Helidon Xhixha - Venice Biennale by ContiniArtUk

Helidon Xhixha Selected Press Venice Biennale

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Dr. Diego Giolitti Speech on the occasion of unveiling Helidon Xhixhaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s CNN The Guardian The New York Times Flask Art ARTE airberlin magazin il manifesto Kleine Zeitung The Kyunghyang Shinmun Estadao 20 minutes arte magazine GQ Italia La Stampa Arte Kleine Zeitung Der Tagesspiegel FAD Magazine kultplus De Telegraaf Artsy Corriere Della Sera Il Gazzettino la Nuova Bergamo Sera Venezia Today news.ORF.at Press Kika Media il Post Arte.it di Padova il Mattino Corrier Della Sera ENIAC Ansa.it Cultura Alamy Sipa Dress Express Gazeta Veneto Wox Panorama BlueThumb Kosova Idividi.com.mk

Dr. Diego Giolitti Speech on the occasion of unveiling Helidon Xhixha’s Iceberg An artist whose sculptural practice has gone from strength to strength – Helidon Xhixha’s latest installations convey the intense sense of wonder that characterise his outlook and attitude towards art. With an approach that is the result of an artistic upbringing, a formal education and the artist’s own instinctive, creative drive, Xhixha presents us with a grand spectacle: Art which challenges its audience. Not simply through its sheer scale and mass but through its engagement with ideas of fundamental importance. Helidon is no stranger to creating public art. His Sculptures are installed around the world and admiration of his work has garnered him a much-deserved platform on the International Arts Scene. With a display indicative of his ambition, Xhixha has created four installations to draw attention to the perils that face Venice: the pressures of unfettered tourism and the threat of rising sea levels. With Iceberg, Xhixha has imagined a surreal affair - but one which unfortunately has a stark basis in reality. A fragment of an ice cap, rendered in stainless steel, drifts into the canals of Venice. Its mirrored surfaces encapsulate its surroundings and distort light into dynamic forms, immediately establishing its presence and holding our attention with ease. The work is a warning … an omen of the ecological disaster that awaits us if man-made Climate Change continues. Xhixha’s signature medium, mirror-polished steel, is of particular importance to the meaning of these new works. Coming as it does from an industrial process, it emphasises that human activity is the root cause of Global Warming. The fact that such a dense material has then been made to float adds to the already uncanny event – reiterating how unnatural the melting of the Ice Caps is. Using innovative techniques developed over the course of his career, Helidon creates sculptures that captivate with their beauty. It is not enough for art to be driven exclusively by strong concepts; central to contemporary art is the communication of ideas. The fascinating aesthetics of Iceberg all serve to communicate its meaning – without them it would not engage its viewers, its ecological message would be lost. Parallel to its environmental message, Iceberg provokes thought on the impact of the increasing number of people that visit Venice. The mass of floating steel intentionally mimics the visiting cruise ships that, whilst bringing wealth, erode Venice. Not content to just highlight Venice’s dilemma, Helidon’s other artwork, Pillars of Light serve to remind us that there is a whole world at stake. The seven columns, representations of deteriorating glaciers, stress a global problem that will affect every individual on each of the seven continents. The installation works in conjunction with Iceberg, acting as its terrestrial counterpoint, and situated on the Island of San Servolo, memorialises the continued damage we inflict upon the planet. It is without a doubt that the vision required to realise such great artworks is the hallmark of a great artist and with the completion of these works, Helidon Xhixha joins the long, prestigious tradition of public, environmental art. Xhixha has done his part, creating art that uses its beauty to incite positive dialogues on issues that need to be resolved. It is now up to you, the audience, to make sure the message reaches as far as possible and inspires as many as possible. Art needs its audience to invigorate change. 4

Venice Biennale: Gas masks, Marx, and cigarettes in the wrong places

The first African curator

views of the world, or simply living in the West, some of whom (Chris Ofili, Glen Ligon) have been quite successful. Economics is another thread. At the entrance, a soundtrack plays with actors reading from Karl Marx's Das Kapital. Enwezor believes that Marx's central thesis concerning the value of money and the exploitation of labor is still crucially relevant today and that artists should consider the precarious situation of global unrest -- and economic and social insecurity -- we are in.

Human rights take center stage Just where his exhibition meets the waterfront are two 100-foot, 8-ton sculptures of winged creatures (Phoenixes) made from discarded construction tools by Chinese artist, Xu Bing, in protest at the conditions laborers worked under during the construction of the World Financial Center in Beijing. Such concerns with human rights and oppression spill out into the 89 National Pavilions dotted around the Giardini, the Arsenale and other locations. The Iraq pavilion reflects on the terror subjects have suffered at the hands of Islamic State. The Armenian pavilion marks the 100th anniversary of mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during the First World War. In a small church, American artist Patricia Cronin had lain piles of discarded young girls' clothes on three altars in memory of girls who have been raped, kidnapped or put into forced labor institutions. Religion is never far from the surface, and pavilions have been at pains to cross boundaries. Iceland, for example, commissioned Swiss artist Christoph Buchel to turn a disused Catholic church into the first Islamic mosque ever seen in Venice, much to the alarm of Italian police who are considering it a security risk.

A better life through mushrooms One of least promoted events was also one of the most interesting. If diversity is a theme of this year's Biennale, Belgian artist, Koen Vanmechelen's is more specifically bio-diversity with a humanitarian purpose. He shipped a dromedary camel down the Grand Canal and out to a breeding center on the island of Murano, where he is developing super nutritional mushrooms grown on camel and rare black chicken faeces that could enhance human immunity to disease. The process is accompanied by an apothecary style installation in the Franchetti Palace in Venice -- where assorted contemporary works using glass are being shown -- and a display of Vanmechelen's marketable sculptures and drawings of hybrid creatures in Murano. The sale of these (priced between 35,000 and 150,000 euros, or $39,000 to $167,000) will help to finance the ongoing project in Belgium. During the preview, guests were shipped from the Franchetti Palace to Murano where they ate a five course meal that included the mushrooms and all have lived to tell the tale.

The Guggenheim protests On the way out to Murano Island we saw protestors clambering outside the Peggy Guggenheim collection with a banner that read 'Meet workers' demands.' This was the Gulf Labour Group voicing their discontent with the conditions migrant laborers to the UAE have been working under, particularly pointed at the Saadiyat Islands off Abu Dhabi where an outpost of the Guggenheim museum is being built. Later the same day, Ukranian artists occupied the Russian pavilion. But with all the agitprop and political issues that attracted journalistic attention, where was art and beauty? Was the overall tone too didactic to allow for such old fashioned aesthetic pleasures? A standout among the national pavilions in this sense was the Japanese one with its spectacular, all-embracing installation of hanging nets and falling keys, bathed in crimson and symbolizing the inability of memory to hold onto everything; and the American pavilion with its air conditioned rooms screening video artist Joan Jonas's fanciful narrative of children playing in idyllic landscapes.

