Estefania Valls Urquijo - Myths

(Venice, Italy) Last year, Estefania Valls Urquijo told me her dream was to have her work displayed in Venice during Carnevale. She said she had created cats with wings, which immediately caught my attention, since I am very interested in cats, especially if they have wings.

True to her vision, somehow Estefania has transported her mystical sculptures from Guatemala to Venice and into the Primo Piano Venice Art Gallery. Perhaps the pagan cats with wings flew here on their own, and the silver boats with mythical mastheads sailed through the air. However she did it, Valls Urquijo is one of the most exciting artists to arrive in La Serenissima in a long time.

The creatures she captures live in another world. She allows them to visit earth through the tips of her fingers, solidifying their essence into ceramic and precious metals. They gaze into a mirror at their own reflection, trying to understand who and where they are. Estefania says, "Sometimes they scare me, and I wonder where they came from, these unique entities with so much strength and animation."

Estefania describes her process:

As a historical reference, my sculptures represent a fusion of elements, forms and symbols. Most utilize the zoomorphic form, exemplifying a single animal but with the strength of several different animals, to be worshiped in pagan ceremonies.

Working in glazed ceramic, I usually create a series of up to seven or eight small and one or two large pieces, using the same mold but different enamels and finishes, later adding hair, feathers, fabrics, glass and metal. Most pieces have a unique base, specifically designed to match the sculpture.

Small sculptures are made through a plaster mold, obtained from a plasticine original. Each piece is cast in liquid clay, remaining hollow inside, first baked in bisque, then baked again with the enamel. All enamels are processed at low temperatures.

Large sculptures are made with an iron skeleton covered with ceramic pieces, handmade on the skeleton itself, obtaining the final form as the pieces are added. 

Estefenia has also created some silvery ships that can whisk your spirit off on a journey through space and time to a dimension where no harm exists; the mastheads mounted on the front of the boats keep you safe. (In the photo at the very top of the page, you can see Estefenia Valls Urquijo looking into the eyes of one of her mastheads.)

I was amazed at how much work was involved in each sculpture, and the fine quality of the elements she used, from the precious metals to the glass. I imagined Estefenia laboring over the glass, the metal bases and frames, molding the ceramics, sprinkling on feathers and pressing on fabrics, and it seemed overwhelming. She told me she loves to work, and if she had her way, that all she would do was work. 

In my estimation, she is priced too low for all the talent, imagination, material and effort she has put into her art (not to mention the transportation:), and I strongly recommend visiting the Primo Piano Venice Art Gallery and making an investment in the artist, Estefenia Valls Urquijo.

Ciao from Venice,
Cat
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog

Lino Tagliapietra, Master of the Glass in Venice

Angel Tear by Lino Tagliapietra

(Venice, Italy) Lino Tagliapietra thinks in glass. His thoughts are beautiful and complex, and we have the great privilege of seeing those thoughts solidified in glass, a material created by the gods themselves when lightning strikes the earth.  

There was not room to stand at the opening of Maestro Lino Tagliapietra's retrospective entitled Lino Tagliapietra. Da Murano allo Studio Glass. Opere 1954 - 2011 on Saturday morning, February 19, 2011 at the prestigious Istituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere ed Arti. 

 

After witnessing myself the glass blown with breath from the heavens, it was easy to understand why so many people were drawn. It seems impossible for a human being to be able to create objects so intricate and full of wonder, but Tagliapietra is proof it can be done. Now in his late 70s, he is only becoming better with age. 

 

Born on the glass-blowing island of Murano, as a child Lino did not want to go to school. He wanted to learn about glass. So, when he was ten-years-old, over the protests of his parents, he quit going to regular school, and entered into a different, magical classroom -- he became an apprentice in the World of Glass. From the Maestro's website:

One of the world's most eminent living glass artists, Lino Tagliapietra was born in1934 on the island of the centuries-old center for Venetian glassmaking, Murano.  At the age of eleven, he was apprenticed to the glass studio of the internationally known Muranese master, Archimede Seguso, and achieved the rank of maestro by age twenty-one.  He later worked as master glassblower and designer at other glass studios, including Galliano Ferro, Venini, La Murrina, and Effetre International.

