Exhibition review: HYBRID IDENTITIES – BORDERS ART FAIR 2023
Venice | May 12 – 30, 2023
Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello
ITSLIQUID Group, in collaboration with ACIT Venice – Italian-German Cultural Association, is delighted to share the impressive success of the opening of HYBRID IDENTITIES, first appointment of BORDERS ART FAIR 2023, an international exhibition of photography, painting, video art, installation/sculpture and performance art, held in Venice, at Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello from May 12 to May 30.
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The festival focuses on the concept of “borders”, between the soul and the body, the human being and the urban space, the city and the ground. The festival analyzes the idea of human and urban borders, how people live them and how they are modified in contemporary society. Every human being lives in a world in which the limits and the borders shape their attitudes and behaviours, limiting freedom and creating a sense of alienation. The human being reacts by breaking the limits and finding a new way of life. We imagine a world of “liquid cities”, where differences create new possibilities instead of being social barriers.
The concept of HYBRID IDENTITIES explores the complexities of human identity and the ways in which cultural and ethnic background shape our being, creating a unique blend of different influences that form our identity. We all deal with multiple identities and roles in our everyday lives, which are guided by different social, physical, and cultural factors: we create and adapt our identities based on the situations we find ourselves in, and they evolve and change as we interact with contemporary cultures and modern cities. These changes will create new possibilities which will lead to new and unique identities.
At the opening event on 12 May, we had the pleasure of welcoming numerous visitors and artists to our premises, Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello. The concept of the art fair was pleasantly enhanced by the artist Adrian Zamic, whose visual works arise from the aggregation of ‘discarded’ materials, in fact, offer a ‘second chance’ to all those objects, or pieces of objects, that have been rejected: in his act of aggregation, he offers them to live again, proposing a far broader and more lasting dimension than the condition of their previous existence, accompanied by an additional and joyful sense of gratitude. Thus, Zamic’s works feel an irrepressible desire to tell their story, and they do so through the narration of Giuseppina Sinatra, who makes a second creative leap that gives the work a living, narrating soul, with all the creative power of the word.
BAV TAiLOR, from the United Kingdom, pays homage to the ancestral connectivity of its roots through our guiding spirits. Pure volumes and free silhouettes tell of the metamorphosis of noble Italian natural fibres that enrich our sense of well-being through breathability, sumptuous textures and conscious production, characteristics of slow living. A holistic expression for the nomadic explorer. Born in London, Indian by origin, a nomad in spirit, Bav Tailor is a hymn to the beauty of our world. Through the mantra ‘respect your body + your sphere’, the brand encourages holistic living and love of our mind, body, and atman – the soul. In the words of the artist “From birth to the realms of light – we remain – Hybrid identities”.
In terms of digital art and photographic manipulation, one must mention the art of Anita Fleerackers, from Belgium, whose artworks are powerful characters in motion. Her paintings are soothing oases in a hectic world, they are abstract memories and make people stop in amazement. Standing still for so much colour, so much light. As a child of a farming family, animals were not far away for Anita: horses, bulls and cows were part of rural life. The strength of an animal, its movements, its characters or its beautiful colours is an inexhaustible source of inspiration for Anita.
Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello welcomed a great number of artists who explored the idea between desires, needs, and fears that brings humankind to change, transform and evolve our inner world. Pedja Djaković, from the Czech Republic, demonstrates a profound understanding of the expressive methods of literary metaphors, painting sequences of ideas and situations not necessarily in literary contexts, but rather through the elusive logic of dreams and illusions. Figurative motifs, historical scenes and musical atmospheres are expressed through symbolic forms. The images reflect the emotional tension that reveals the artist’s dynamic personality and his way of grasping reality. Born in the neighbouring Balkans, Pedja’s art has always been deeply rooted in his history and tradition, but he has also sought inspiration beyond all political, physical and cultural boundaries since the beginning of his artistic vocation. Fellini, Pasolini and Manara are some of his most important inspirations, as artistic soul mates who helped him create a multifaceted identity. The essence of his art, charged with emotion and great passion, oscillates between neo-Cubism, poetic expressionism and the free improvisation of jazz music. He combines the traditional symbolism of colours and shapes with direct observation of reality, tempered by its vital nature.
Decadent old Italian places left to oblivion are the protagonists of Christian Basetti’s photographs. “Forgotten Art-chitectures” is the name of the photographic project through which Basetti seeks to convey unusual emotions and give voice to these structures charged with melancholic charm: a secret, hidden and silent world that exists both in the present and in the past, in a dimension suspended outside time. Basetti gives voice to these structures charged with melancholic charm: a secret, hidden and silent world that exists in both the present and the past, in a dimension suspended outside time. He focuses on Italy’s historical heritage and travels across the peninsula in search of these decaying places, trying to preserve the ancient splendour in his shots.
On the other hand, it is worth mentioning the sculptural art of Ans Joosten, from The Netherlands, which has the mesmerizing power to transform a piece of stone into a vivid, emotionally charged image. The golden layer we see used in the sculptures on display is a metaphor for the protection we create for ourselves in our lives, it is a second skin. It shows the fractures of the many beatings and clashes we have to endure during our lives, as well as to protect our loved ones. During the creative process, Ans starts with an unconscious thought and works it out with the strength and skill of her hands.
organized by ITSLIQUID Group
curator Luca Curci
in collaboration with ACIT Venice – Italian-German Cultural Association | GOETHE INSTITUT
project manager Giulia Tassi
project coordinators Maria Teresa Cafarelli, Amaride Ferrante
collaborators Eleonora Cerasoli, Melis Di Gennaro, Sara Mingozzi, Giulia Morroni, Seher Muhtar, Annachiara Recchia
graphic designers Marina Caracciolo, Maria Ilaria Rutigliano
supported by BOTTO GIUSEPPE
VENUE
Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello
Associazione Culturale Italo-Tedesca (ACIT)
First floor
Cannaregio, 4118, Venice, Italy
May 12 – May 30, 2023
09:30 AM – 05: 30 PM | Monday – Friday
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OUR LOCATION
Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello is one of the most known palaces of the Renaissance in Venice. It is a historical building dating 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 enriches 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, is 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 hold some festivals and exhibitions in Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello, such as MORPHOS Festival and FUTURE IDENTITIES Festival, both in 2014.