The art of proportion Tackling one of the essential principles of beauty was Dutch dealer Axel Verwoordt in the Palace Fortuny, where went his own way completely and mounted an extensive exhibition on three floors called Proportio Proportio that explored the idea of proportion in art across the centuries.

In one corner an ancient Roman stone figure snuggled up to an old master painting of a classical building, which in turns is overlooked by a much bigger and more colorful geometrical painting by Ellsworth Kelly. In a small room, thin colored floor to ceiling bars by Fred Sandback are hung with a simple minimal painting in two colors by Brice Marden. Verwoordt's abilities to mix and match are well known. As expected, the artist he has been most successful with recently -- the Japanese action painter Kazuo Shiraga, whose prices have gone from tens of thousands to millions in the last five years -- featured with a characteristic abstract whirl of paint, though what particular type of proportion this illustrates was unclear. It was a dealer's show after all.

Why so serious? Laughter generally was in short supply. Damien Hirst's old pal Sarah Lucas in the British pavilion was perhaps intentionally providing some light relief from the heavier concerns of the Biennale with a series of gigantic, spindly phalluses and plaster casts of her friends' naked bodies, with cigarettes up their orifices. Only some of the British critics seemed to get this kind of smutty, lavatorial humor in the name of harsh realism. Laughter and critical praise came together in the ostensibly more serious collaboration between India and Pakistan. Neither country has a national pavilion, so they came together in spite of their political differences with an exhibition called My East is Your West. A highlight here was an interactive video by Rashid Rana, in which the audience enters a room in Venice to be confronted with a full wall video screen of a family from Lahore in an identical room, smiling and waving and responding to us, while the audience attempted to engage them in a dance routine. A relationship that works fine in virtual reality, but of course can never happen.

A honey pot for dealers? For some reason, there has been more comment about the commercial aspect of the Biennale this year than usual. Although not ostensibly a selling event, it has also become, inevitably, a honey pot for dealers to promote their artists to the collectors who attend. In the run up this year I must have received over a hundred emails from galleries whose artists are showing there. The bigger international galleries like Hauser & Wirth or Continua have as many as thirteen artists exhibiting either in the official Biennale, or a collateral event. Artists showing outside the invited Biennale events are likely to be sponsored by interested backers. Ahmet Gunstekian from Turkey, for instance, had an exhibition sponsored by the Marlborough gallery in New York, who in turn were said to be have been sponsored by wealthy collectors who wanted to raise Gunstekian's profile. The investment is significant. Even a small location outside the official event can cost 100,000 dollars to rent. With the price of contemporary art escalating, that kind of outlay can be easily recouped. Most work you see at the Biennale is unobtrusively for sale. Usually, the Biennale is held in June and collectors come from America and move on to Basel in Switzerland for the big contemporary art fair, where everything is openly for sale. 'See in Venice; buy in Basel', the saying used to go. But this year, Venice got together with Milan which hosts Expo 2015 through the end of October, and decided to bring its dates forward to present a united front. Collectors will now go from Venice to Frieze New York which opens this week. But for an idealist like Enwezor, this proximity to the market should not present a problem: Marx supported of the market, writing that no work of art was complete until it had been sold. The 56th Venice Biennale runs through 22 November.

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/11/travel/venice<biennale<2015<opening/index.html

Artist draws controversy turning church into Venice's first mosque Local authorities and biennale organisers don’t want the project in their city, says the curator who wants to save Muslims the hour-long trip to the current mosque

In a tranquil corner of Venice’s Cannaregio district stands a handsome church with an icing sugar white baroque facade. Its origins stretch back to the 10 century, but the last mass was celebrated here in 1967, since when, deconsecrated and in private hands, it has stood silent and unused.

On 9 May, however, as the 56th Venice Biennale opens, Santa Maria della Misericordia will become a religious and public space once more: reborn as a mosque, the first in the city’s long history. Venetian Muslims, as well as Muslim visitors to the city, will now be able to walk to Friday prayers instead of taking an hour<long trip to the nearest mosque, in the industrial heartlands of the Veneto mainland. Behind the venerable doors of the church is now a recognisable mosque, complete with wudu area to wash in, prayer carpet, mihrab – indicating the direction of Mecca – and calligraphic cartouches.

The Mosque is the official national pavilion of Iceland at the biennale, and the artist behind the transformation is the Iceland<based, Swiss<born artist Christoph Büchel – whose previous artistic projects have included the transformation of a grand gallery on Piccadilly in London into a fully functioning community centre.

One of the most controversial and highly anticipated national presentations at the biennale, the project is, said Büchel, anchored in Venice’s historic connections with the east. It was in this city, for example, that the first printed edition of the Qur’an was made in the 16 century; and the Fondaco dei Turchi, an elegant palazzo on the Grand Canal, was once the city’s ghetto for Ottoman traders.

Making the project happen has not been easy, according to Büchel and his curator, Nina Magnúsdóttir. Neither the local authorities nor the biennale itself had been, they claimed, supportive of the initiative. According to Magnúsdóttir, “There is no political will to have this project in the historic city of Venice.” A temporary relief on the exterior of the building reading “Allahu akbar” (God is great) was explicitly refused permission. And in order to circumvent official restrictions on prayer in public places, those who wish to worship in the mosque will first be asked to become members of an association. But the project is not just for Muslims, said Magnúsdóttir: “It is a work of art and the public are welcome to come and visit.” 8

Mohamed Amin Al Ahdab, a local architect and president of the Islamic Community of Venice, was delighted, regarding the project as not only of benefit to Venice’s population of Muslim workers and students, but also as a place of interfaith dialogue. “No one here could have believed that this could have been made to happen from outside the Mediterranean world, from outside the Islamic world, thanks to a small island in the north. This is an invitation to other people, to other cultures, to exchange positive ideas.” It would be, he said, “our dream” if the project, or some version of it, could outlast the duration of the biennale, which ends on 22 November.

Also in attendance at the mosque throughout the summer will be Ibrahim Sverrir Agnarsson, the chair of the Association of Muslims of Iceland. “We basically want to show that mosques are not military bases but places of peace. We want to show that we can have an interfaith dialogue and that anybody can come here and talk to us at any time,” he said. Iceland itself, as Büchel pointed out, is in the process of establishing its own first mosque for the nation’s 1,200<strong Islamic population.

The Venice Biennale is one of the great markers in the international art world calendar, and from 9 May, this city of labyrinthine alleys, of Tintorettos and Veroneses, of Gothic elegance and Byzantine splendour, becomes the destination for visitors seeking out the latest trends and tendencies in visual art.