I gasped at the first piece on display, which was a cabinet filled with 98 small objects -- a vase, pitcher, cup, etc.--  that seemed to be made from glittering gold. I thought, could this be avventurina? I looked at the description, and sure enough, it was! Years ago I had written about Murano and its fascinating glass for the International Herald Tribune - Italy Daily, and knew how difficult avventurina was to create. The name itself "avventurina" comes from the Venetian word "ventura" because you went on an adventure every time you set out to create the glass. The Maestro's avventurina work was just born this year, and since the year is not even two months old yet, it would appear Lino Taliapietra has been keeping himself busy. 

Taliapietra lives on Murano, but creates his large pieces in the United States in his workshop in Seattle, where he works with an American team. His generosity in sharing his glass-blowing secrets with the outside world is renown, and he is credited with reviving the art. 

One of my favorite pieces was called "Angel Tear," which is the image you see at the very top of the page. Here is what Lino Tagliapietra says about creating those pieces:

ANGEL TEAR Colored glass cane, twisted filigree, approaching from another angle - these are only technical terms that give me a way to describe working with glass.  These terms don't capture the feeling that comes with creating a piece such as Angel Tear.  The "lacrime d'angelo" were tears of joy.  They were such a pleasure to blow, bringing me intimate satisfaction breath after breath.  One might say that all works of art should have this spirit and the same energy.  This is true.  But this time, I became very attached to these Angel Tears.  The name seemed to grow with me.

The exhibition starts in 1954 when the Maestro was only twenty-years-old with a perfect red goblet perched alone on a white wall. As the years progress, so does his work, the spirit of the times reflected in the glass. If that is true, it is very good news for planet Earth because Lino Taliapietra's latest works seem to have originated in Heaven itself. 

Don't miss this exhibition. 

Ciao from Venice,
Cat
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog

LINO TAGLIAPIETRA
From Murano to Studio Glass.
Works 1954 – 2011
19 February – 22 May 2011 Venice,
Istituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere ed Arti.
Palazzo Cavalli Franchetti
Campo Santo Stefano 2842 -
30124 Venice
l. +39 041 5237819

Tuesday to Sunday  10 am – 7 pm (ticket office closes at 6 pm)
Closed Monday

Individual tickets: 7.00 euros
Reductions: 5.00 euros for students, groups of more than 15, residents of and those born in the
Comune di Venezia, holders of special concessions, over 70s.
Free children up to the age of 14, one leader for each group, disabled people, their carers, two
teachers per class, university lecturers.
Reservation fee 1.50 euro

Tony Cragg in 4D in Venice & Meran

Tony Cragg

 

(Venice & Meran, Italy) Tony Cragg, the sculptor, does not work with trees. He feels them too strongly, and cannot bear to cut into them."But what about dead trees?" I asked. "Killed by lightning?" No, not even dead trees. Their essence is still too strong. 

 

However, Tony Cragg, who has been christened "one of the most important sculptors of our times," does work with bronze, glass, steel, stone, fiberglass, plastic and more. There is something spiritual about his work -- he can capture the "spirit" inside the material. 

 

Tony Cragg

Before I met him, I did not think that plastic had a spirit. I am still not sure it does. I don't really like plastic. I don't like the way it feels, and I don't like to eat or drink from containers made from plastic, nor do I like plastic forks and spoons.

 

However, akin to Cragg, I am not capable of killing living trees. But I am perfectly fine with chopping up a dead tree killed by lightning, and I relish burning wood inside a cozy fireplace.

 

Tony Cragg

Tony Cragg is a true artist who seems to be able to discover the spirit of molecules themselves, no matter what the material is. He cuts down to the nitty gritty.

 

He taught me something. I have always had a problem with material objects -- actually with the material world in general. I said, jokingly, that maybe I should switch careers and become a sculptor so I could get a better feel for material. 

Cragg said that I am already working with material objects. He said I need a pen and a paper, or a computer, or something to write down my thoughts, otherwise they are just inside my head. And, of course, he is right.  The keyboard that I am typing on right now, to me, feels like a piano that makes music out of words.

