Golden age: Fabrizio Plessi gilds Venice’s Museo Correr
![L’eta dell’oro by Fabrizio Plessi installation image](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/6vEbEoyoB5dnSyrvUmkDXJ-415-80.jpg)
Opening this week, to coincide with the first day of the Venice film festival, the site specific work ‘L’età dell’oro' by the pioneering Italian video artist Fabrizio Plessi, fills all 15 first floor windows of the facade of the Museo Correr, which takes up the whole of the western end of Piazza San Marco.
Sponsored by the House of Dior, the piece with its title translated as ‘The Golden Age', references the Venetian gilding of Byzantine mosaics. The artist hopes it will ‘raise the temperature’ in the city, slowly awakening from the profound effects of Covid-19.
Installation sketches by Fabrizio Plessi
The 15 panels of cascading liquid gold, in which appear the text ‘PAXI TI BI' meaning ‘Peace to you' in Latin, are accompanied by the sound of water and piano music written and performed by Michael Nyman. Plessi, the 80 year old artist, born in Reggio Emilia, often uses water and fire in his work, which he refers to as ‘focal points giving energy to our lives’.
He describes ‘L’età dell’oro' containing characteristics which are ‘fluid, elastic and movable’, that are central to Venice, the city that’s been his home for decades. Piazza San Marco is ‘a symphony of stone and harmony’ and this work, taking up a whole quarter of the facade of the Piazza, is in dialog with the tower of San Marco on the eastern side. A summer electrical storm that passed through Italy earlier this week left Piazza San Marco drenched, added a pleasing infinite reflection to the photos taken the night before the opening, serving further to emphasise the water in Plessi’s work.
‘L’età dell’oro', originally scheduled for May this year, proceeds Fabrizio Plessi’s upcoming retrospective at Palazzo Ca’Pesaro, also moved forward from its autumn opening and now postponed to the spring of 2021. Venice was in total lockdown between March and May, and only from the first week of June were Italians permitted to travel between regions and International visitors welcomed back. Most of us will remember unforgettable images of the eerily empty city. The cultural life of the city is very important, for residents, Italians and international visitors. Showing resilience, museums started to reopen from early June, initially just at the weekends.
This is a Covid-19 social distancing friendly installation, visible only from outside in the square. The official ‘opening’ or switching on earlier this week included an intimate cocktail seated outside at Caffé Florian. This is reminder that Venice is alive.
INFORMATION
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Also known as Picky Nicky, Nick Vinson has contributed to Wallpaper* Magazine for the past 21 years. He runs Vinson&Co, a London-based bureau specialising in creative direction and interiors for the luxury goods industry. As both an expert and fan of Made in Italy, he divides his time between London and Florence and has decades of experience in the industry as a critic, curator and editor.
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
‘Personal Structures’ in Venice is about ‘artists breaking free’
‘Personal Structures 2024: Beyond Boundaries’ reveals a rich tapestry of perspectives on the challenges of our time, from culture to climate and identity
By Nargess Banks Published
-
‘I just don't like eggs!’: Andrea Fraser unpacks the art market
Artist Andrea Fraser’s retrospective ‘I just don't like eggs!’ at Fondazione Antonio dalle Nogare, Italy, explores what really makes the art market tick
By Sofia Hallström Published
-
Kapwani Kiwanga considers value and commerce for the Canada Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2024
Kapwani Kiwanga draws on her experiences in materiality for the Canada Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale
By Hannah Silver Published
-
What’s the big deal with breasts, ask artists at the Venice Biennale
‘Breasts’ is set to open at ACP Palazzo Franchetti for the duration of the Venice Art Biennale 2024
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Triennale Milano exhibition spotlights contemporary Italian art
The latest Triennale Milano exhibition, ‘Italian Painting Today’, is a showcase of artworks from the last three years
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Walls, Windows and Blood: Catherine Opie in Naples
Catherine Opie's new exhibition ‘Walls, Windows and Blood’ is now on view at Thomas Dane Gallery, Naples
By Amah-Rose Abrams Published
-
Takashi Murakami and Ryan Murphy headline Wallpaper* November 2023
In the Wallpaper* November 2023 Art Special, discover Takashi Murakami’s pandemic-inspired creatures, producer Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood HQ, 20 years of Frieze and more, on newsstands today
By Sarah Douglas Published
-
A behind-the-scenes look at the Dior Photography and Visual Arts Award for Young Talents
We travel to Arles for the Dior Photography and Visual Arts Award for Young Talents, with photographer Dexter Navy
By Mary Cleary Published