Solo exhibition in Venice
Located directly on the world-famous St Mark's Square in the vibrant lagoon city of Venice, the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana Museum presents the exhibition project ‘At Home Abroad’, a series of four consecutive solo exhibitions by important contemporary artists who, in keeping with the motto of the 60th Biennale Arte ‘Foreigners Everywhere’, artistically explore the theme of foreignness and being foreign.
St Mark's Square, Venice
The French artist and sculptor Bernar Venet, the German-Czech painter Jirí Dokoupil, the German painter Dietmar Brixy and the Austrian artist and sculptor Erwin Wurm were selected for this international exhibition series by chief curator Dirk Geuer, who is supported by a different curator for each exhibition. As 2024 will not only mark the 60th Biennale Arte, but also the 700th anniversary of the death of the Venetian Marco Polo, the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana with its collection of antique globes and maps (alongside the impressive collection of frescoes by Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese) is a special exhibition venue that perfectly combines both events thematically:
The ancient globes and early maps in the collection bear witness to expeditions to as yet unknown foreign territories with the aim of discovering and mapping them. Like Marco Polo, whose will is kept in the Biblioteca Marciana, the first explorers travelled on ships to discover the then unknown world and to familiarise themselves with the foreign terrain. They were the first ‘foreigners everywhere’.
Exhibition project "At Home Abroad"
The chosen title ‘At Home Abroad’ is therefore to be understood as an allusion to the end of the great voyages of discovery on Earth, but this does not rule out a possible new beginning elsewhere - be it in the universe or as an act of creation in the mind. Furthermore, the title also refers indirectly to the famous quote by Marco Polo: ‘I have not told half of what I have seen, because no one would have believed me’. The part that he left out of his travelogues is to be honoured with this exhibition series and filled in with various artistic positions.
Like a researcher who explores and investigates the outside world, artists also explore and investigate the world, albeit primarily the hidden one in the human soul. With the help of art, they too map entire regions of spiritual greatness and diversity, reveal the infinite dimensions of human imagination and make them visible to everyone through the creation of their works. As Marco Polo once did, the artists reveal only a fraction of what their inner eye has seen and present the viewer with a small section of a still unknown, often strange and exotic inner world.
Salone Sansoviniana, Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana
The exhibition ‘Description of the World’ by Dietmar Brixy
„The Description of the World"
Vernissage: Friday, 23 August 2024, at 5.00 pm
Welcome: Dr Stefano Trovato, Director of the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana
Curator: Dr Tayfun Belgin, Director Osthaus Museum Hagen
Venue: Monumental Rooms of the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, Piazza San Marco, 13 / a, 30124 Venice
The artist Dietmar Brixy will be present.
We cordially invite you to attend and ask you to register by 31 July at: office@afaip.de
Entire exhibition period: 24.08. - 21.09.2024
Please note that during the exhibition period, the historic Salone Sansoviniana can only be reached via the Museo Correr!
With the kind support of:
Fondazione Musei Civici Venezia
Marco Polo's book ‘The Description of the World’
The title of Marco Polo's book ‘The Description of the World’ gives Dietmar Brixy's exhibition its name. Like Marco Polo once did for his readers, Brixy wants to send visitors on a journey that explores the theme of ‘foreignness’ and the relationship between different cultures and identities.
Brixy's oil paintings from the "Happy", "Reflect" and "Journey" series of work and his tondi, the so-called "Bamboo Bubbles", will be on display, giving visitors a deep insight into his artistic work since 2020. In addition, works on paper from the "Eden" series will be exhibited in display cases, forming a link to the paper-based collection of the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana.
The highlight of the exhibition is a free-standing room installation in the form of an octagon, which reaches a height of 3 metres. Dietmar Brixy was inspired by an octagon ceiling painting by the famous Renaissance artist Titian, which is located directly above the installation. This interplay creates a timeless connection, merging the classical elegance of the Renaissance with the expressive vitality of modern art. Visitors can walk around the entire installation and view it from all sides.
Fascination for the unknown
The fascination for the unknown, wanderlust and the desire to discover the world have always been central themes in the history of art. Artists have always been inspired by travelling and encounters with the diversity of foreign cultures. Dietmar Brixy is also such a traveller, a seeker. His expeditions have taken him to various European countries, but also to Malaysia, Mexico, India, Bali, Thailand, the Seychelles and the USA. Over the years, he has developed his very own approach to capturing his experiences, adventures and perceptions in his works.