 

Slot canyon in Arizona

Cragg's work reminds me of slot canyons in Arizona and hoodoos and fairy castles in Bryce Canyon, Utah where Nature herself created a wonderland of Gothic steeples and people made out of stone. Tony Cragg is like a male Mother Nature in human form, replacing tools of wind, water and ice with a hammer and an imposing will. 

The Chessmen, Bryce Canyon

I was at the opening of Tony Cragg in 4D in Venice on August 28, 2010 at Ca' Pesaro, and by sheer serendipity at the opening of Tony Cragg in 4D in Meran six months later on Saturday, February 12, 2011.

Venice and Meran happen to be my two favorite towns in Italy. When I am not in Venice, you can find me in Meran, which is part of Bolzano, an autonomous province

 

Meran (in German) or Merano (in Italian) is a magical spa town in South Tyrol where the Austrian Empress Elizabeth used to go for her health, embraced by the roaring Alpine water and majestic mountains. Both Italian and German languages are spoken. 

 

Empress Sisi "a non-conformist who abhorred conventional court protocol" was beautiful and much beloved; she has become an icon; she has a little park with a statue; there are promenades named after the walks she took across the roaring river, past castles and through the trees. She reminds me of Princess Diana, but stronger. Empress Sisi was assassinated on September 10, 1898 at age 60.

Serendipity

Villa San Valentino

Serendipity brought me to Meran for Tony Cragg's exhibit. A couple of years ago, when I was staying in a nearby castle, I had fallen in love with a contemporary house under construction. I used to sneak inside and wander around, imaging how it would turn out when it was finished.

A couple of weeks ago, I went up to Merano to feel the earth beneath my feet and go to the spa. I hadn't been up to Merano since the morning of July 17, 2009, and in my absence, the house had been completed. 

 

I stood, staring at it, amazed, just gawking. An enchanting woman was outside the house at the same time, watching my astonishment. It turned out that she was the owner, and she invited me, a total stranger, inside. We discovered that we knew common angels (like the spirits of trees, angels, too, can feel each other wherever they go:), and I was kindly invited to the Tony Cragg opening in Meran by the director of KunstMeran/Merano Arte, Herta Wolf Torggler. 

Ca' Pesaro

When I arrived at the opening, I was surprised to see another angel, Michela Rizzo, up from Venice. I then remembered:

Curated by Silvio Fuso and Jon Wood, the exhibition is a co-production by Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia and KunstMeran/Merano Arte, where it will be on display from 5 February to 28 May 2011, curated by Valerio Dehò, in collaboration with Galleria Michela Rizzo and Caterina Tognon Arte Contemporanea, Venice

Kunst Meran Merano Arte

The difference in the spaces was dramatic, so it was like seeing two different shows. Ca' Pesaro is an enormous ancient palace, and the Kunst Meran Merano Arte is a modern exhibition space. Each show offered its unique perspective. Sculptures that seemed large at the Kunst Meran seemed small at Ca' Pesaro; the crowd of people at the Kunst Meran had to pause and be directed inside several of the rooms; the crowd at Ca' Pesaro simply flowed. I didn't prefer one over the other, they were just different. Click HERE to go to Kunst Meran Merano Arte.

 

 

At Dinner with Tony Cragg

 

At dinner, I found myself seated directly across from Tony Cragg in the restaurant at the Hotel Terme Meran. We chatted. I summed up my story about how I arrived in Venice: "Came for three months to write. Didn't want to go back to LA. Got divorced. Came quickly back to Venice. Ex-husband quickly married a Chinese woman." 

 

As I usually do, I asked Tony Cragg what his astrological sign was. He is one of those people who "doesn't believe in that." He said he had no idea. I said, "Well, when is your birthday?" He said, "April 9th." I said, "You are an Aires and you have the same birthday as my second husband, the one who married the Chinese woman."