The biennale is anchored by a central exhibition curated by the director of Munich’s Haus der Kunst, Okwui Enwezor, which itself is underpinned by daily readings from Marx’s Das Kapital – in Enwezor’s words, “a book that nobody has read and yet everyone hates or quotes from”. And, with work by a notable number of black artists or those of African origin – such as Glenn Ligon, Charles Gaines, Kara Walker, Chris Ofili, Isaac Julien, Steve McQueen, John Akomfrah and Wangechi Mutu – the exhibition makes a clear and corrective statement about what he calls “the reflexive bigotry” of the art world.

The second element of the biennale is the 89 exhibitions presented by individual nations, providing a snapshot of art being made across the world – and, frequently, an insight into international politics and tensions as expressed by artists. For example, this year’s Armenian pavilion is a conscious reflection on the centenary of the 1915 genocide in Turkey; while Iraq’s presentation includes a room of delicately ferocious drawings of severed heads by young artist Haider Jabbar, who trained at the Baghdad Academy and who now lives in exile in Turkey. Germany’s pavilion is already an artworld hit with Hito Steyerl’s intriguing and often witty film Factory of the Sun, which takes the form of a computer game to explore notions of reality, the virtual, the ideal and the material in relation to the digital world. Greece has presented an uncannily atmospheric re<creation of a fusty, dusty taxidermy shop in Volos by Maria Papadimitriou. And Simon Denny, for New Zealand, has put together a densely layered analysis of the visual language of the NSA material leaked by Edward Snowden, presented in the great renaissance Marciana Library in the Piazzetta San Marco and the arrivals hall of Venice’s Marco Polo airport.

Many of the national pavilions – including that of Briton Sarah Lucas – are staged in the city’s Giardini Pubblici. Others, such as Scotland’s presentation by Graham Fagen and Wales’s exhibition by Helen Sear, are, like the Iceland pavilion, scattered through the elegant palazzi and disused churches of the wider city.

Simultaneously, the galleries and art institutions of Venice are staging a range of exhibitions to coincide with the biennale. The Punta della Dogana is presenting Slip of the Tongue, a show curated by Danh Vo, who is also representing Denmark at the biennale: contemporary artworks from the François Pinault collection are exquisitely combined with Old Masters such as Bellini’s Head of Christ, on loan from the Accademia. Meantime, at the Fondazione Bevilacqua is an exhibition of 15 new paintings by Peter Doig, while the Fondazione Prada presents a show called Portable Classic, a look at the culture of copying and reproducing classical sculpture.

The 56 Venice Biennale runs from 9 May until 22 November.

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/may/08/biennale<artist<turning<church<into<venices<first<mosque

Venice Biennale Pavilions for Iraq, Ukraine and Syria Reflect Strife at Home By FARAH NAYERI MAY 10, 2015

Date Published: - June 2015

http://magazin.airberlin.com/juni-2015-airberlin-magazin-ganz-venedig-ist-biennale/39157284

Venezia, in questo periodo di inaugurazioni bulimiche – sono circa quattrocento gli eventi culturali — è anche una città che pullula di presenze eccentriche, che è costretta a fare i conti con il mondo che si estende al di fuori della Laguna. In questo caso, con altre acque ben più tragiche. Galleggia infatti in Canal Grande una strana barca ricoperta di giornali con notizie di naufragi di migranti. È Vik Muniz ad averla portata fra gli yacht lussuosi, sfi- dando gli stomaci dei vip con il solo nome della piccola nave: Lampedusa. Artista brasiliano da sempre impegnato in progetti sociali – il suo documentarioWaste Land girato nella discarica di Rio de Janeiro, dove costruiva opere in quel girone dell’inferno insieme all’umanità che ci vive, ha sfiorato l’Oscar – ha costruito la sua imbarcazione (delle dimensioni di un vaporetto di linea, è stata assemblata con l’aiuto degli artigiani del Polo Nautico Vento di Venezia) dopo il 2013 quando affogarono moltissimi uomini e donne in cerca di futuro. Quest’anno, la catastrofe si è ripetuta. Così, quella che in origine era una suggestione, è divenuta una nave di salvataggio, una piattaforma per una missione di fundraising – con un’asta di beneficenza da Christie’s a Londra, in ottobre prossimo) per aiutare il Consiglio Italiano per i Rifugiati (Cir) a far fronte all’emergenza della crisi nel Mediterraneo. Navigherà, posizionandosi in luoghi visibili, ma non potrà trasportare passeggeri. Non sarà l’unica «interferenza» in Laguna: l’italo-albanese Helidou Xhixha piazzerà l’8 maggio un gigantesco iceberg di acciaio inox che poi si scomporrà, mimando lo scioglimento dei ghiacci per l’inquinamento. Infine, altro détournement, stavolta sulla terraferma e reli- gioso. Nella chiesa di santa Maria della Misericordia, l’artista islandese Christoph Büchel sta per inaugurare una moschea, trasformando le architetture cristiane in un luogo di prehttp://ilmanifesto.info/crossover<politici<di<fronte<le<catastrofi/

Großer Besucherandrang bei 56. Kunstbiennale Bei strahlendem Sonnenschein bildete sich am Tor der Giardini schon vor Beginn eine lange Schlange. Sie steht unter dem Motto "All the World's Futures" (Alle Zukünfte der Welt). In Venedig ist am Samstag die 56. Kunstbiennale unter großem Besucherandrang eröffnet worden. Bei strahlendem Sonnenschein bildete sich am Tor der Giardini schon vor Beginn eine lange Schlange. Auch an den historischen Fabrikhallen des Arsenale warteten viele auf Einlass. Zu Mittag werden bei einer feierlichen Zeremonie in einem Palast am Markusplatz die Goldenen Löwen vergeben. Die Biennale, die weltweit wichtigste Ausstellung zeitgenössischer Kunst, feiert dieses Jahr ihren 120. Geburtstag. Sie steht unter dem Motto "All the World's Futures" (Alle Zukünfte der Welt). Der aus Nigeria stammende Kurator Okwui Enwezor vom Münchner Haus der Kunst hat 163 Künstler aus 53 Ländern in die Themenausstellung geladen. 89 Nationen präsentieren sich mit eigenen Ausstellungen, der österreichische Pavillon wurde von Heimo Zobernig gestaltet. Bis zum 22. November werden mehr als eine halbe Million Besucher erwartet.

Kunstbiennale<

Italy Biennale

http://english.khan.co.kr/khan_art_view.html?code=710100&artid=20150509190522A&medid

Bienal de Veneza propõe viagem para ‘Todos os futuros do mundo’ LAURA SERRANO-CONDE - EFE 08 Maio 2015 | 13h 27

Com abertura no sábado, 9, evento quer provocar uma reflexão sobre os problemas que afligem o mundo; veja galeria de imagens

Como é habitual, esta grande mostra internacional de arte moderna foi instalada fundamentalmente nos complexos do Arsenal, do antigo estaleiro da cidade italiana, e dos Jardins venezianos. Mas, além disso, a Bienal conta com uma série de eventos paralelos: nesta edição, serão mais de 40. O mundo caminha rumo a vários futuros diferentes, assim como são diferentes as propostas que levaram até Veneza os vários paísesparticipantes. No caso da Espanha, um pavilhão que toma como ponto de partida a figura de Dalí para desenvolver outros três projetos, diferentes entre si, embora compartilhem de uma mesma origem daliniana, como explicou a EFE o comissário, Martí Manen. Os artistas encarregados de representar a Espanha este ano são Francesc Ruiz, que leva para a Bienal dois quiosques com os quais convida a refletir sobre a “manipulação da informação” pela mídia, e também rememorar a popularidade do gênero do fumetto, erótico italiano, (quadrinhos dirigidos a um público homossexual nos anos 80). Também Helena Cabello & Ana Carceller, que indagam por que razão identidades sexuais diferentes não são levadas em consideração na Europa do século 21; e Pero Salazar, que cria um espaço carregado de camadas e camadas de informação, saturado de conteúdos, cuja intenção é recriar a confusão que impera nas sociedades modernas. O secretário de Estado da Cultura do Governo da Espanha, José María Lassalle, destacou a contemporaneidade de Dalí, e descreveu o pavilhão da Espanha na 56ª Bienal de Arte de Veneza como “uma experiência estética interessante”. “A presença espanhola na Bienal gira em torno do nosso pavilhão e de um projeto em que três grupos dialogam em torno de Dali e sua contemporaneidade”, disse Lassalle à EFE. Por sua vez, a diretora de Relações Culturais e Científicas da Agência Espanhola de Cooperação Internacional para o Desenvolvimento (AECID), Itziar Taboada, afirmou que, longe de ser um pavilhão sobre Dalí, este espaço é “uma reflexão artística que começa com uma série de características da figura de Dali”.

Também representando a Espanha, especificamente da Catalunha, o cineasta Albert Serra convida o público a refletir sobre a mudança cultural que estão vivendo as sociedades modernas, onde as máquinas têm uma relevância cada vez maior. E o faz por meio de sua obra Catalunia in Venice. Singularity, composta de cinco telas audiovisuais, onde se desenvolvem várias histórias que recriam “como chegamos, qual foi o caminho percorrido, nos últimos tempos, para chegar à perda da centralidade do corpo como meio básico de relacionamento”, comentou. Mais reivindicativa é a aposta do Chile, que comparece à Bienal com uma obra de duas artistas, Paz Errázuriz e Lotty Rosenfeld, na qual são criticados os excessos do capitalismo e é destacada a força dos protestos da população que desafiam a hegemonia do mercado. Por sua vez, o México quis realizar uma trajetória através do significado dos edifícios nos quais expôs nas diferentes bienais do século 21, e, ao mesmo tempo, prestar uma homenagem à água. A exposição mexicana intitula-se Possessing Nature e ficou a cargo dos artistas Tania Candiani e Luis Felipe Ortega, que construíram um “sistema de drenagem” que permite levar ao interior do seu pavilhão água da própria laguna veneziana, e posteriormente devolvê-la ao lugar ao qual pertence. Finalmente, cansado do caos e do burburinho e dos ruídos das sociedades modernas, o uruguaio Marco Maggi optou por uma aposta valente, arriscada e muito original. Seu pavilhão está aparentemente vazio, embora na realidade suas quatro paredes brancas escondam pequenos recortes, também brancos, que formam figuras, desenhos e estruturas complexas. É uma analogia com o caos moderno, e sua intenção é levar tranquilidade e sossego a um público que recebe diariamente uma grande quantidade de informação. Presença brasileira. A artista mineira Sonia Gomes (1948) é a única brasileira selecionada para a mostra principal da 56.ª Bienal de Veneza. Já o Pavilhão Brasil, representação nacional oficial na mostra produzida pela Fundação Bienal de São Paulo, vai apresentar as obras dos artistas Antonio Manuel, Berna Reale e André Komatsu. Os três foram selecionados pelos curadores brasileiros Luiz Camillo Osorio e Cauê Alves. TRADUÇÃO DE ANNA CAPOVILLA

Tragédies des migrants en Méditerranée, guerre en Ukraine, durcissement du régime en Russie: l'actualité récente s'invite à la 56e Biennale d'art contemporain de Venise. 09 mai 2015 14:29; Act: 09.05.2015 14:33

«Iceberg à Venise», une oeuvre de l'artiste albanais Helidon Xhixha présentée à la 56e Biennale de Venise. (photo: Keystone/AP/Luigi Costantini)

Venezia, un iceberg dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;acciaio contro le grandi navi Lo realizza l'artista Helidon Xhixha per il padiglione della Repubblica Araba Siriana alla Biennale

Published: 05.05.2015 http://www.artemagazine.it/arte<contemporanea/86676/venezia<un<iceberg<dacciaio<contro<le<grandi<navi/

Un iceberg di acciaio nella Laguna di Venezia

8.5.15 - Filippo Piva

Biennale di Venezia: le nostre pagelle Si è aperto al pubblico il grande evento che fino al 22 novembre 2015 offrirà uno straordinario panorama dell’arte contemporanea. Abbiamo chiesto ai nostri critici di dire che cosa vale la pena di ricordare e che cosa è meglio dimenticare. Ecco le loro risposte

neri penzoloni viene istintivo fare gli scongiuri. Una Biennale cosi bella meriterebbe un apertura migliore. Anche se Murillo rappresenta in modo impeccabile una delle tesi della mostra : l’arte nel mondo del capitale può essere al tempo stesso sia una bella bolla che una brutta balla.

ELENA DEL DRAGO SI’: La bottega greca L’artista greca Maria Papadimitriou è riuscita, complice la curatrice Gabi Scardi, a trasportare in un palazzo veneziano (lasciato com’era, senza neppure un maquillage) un negozio di Volos. E dunque al centro di una sala polverosa, si può entrare, attraverso una porta, in un ambiente misterioso e familiare insieme. È una bottega che è andata trasformandosi quasi in una casa, dove gli avventori sono amici che si fermano a chiacchierare o a prendere un caffè insieme al proprietario che vende pelli di animali. Cosi tra vecchie riviste, biciclette appoggiate e mercanzia esposta alle pareti, si intravede il passato di un paese che comincia a perdersi in un presente che non lascia immaginare alternative. NO: La decadenza dei grandi Il punto debole di questa Biennale che prova ad immaginare il futuro sono i grandi nomi del passato. Di un passato recente, certamente. A deludere la sottoscritta, infatti, tanto ai Giardini, quanto all’Arsenale sono soprattutto i nomi noti, che non hanno colto l’occasione di una kermesse come quella veneziana per presentare qualcosa che lasci intuire l’evoluzione della loro ricerca. A cominciare da Christian Boltanski, con un’opera davvero poco interessante. O Georg Baselitz che continua a esporre il suo marchio di fabbrica, le celeberrime figure capovolte, scegliendo semplicemente un formato in scala gigante. Lasciamo perdere Sarah Lucas nel terribile Padiglione britannico. MANUELA GANDINI SI’: Il market canadese Al padiglione canadese c’è un deppanneur: un minimarket di quelli che vendono vini cheap, scatolame e utensili, che si trovano ad ogni angolo del Quebec. Entri nella copia perfetta del market, con i suoi prodotti e la commessa, e ti accorgi che le etichette di alcune scatole sono sfocate. Il collettivo Bgl, con un’operazione di detournament, mette in scena la parodia del quotidiano e dell’economia. Si procede poi verso un atelier kitsch pieno di scaffali, oggetti cinesi rifatti in terracotta, attrezzi e barattoli multicolori. Al piano superiore c’è un rudimentale meccanismo, nel quale inserire una moneta e contemplarne il percorso. A fine Biennale il vetro sarà diventato un muro di denaro. La mostra è a cura di Marie Fraser. NO: Il Codice nostrano All the world’s futures il tema scelto da Enwezor, è l’antitesi di Codice Italia, la mostra sulla memoria curata da Vincenzo Trione per il Padiglione Italia. Mentre Enwezoir apre al futuro di innumerevoli mondi umani e geografici usando una pluralità di linguaggi con una declinazione politica estesa, il curatore italiano chiude la visione sul recupero di un passato che si rivela statuario e accademico. L’allestimento non permette il dialogo tra le opere. La mostra è un insieme di personali prive di linfa. Non c’è comunità, rete, elementi vivi, fondamentali per decodificare il presente e intravvedere il futuro. Unica prospettiva forse il deposito illusorio di pannocchie magicamente ricostruito dalla Migliora.

FRANCESCO POLI SI’: Gli incipit di Enwezor Come nei migliori romanzi, anche nelle grandi mostre a tema l’incipit è un aspetto cruciale di tutto l’impianto della narrazione. E questo è il caso dell’esposizione All Word’s Futures le cui due grandi sale introduttive, al Padiglione centrale e alle Corderie dell’Arsenale, sono perfette sintesi dei temi di fondo del progetto curatoriale di Enwezor. Da un lato il Muro occidentale o del Pianto, e gli altri lavori di Fabio Mauri, ci parlano dal punto di vista storico politico delle tragiche contraddizioni della nostra società. Dall’altro, l’interazione fra i lavori al neon di Bruce Nauman e i mazzi di coltelli piantati in terra (il titolo ironico è Le ninfee) di Abdel Abdessemed ci trafigge con un’intensità fisica e mentale sconcertante. No: I fantasmi di Vanessa È sulla cresta dell’onda la statuaria realizzata per lo più con la tecnica del calco (con lo scanner) in chiave realista, iperrealista o con rimandi più o meno evidenti alla tradizione classica. C’è chi usa materiali sintetici come il silicone, e altri sempre più numerosi che riutilizzano quelli tradizionali come il marmo, che ormai si può scolpire con grande rapidità grazie ai robot. Tutto ciò con esiti talora catastroficamente postmoderni come nel caso de Le membre fantôme di Vanessa Beecroft per Codice Italia: un cumulo di figure femminili nude in varie pose e anche frammentate, fatte con diversi marmi policromi. Il colmo della banalità è una citazione del nudo dell’ambiente Étant donnés di Duchamp. MARCO VALLORA SI’: L’iceberg di Xhixha Certo potresti dire: il Muro di Valigie migranti di Mauri (piazzato così male, che provoca un effetto nostalgia disarmante). Oppure, Walker Evans, Pascali, Baselitz, Gursky, accidenti che fiuto questo Enwezor! Non ne possiamo più di «pagare» delle Biennali-corso di aggiornamento per curatori che scoprono il già dato. Allora meglio la meditazione d’archivio consapevole, con il Padiglione Italia. Se non altro ritrovi vecchi o giovani leoni, come Parmiggiani, Kounellis, Paladino, Biasiucci, Samorì, ma senza propositi finto-rivoluzionari. Meglio lavar gli occhi-retrò in laguna, seguendo l’iceberg specchiato, che si squaglierà via facendo, di Helidon Xhixha: a mezzo tra land-art e Teatro del Mondo di Rossi. No: La mostra afro-renziana Potremmo dire il finto igloo merziano, in stile lattoniere, del congolese Baloji. Ma allora meglio sparare sul responsabile di questa Biennale alla melassa etnica: un po’ suk-bazaar, un po’ effettucci stantii con il principiante che strimpella e la visitatrice che sogna (Marx). Saltando al collo dell’usurato Angelus Novus di Benjamin e facendogli dire cose, che non ha mai detto. Una mostra afro-renziana, che predica tribunizia e velleitaria, tra sociologismi Bouvard e Pècuchet e «simboli atroci simboli», ma razzola moscissima. Patinata, finge di fare la rivoluzione urlata. Imperdonabile l’estetismo efferato di far leggere il Capitale su tappeto rosso: «trasformato in Oratorio». Non alla Haendel, ma solo parrocchiale.

In Venedig ist am Samstag die 56. Kunstbiennale unter großem Besucherandrang eröffnet worden. Bei strahlendem Sonnenschein bildete sich am Tor der Giardini schon vor Beginn eine lange Schlange. Auch an den historischen Fabrikhallen des Arsenale warteten viele auf Einlass. Zu Mittag werden bei einer feierlichen Zeremonie in einem Palast am Markusplatz die Goldenen Löwen vergeben. Die Biennale, die weltweit wichtigste Ausstellung zeitgenössischer Kunst, feiert dieses Jahr ihren 120. Geburtstag. Sie steht unter dem Motto "All the World's Futures" (Alle Zukünfte der Welt). Der aus Nigeria stammende Kurator Okwui Enwezor vom Münchner Haus der Kunst hat 163 Künstler aus 53 Ländern in die Themenausstellung geladen. 89 Nationen präsentieren sich mit eigenen Ausstellungen, der österreichische Pavillon wurde von Heimo Zobernig gestaltet. Bis zum 22. November werden mehr als eine halbe Million Besucher erwartet.

About ContiniArtUK ContiniArtUK exhibits a range of contemporary and modern artists in its five thousand square foot Mayfair gallery space. Representing an impressive roster of artists including Fernando Botero, Robert Indiana and Fabrizio Plessi, the gallery also has a long running relationship with the sculptor Helidon Xhixha, who is exhibiting four installations at this year’s Venice Biennale. The gallery was established in in May 2014 and opened with an exhibition by master sculptor Igor Mitoraj and continued to make headlines with an exhibition of Mikhail Baryshnikov’s photography in November 2014. ContiniArtUK was founded by Cristian Contini. Born and raised in Venice, he worked for Contini Galleria d’Arte; a family owned business that was listed by ArtTribune Magazine this year as one of the most important modern and contemporary galleries before forging a successful career in publishing, eventually launching his own publishing company, ArtStyle, in 1998. Q& A with gallery owner Cristian Contini

The project we are most excited by at the moment is our most recent. We just unveiled a colossal stainless steel iceberg by our artist Helidon Xhixha on the lagoon at the 56th Venice Biennale, highlighting the precarious balance between man and nature. It was an amazing journey getting the Iceberg to the Lagoon but it was worth it in the end to create such a stunning installation.