Journey, 2022, oil on canvas, 160 x 420 cm, Diptychon
Abstract landscapes reminiscent of fictional worlds
Abstract landscapes reminiscent of fictional worlds are central to Dietmar Brixy's visual language. These compositions are peppered with vibrant colours that look like a kaleidoscope. They symbolise the constant striving for the unattainable and the unknown, which prompts people to set off on journeys, to constantly make new discoveries and to accept the challenge of being a stranger among strangers. The multi-layered structures and forms in Dietmar Brixy's pictures immerse the viewer in a world that seems both strange and familiar. It is as if Brixy breaks through the boundaries of reality and captures the essence of travelling and discovery.
Almost unnoticed, Brixy draws the viewer deeper into his compositions, layer by layer. Like a curtain that is pulled aside, the dynamic areas of colour reveal a view of a delicate, shimmering centre. What for the artist represents the final level of design opens up access to the pictures for the viewer. A recurring motif in his more recent oeuvre is fig leaves, which are applied to the canvas dipped in diluted oil paint and later pulled out of the impasto layer of colour. The artist was inspired to do this on the Canary Island of La Palma. The striking elements serve as a representational motif and combine real nature with the abstract landscape.
Journey, 2023, oil on canvas, 240 x 180 cm
Tondi resemble the shape of a globe
The artist's tondi are remotely reminiscent of the shape of a globe that represents the world as a whole. The dynamic compositions symbolise the growth and decay of nature, its cycles and cycles. Like a globe showing the continents, oceans and the course of the earth's rotation, Brixy's works illustrate the eternal movement and permanent change of life, but also the diversity of the world, the variety of cultures and identities that flow together in a harmonious collage. It is as if the artist captures the essence of the universe and expresses it on canvas in the form of vibrant explosions of colour and natural ciphers. At the same time, these works are closely related to the globes and world maps from the collection of the Biblioteca Marciana presented in the Vestibolo and the neighbouring rooms of the Sale Monumentali, as well as to the circular ceiling paintings by the great Renaissance masters in the Salone Sansoviniana.
Tapestry Bamboo Bubble, 2023, oil on canvas, D 180 cm
Invitation to embark on a journey
Similar to the writings of Marco Polo, the works of artist Dietmar Brixy invite the viewer to engage with the world as a place of encounter, openness and togetherness. In a globalised world in which people are increasingly interconnected, the concept of the ‘foreigner’ and of ‘being foreign’ is subject to constant change. There are no clear boundaries or dividing lines in Brixy's works. Everything merges together.
This representation reflects the idea that we live in a time when the world has become a place of diversity and exchange and the idea of the ‘foreigner’ is visibly disappearing. Brixy's art calls us to question prejudices and stereotypes. It reminds us that we are all part of a global community and that the foreign should no longer be perceived as threatening or hostile, but that the encounter with the other must be understood as an opportunity to better understand ourselves. Dietmar Brixy invites the viewer to see the unity and connection in everything and to embark on a journey that lies deep within ourselves. Through his art, he shows us that the world is a place where we can all meet and inspire each other, regardless of our cultural or geographical differences.
About the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana
Founded in 1468, the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana in Venice is one of the largest and most important libraries in Italy. Its holdings include important collections of Greek, Latin and Oriental manuscripts. In total, the repository of knowledge houses over one million objects, including incunabula, prints, maps and around 13,000 manuscripts. The library's numerous historical treasures and precious items include the will of the famous Venetian adventurer and explorer Marco Polo and two editions of Homer's Iliad from the 11th and 12th centuries. The library also boasts magnificent ‘monumental halls’ with wall and ceiling paintings by Renaissance artists Titian, Veronese and Tintoretto. The former study and meditation room, where great scholars, brilliant strategists and crowned heads once sat, now houses exhibitions.
Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana
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„The Description of the World"
Vernissage: Friday, 23 August 2024, at 5.00 pm
Welcome: Dr Stefano Trovato, Director of the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana
Curator: Dr Tayfun Belgin, Director Osthaus Museum Hagen
Venue: Monumental Rooms of the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, Piazza San Marco, 13 / a, 30124 Venice
The artist Dietmar Brixy will be present.
We cordially invite you to attend and ask you to register by 31 July at office@afaip.de
Entire exhibition period: 24.08. - 21.09.2024
Please note that during the exhibition period, the historic Salone Sansoviniana can only be reached via the Museo Correr!
With the kind support of:
