Peggy Guggenheim’s long, low white palace straddles the horizon – a study in modernity - while the huge dome of the Church of the Salute, at last free of its scaffold wrap, towers above.
When American heiress, Peggy Guggenheim (1898-1979), first threw open the doors of her Venetian home, Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, in 1951 -she did more than just create a Modern Art gallery in wonderful light-filled rooms. Stylised features on the chic façade, with its interesting roofline, blend seamlessly with classical Venetian lines, and the avant-garde sculptures on the terrace draw the visitor towards the elegant entrance.
The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is the most important museum in Italy for European and American Art of the first half of the 20th-century and is one of Europe’s premier museums dedicated to Modern Art. It is a joy worth savouring and also one of the most visited attractions in Venice. Styles on display embrace Cubism, Abstract Expressionism and Surrealism; and artists represented in the collection include: Picasso, Klee, Miro, Braque, Dali, Brancusi (including a sculpture from the Bird in Space series) and Pollock. Masterpieces on long term loan include moving works by Modigliani, Severini, Depero, and Morandi.
Peggy, herself, lies buried beneath the paving stones at the back of the Palazzo. Finally, a ‘Titanic moment’ - at the entrance to the Lagoon stands a triangular jewel: the Punta della Dogana (a long-awaited contemporary art gallery sporting the very latest in architectural face-lifts). It is the place where artists have created a new harmony between colour and light.
Mapping the Studio
First opened to the public in 2009 - still smelling of decorator’s paint, and wrapped in a stray strand or two of swaddling Hessian, this glamorous, new gallery houses a permanent exhibition of astonishing works from the collection of the man behind the Gucci group: French billionaire, François Pinault - who also owns Palazzo Grassi.
Pinault appointed Japanese architect Tadao Ando to remodel the interior and he has created two floors of breathtakingly, elegant rooms with wonderful, double-height space - subtly appointed in grey and affording dramatic views over the lagoon. This has given the curators a second venue to unfurl their special show: “Mapping the Studio” – a marriage of specific modern artworks to sites in Venetian history that can be viewed from the windows. It is a unique experience.
The exhibition conveys a sense of extraordinary vitality and imagery – which is an intrinsic part of Pinault’s collection. There is an exciting use of form, unusual colour combination and texture that leads the viewer on an almost spiritual journey of discovery.
Caccairi, Pinault and their teams have successfully blended the old with the new, theme-style, and have created an unmissable ride.
Venice Unmasked
For a bit of the old - alight at the San Zaccaria stop and join the throngs of sightseers, celebrities masquerading incognito, and Venetian businessmen enjoying their Bellinis and Chianti at ‘Harry’s Bar’ or the celebrated 18th-century Caffés: ‘Florian’ and ‘Lavena’.
Then discover ‘Venice unmasked’: stray off the beaten path where traditional Venetian bars called ‘bacari’, offer a local version of tapas (chichetti) and serve popular wines from the nearby mainland vineyards of Friuli and Veneto.
2010 is the year to drink a toast to the eclectic mix that is Venice - where amazing, contemporary art museums are symbolic of the new invigorated Grand Canal.
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