The sculpture, hosted at the Syrian Arab Republic Pavilion, San Servolo island, measures 4×3 meters is floating in the middle of the lagoon along with seven enormous vertical pillars that represent the glaciers from which the iceberg has detached. Xhixha’s sculpture hopes to provoke an overwhelming reaction and impart a powerful environmental message. “Iceberg a Venezia” wants to amaze, seduce and dazzle, but also to suggest a point of view on an inescapable problem: Venice is a precious artistic jewel, one of our world’s irreplaceable treasures, significantly at risk of being lost in our lifetime. The danger of the rising sea levels genuinely puts Venice in peril; a city visited by everybody and still violated by tons of steel. In Venice, therefore, through her canals and islands, with steel, a material of our times, Xhixha imagines and creates towers made of ice, cold and metallic, standing far in the horizon. The ice, unavoidably, liquefies and breaks. Until then the iceberg floats through the canals, a surprising and jarring image in the middle of the city that is a cradle of culture and aesthetic beauty. Dimensions and 3D rendering and of the Helidon Xhixha, the Albanian born artist, but Italian by adoption, is widely known around the world thanks to his public and monumental artworks made of stainless steel and crafted using The two artworks that Helidon Xhixha presents at the Venice Biennale represent the latest progressions of his sculptural research. Forms develop through interrupted flat surfaces, elevations and indentations showing irregular configurations apparently not only determined by natural effects, but also through geometrically defined parts. “Iceberg” addresses the fundamental problem of global warming and melting of Polar glaciers. The outer surface of the huge, irregular block of stainless steel is perfectly welded and placed directly into the lagoon’s water in order to float. The view is arresting and aesthetically fascinating but it also represents an alarming ecological warning. We could object that the material the sculpture is the result of an industrial process that contributes to global warming, presenting a contradiction between the symbolic purpose and the material nature of the artwork. Consequently there is a culturally significant tension, present in Xhixhu’s artwork.

Helidon Xhixha, shqiptari që dërgon Sirinë në Bienalen e Venecias Një skulpturë monumentale e quajtur “Iceberg”, “Schegge” – instalacioni me 18 tulla vertikale, “Pillars of Light” – me shtylla të dritës që përfaqësojnë akullnajat e ajsbergut dhe “Four Elements” janë katër punët e artistit në këtë edicion të Bienales. Artisti shqiptar Helidon Xhixha sivjet është në mesin e 11-të artistëve që do të përfaqsojnë Pavijonin e Sirisë në Bienalen e Venecias.

Bienalja ka kohë që ka hapur edicionin e saj të radhës ndërsa Siria vjen në këtë bienale me konceptin “Origjina e civilizimit”. Një skulpturë monumentale e quajtur “Iceberg”, “Schegge” – instalacioni me 18 tulla vertikale, “Pillars of Light” – me shtylla të dritës që përfaqësojnë akullnajat e ajsbergut dhe “Four Elements” janë katër punët e artistit në këtë edicion të Bienales. Xhixha thotë se me krijimet e tij synonë të flasë mbi problemet e mjedisit dhe ngrohjen globale, përgjatë hapësirës në Venecia – qytet ky i cili ka probleme të mëdha në këtë fushë. Xhixha, i lindur në Durrës, është i njohur për punën e tij me përdorimin e çelikut dhe knikave tjera të reja. / KultPlus.com 41

Kunstwereld maakt zich zorgen om terreur, oorlog en milieu

Kleurexplosies in Venetië

Zonder twijfel de ondeugendste, grappigste en zonnigste bijdrage aan de Biënnale van Venetië, is het door Sarah Lucas ingerichte Britse paviljoen. De Engelse kunstenares – die in de jaren negentig samen met Damien Hirst en Tracey Emin furore maakte als Young British Artists – toont vrolijk makende sculpturen van gele worstfiguurtjes met enorme fallussen en gipsen afgietsels van de naakte onderlichamen van haar vriendinnen met een sigaret tussen hun billen geklemd. Niet chic, wel leuk. Bovendien vormt haar in zorgeloos geel geschilderde paviljoen, waarin ook nog wonderlijke katten met hangtietjes huizen, een welkome afwisseling op de 56e Biënnale. Want hoewel de titel All the world’s futures van de door directeur Okwui Enwezor samengestelde centrale tentoonstelling optimistisch klinkt, is het duidelijk dat de kunstgemeenschap zich zorgen maakt over de wereld met haar politieke, economische en morele crisis. Het is geen lichte kost die de Nigeriaan Enwezor – in het dagelijks leven museumdirecteur van het Haus der Kunst in München – serveert in het centrale paviljoen in de Giardini en in de Arsenale. De verwijzingen naar terreur, oorlog, geweld, vluchtelingen, milieuvervuiling en protest zijn alom vertegenwoordigd. 42

Schokken In de openingszaal van de Arsenale wordt meteen de toon gezet. Hier ontvangt de installatie Nymphéas van de Algerijnse kunstenaar Adel Abdessemed de bezoekers allesbehalve hartelijk. Zijn ’waterlelies’ hebben niet de overrompelende schoonheid van die van Claude Monet. Ze schokken eerder, omdat de vermeende bloemen explosies lijken die uit messen, zwaarden en zagen zijn opgebouwd. De wapens waarmee IS dood en verderf zaait. Enwezor combineert deze dreigende sculpturen sterk met enkele oudere neonwerken van de Amerikaan Bruce Nauman. Love, hate, life, death en war zijn enkele van de woorden die voortdurend in felle tinten oplichten. Toch wordt de goed ingerichte expositie nergens onverteerbaar. Er mag dan dreiging en instabiliteit in de wereld zijn, er is ook schoonheid en troost. Zoals de explosie van kleur van de Duitse kunstenares Katharina Grosse laat zien. Op haar met spuitbussen en felle pigmenten in alle kleuren van de regenboog bewerkte aarde, groeien inmiddels weer grassprietjes. Bemoedigend zijn ook de fraaie schilderijen van de Brit Chris Ofili, getiteld Forgive them en Bending over backwards for justice and peace. De in Amsterdam werkzame filmregisseur en videokunstenaar Steve McQueen (bekend van Twelve years a slave) toont er zijn eenvoudige film Ashes, een liefdevol portret van een jonge visser op Grenada, die op 25-jarige leeftijd werd vermoord. Posters met stills uit de film, waar de kijker ziet hoe het graf van deze jongen wordt gemaakt, mogen de bezoekers meenemen. Opdat de herinnering aan Ashes, zoals zijn bijnaam luidde, levend blijft. Bij de landenpaviljoens in de Giardini zijn het vooral de oudere en de vrouwelijke kunstenaars die indruk maken. Onze eigen Herman de Vries (83) gooide hoge ogen bij zowel critici als het publiek met zijn authentieke lofzang op de natuur. De bijna 80-jarig kunstlegende Joan Jonas uit New York, pionierster op het vlak van video- en performancekunst, zorgde met haar poëtische installatie They come to Us without a Word voor lange rijen voor het Amerikaanse paviljoen. Kunstliefhebbers uit alle windstreken, die traditiegetrouw elke twee jaar als pelgrims naar de Biënnale van Venetië komen, verdrongen zich ook voor het Australische paviljoen, dat door niemand minder dan actrice Cate Blanchett werd geopend.

Vervuiling Hierin uit de Australische fotografe en beeldhouwster Fiona Hall (ook al 61) in een visueel zeer aantrekkelijk vormgegeven ’Wunderkammer’ haar zorgen over milieuvervuiling en andere rampen die de wereld uit balans brengen. Wrong Way Time heet haar tentoonstelling, die gedomineerd wordt door beschilderde klokken in alle soorten en maten waarvan we de wijzers wel terug zouden willen draaien, maar dat gaat helaas niet. „Het leven is een enkele reis. Geen retour. Je kunt niet terug. Alleen vooruit”, constateert ook de leerlooier uit het Griekse stadje Volos, dat ernstig door de zich alsmaar voortslepende economische crisis is getroffen. Zijn trieste verhaal over de dingen die voorbij gaan, werd gefilmd door de Griekse kunstenares Maria Papadimitriou, die tevens zijn complete, vervallen leerlooierij liet overvliegen naar Venetië. Een vervreemdend kunstwerk, dat de kijker niet onberoerd laat.

Portrait of Helidon Xhixha, courtesy of Contini Art UK.

In the blue-green waters that surround, define, and now threaten to submerge the storied city of Venice, an unlikely sight awaits visitors: an iceberg. Made of stainless steel polished to a mirrored shine, it reflects the city and its waatery environment. It also reflects the handiwork and artistic inquiry of Helidon Xhixha, who made itâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;together with a suite of three additional installationsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;for the Syrian Arab Republic pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale. 44

Helidon Xhixha Iceberg, 2015 Contini Art UK

At anchor in Venice’s lagoon, Xhixha’s Iceberg (2015) bobs along with the motion of the currents and the wind. Such movement, together with the changing light and weather and the streaming by of boats and people, cause the iceberg’s reflective surface to shift as continuously as the world it mirrors. But while these visions delight the eye, this work also serves as a reminder and a warning. It was glacial melting, after all, that formed the patches of land in water upon which Venice was founded. And now, thanks to the rising temperatures wrought by our degradation of the environment, it is glacial melting (among other factors) that threatens to wipe the city and its artistic and historical treasures off the map.

Courtesy of ContiniArtUK

Back on solid ground, with his three additional installations, Xhixha expands upon his themes of the forces of nature and geology, and the counterforce of humankind. Among these monumental, polished stainless steel works is Pillars of Light. Standing tall on the island of San Servolo, it is composed of seven vertical pillars of varying heights, each of which features a jagged, broken top. According to the artist, the pillars are meant to represent the world’s glaciers, as well as the origin of his iceberg. Their irregular surfaces represent the points at which hunks of ice broke off from their overall mass, becoming the freefloating forms we have come to know as icebergs. It is hard not to marvel at the majesty of these environmental processes, and at Xhixha’s elegant representation of them. Let’s just hope we don’t exacerbate these processes any more than we already have. —Karen Kedmey

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-syria-s-venice-biennale-pavilion-confronts-global-warming

http://www.bergamosera.com/cms/2015/05/05/venezia<iceberg<dacciaio<contro<le<grandi<navi/

Stuppere alla Biennale, spunta un maxi-iceberg in mezzo alla laguna

Iceberg nella laguna, opera di Helidon Xhixha alla 56 Biennale d'arte Un mastodontico iceberg in acciaio inox, di 4x3 metri che galleggia in mezzo alla laguna e 7 enormi pilastri verticali a rappresentare i ghiacciai da cui l’iceberg ha origine, per un incrocio terra-acqua di grande impatto visivo ed emotivo e un messaggio dal cuore ambientalista. Non manca di stupire l'opera di Helidon Xhixha, artista di origine albanese e italiano d’adozione, famoso per le sue sculture in acciaio inox lavorato con tecniche innovative. Sono due le sue opere inedite alla 56.ma Biennale d'Arte di Venezia, in programma dal 9 maggio al 22 novembre. Le installazioni verranno ospitate all’interno del padiglione della Repubblica Araba Siriana sull’isola di San Servolo. "Iceberg a Venezia" è un progetto che si propone di richiamare l’attenzione su temi di grande importanza: Venezia è un gioiello artistico prezioso, a rischio d’essere sommersa e perduta in uno scenario futuro di innalzamento dei mari; Venezia visitata da tutti, ma pure violata da tonnellate d’acciaio. E proprio a Venezia dunque, fra i suoi canali e le sue isole, e con l’acciaio, materia dei nostri tempi, Xhixha immagina e compie un evento sorprendente: torri di ghiaccio, freddo e metallico, si stagliano all’orizzonte. Le due opere che Helidon Xhixha esporrà alla Biennale rappresentano gli ultimi sviluppi della sua ricerca scultorea caratterizzata da una innovativa tensione monumentale e dall’elaborazione di forme e volumi che trasmettono una libera e potente vitalità espressiva sia attraverso un espandersi nello spazio dell’energia plastica interna sia attra¬verso la continua variazione degli effetti di luce sulle superfici esterne riflettenti. Le forme si sviluppano attraverso ondulazioni o piani spezzati, rilievi e rientranze con ben controllate configurazioni irregolari che possono sembrare determinate da cause naturali, ma anche con parti geometricamente 51

definite. Il grande blocco plastico irregolare di acciaio inox viene calato direttamente nell’acqua della laguna in modo che galleggi e si muova per l’azione delle onde e dell’aria (anche se ovviamente fissato con un ancoraggio) con una continua variazione di riflessi luminosi. L’altra opera che esporrà Helidon Xhixha ha caratteristiche decisamente più stabili, ma entrambe sono collegate nello stesso concetto. Si tratta di sette "pilastri" verticali di varia altezza che rappresentano i ghiacciai dai quali l’iceberg ha origine. Questa installazione, visibile all’esterno nell’isola di San Servolo, cattura sulle sue superfici specchianti visioni del contesto circostante della laguna e la varietà infinità dei riflessi luminosi e per certi versi fa da contrappunto ter¬restre e aereo all’altra installazione eminentemente "acquatica".

http://www.veneziatoday.it/eventi/mostre/iceberg<opera<helidon<xhixha<laguna<56<biennale<arte.html

DĂźster - mit Augenzwinkern

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/11/travel/venice<biennale<2015<opening/index.html 54

(KIKR) - VENEZIR - II padigIione deIIa RepubbIica Rraba Siriana è protagonista a BiennaIe Rrte 2015 grazie aI’artista itaIo-aIbanese HeIidon Zhixha, che ha creato un Iceberg in acciaio aIto tre metri che ha navigato tra Ie acque deIIa Iaguna di Venezia creando una originaIe scenografia. L’opera deII'artista è stata create per Ianciare I’aIIarme contro iI surriscaIdamento gIobaIe e Io sciogIimento dei ghiacciai. http://www.kikapress.com/gallery/56<biennale<arte<liceberg<di<xhixha/4

Foto dalla Biennale di Venezia Un iceberg in acciaio inox alto 3 metri realizzato dall'artista italo-albanese Helidon Xhixha, che l'8 maggio viaggerĂ per due ore tra le acque della laguna di Venezia (ANSA/ UFFICIO STAMPA)

http://www.ilpost.it/2015/05/07/biennale<venezia<foto/biennale<venezia<42/

OPERE SULL'ACQUA

BIENNALE: INSTALLAZIONI GALLEGGIANTI IN LAGUNA

L. SANFELICE 06/05/2015

grandi navi

04 maggio 2015 VENEZIA. Un evento spettacolare e irripetibile per la 56esima Biennale Arte di Venezia. Per il padiglione della Repubblica Araba Siriana, l'8 maggio, l'artista italo-albanese Helidon Xhixha farĂ apparire un gigantesco iceberg in acciaio inox alto 3 metri che viaggerĂ per due ore - le sole ore di vita dell'opera in questa forma - tra le acque della laguna di Venezia. L'iceberg, secondo la visione dell'artista, vuole essere un chiaro simbolo delle grandi navi turistiche che ogni giorno affollano il Canal Grande a Venezia, ma anche un'opera dal cuore ambientalista che lancia l'allarme contro il surriscaldamento globale e lo scioglimento dei ghiacciai. Alla fine del viaggio attraverso la laguna, l' iceberg si scomporrĂ sull'isola di San Servolo trasformandosi in enormi pilastri verticali in acciaio a rappresentare i ghiacciai da cui trae origine, che costituiranno l'installazione di Xhixha chiamata "Iceberg a Venezia" visitabile fino al 22 novembre al padiglione della Repubblica Araba Siriana. 58

Venezia.

Stock Photo - epa04738320 The sculpture 'Iceberg a Venezia' by ItalianAlbanese artist Helidon Xhixha, realized for the Syrian Republic pavillion at the 56th Biennale of Arts, is on display

Bienalja ka kohë që ka hapur edicionin e saj të radhës ndërsa Siria vjen në këtë bienale me konceptin "Origjina e civilizimit". Një skulpturë monumentale e quajtur "Iceberg", "Schegge" – instalacioni me 18 tulla vertikale, "Pillars of Light" – me shtylla të dritës që përfaqësojnë akullnajat e ajsbergut dhe "Four Elements" janë katër punët e artistit në këtë edicion të Bienales së Venecies. Artisti shqiptar Helidon Xhixha sivjet është në mesin e 11-të artistëve që do të përfaqsojnë Pavijonin e Sirisë në Bienalen e Venecias. Bienalja ka kohë që ka hapur edicionin e saj të radhës ndërsa Siria vjen në këtë bienale me konceptin "Origjina e civilizimit". Një skulpturë monumentale e quajtur "Iceberg", "Schegge" – instalacioni me 18 tulla vertikale, "Pillars of Light" – me shtylla të dritës që përfaqësojnë akullnajat e ajsbergut dhe "Four Elements" janë katër punët e artistit në këtë edicion të Bienales së Venecies. Xhixha thotë se me krijimet e tij synon të flasë mbi problemet e mjedisit dhe ngrohjen globale, përgjatë hapësirës në Venecia – qytet ky i cili ka probleme të mëdha në këtë fushë. Xhixha, i lindur në Durrës, është i njohur për punën e tij me

Un evento spettacolare e irripetibile animerà la 56esima Biennale Arte di Venezia. Per il padiglione della Repubblica Araba Siriana, l’8 maggio, l’artista italo-albanese Helidon Xhixha farà apparire un gigantesco iceberg in acciaio inox alto 3 metri che viaggerà per due ore tra le acque della laguna di Venezia. L’iceberg, secondo la visione dell’artista, vuole essere un chiaro simbolo delle grandi navi turistiche che ogni giorno affollano il Canal Grande a Venezia, ma anche un’opera dal cuore ambientalista che lancia l’allarme contro il surriscaldamento globale e lo scioglimento dei ghiacciai. Alla fine del viaggio attraverso la laguna, l’iceberg si scomporrà sull’isola di San Servolo trasformandosi in enormi pilastri verticali in acciaio a rappresentare i ghiacciai da cui trae origine, che costituiranno l’installazione di Xhixha “Iceberg a Venezia” visitabile fino al 22 novembre al padiglione della Repubblica Araba Siriana.

It’s that time again, when the countries that can afford it convene in Venice and try to out do each other at contemporary art. As the name suggests, the Venice Biennale takes place every two years and showcases some of the world’s hottest talent. Similar to the World’s fair, each country has their own pavilion to flog their art to the rest of the world. Bureaucracy and politics aside, this year’s installations are truly breathtaking. Below are the 10 countries that have caught our eye so far.

Other Countries Included:

Shqiptari përfaqëson Sirinë në Bienale Skulptura monumentale e quajtur ‘’Iceberg’’, ‘’Schegge’’- instalacioni me 18 tulla vertikale, ‘’Pillars of Light’’- me shtylla të dritës që përfaqësojnë akullnajat e ajsbergutdhe ‘’ Four Elements’’ janë katër veprat e artistit në këtë edicion të Bienales.

Artisti shqiptar Helidon Xhixha sivjet është në mesin e 11Otë artistëve që do të përfaqësojnë Pavijonin e Sirisë në Bienalën e Venecias. Bienalja ka kohë që ka hapur edicionin e saj të radhës ndërsa Siria vjen në këtë rast me konceptin ‘’Origjina e civilizimit’’. Skulptura monumentale e quajtur ‘’Iceberg’’, ‘’Schegge’’O instalacioni me 18 tulla vertikale, ‘’Pillars of Light’’O me shtylla të dritës që përfaqësojnë akullnajat e ajsbergut dhe ‘’ Four Elements’’ janë katër veprat e artistit në këtë edicion të Bienales. Krijimet e Xhixhës synojnë të flasë mbi problemet e mjedisit dhe ngrohjen globale përgjatë hapsirës në Venecia.Artisti Helidon Xhixha nga Durrësi është i njohur për punën e tij me përdorimin e çelikut dhe teknikave të tjera të reja.

Helidon Xhixha, shqiptari që dërgon Sirinë në Bienalen e Venecias