Tony Cragg: photo by Hugo Glendinning

From the New York Times, an article by Roderick Conway Morris, Inventing a New Visual Language:

“During the last hundred years sculpture has been utterly transformed,” added Mr. Cragg, a British artist known for his adventurous use of both natural and man-made materials. “It has developed from being almost entirely figurative into a fundamental study of the material world. Sculpture has discovered so many new materials, so many new themes.”

To read the entire article, click HERE. 

The Hotel Therme Meran restaurant had prepared a special Tony Cragg menu featuring excellent local wines from the Kellerei Kaltern winery and food like "Mignons vom Schweinslendchen im Speckmantel Auf Kartoffelschnee mit Rosmarin und Wirsingrauten."  

 

At the end of the night, Tony Cragg signed my menu:

"For Cat. Great Evening! Don't forget 9 April."

Ciao from Venice,
Cat
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog

#VeniceBooks: Venetian Books: Secret Venice - Pappe Magiche - Unbuilt Venice - Venice is a Fish

(Venice, Italy) Back when I used to write for the International Herald Tribune's Italian supplement, Italy Daily, part of my job was to discover "secrets" of Venice. So, when Tom Jonglez told me that he was publishing Secret Venice, I thought, oh, not another "secret" guidebook.

Now that I actually have the book in my hands, however, I must declare that Thomas Jonglez and Paola Zoffoli have found plenty of new secrets, many that I did not know at all.

Secret Venice

For example, I was flipping through the Secret Venice guide and "The Blessing of the Throats" caught my eye. A friend and I had been speaking a few days before about how we remembered getting our throats blessed when we were children, and how magical that was.

Then in Secret Venice, I read: 'Once a year in the depths of winter -- on 3 February, the feast day of St. Blaise -- an amazing ceremony of benediction takes place here. After the day's two masses, holy bread is blessed and distributed; the priest also performs a special benediction, holding two candles crossways over each person's throat and reciting the words: "Through the intercession of St. Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from the ailments of the throat and from every other evil, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost."'

I grew excited. By serendipity, February 3 was the next day! And I certainly could use protection for my throat, not to mention Every Other Evil. I decided to go down to the Church of San Biago the next morning and see if the guidebook was accurate. I am happy to report, not only did I get my throat blessed, I also got some holy bread that I ate later for lunch.

From Jonglez Publishing:

Discover the secrets of St. Mark’s Basilica with not a tourist in sight, finally crack the mystery of the pillars around the Doge’s Palace, take a trip on the only underground canal in Venice in search of the alchemical sculpture of the winged horse, have lunch at a restaurant tucked away in a lagoon fisherman’s house, track down Teriaca, that miracle potion brewed in Venice from time immemorial, decode the paintings of the Scuola di San Rocco applying the principles of the Jewish Kabbalah and see how Kabbalistic music influenced the construction of San Francesco della Vigna, visit an unknown underground cemetery, stroll through unsuspected gardens beyond the gates of palazzos and monasteries, admire the extraordinary forgotten library of the Venice Seminary, sleep in a sublime bedroom concealed within a palazzo, go shopping in Giudecca women’s prison market, play petanque in the heart of the city, retreat to a wonderful lakeside monastery, away from the crowds…

Five years of research have gone into the compilation of this exceptional guide, an opportunity for all who love Venice, as well as Venetians themselves, to leave the beaten track far behind and rediscover the most extraordinary city in the world.

Click HERE to go Jonglez Publishing.

Pappe Magiche

On Saturday, February 5 Carmela Cipriani had a launch for her latest book over at the Primo Piano Venice Art Gallery. Pappe Magiche, or "Magical Meals" is a Venetian cookbook for kids, complete with whimsical stories written by Carmela.

Carmela, of course, is the daughter of Arrigo Cipriani, the owner of the renowned Harry's Bar. The presentation of Pappe Magiche was linked to the opening of Guglielmo Meltzeid's latest show at Primo Piano, I bei sogni dei bambini (The Beautiful Dreams of Children).

The gallery was packed with kids clutching balloon animals, listening to Carmela read outloud, and then, as kids do, running around like maniacs in front of the gallery.

The book is in Italian, but it is simple to read, and the recipes are clever enough for grownups!

Click HERE to go Carmela's publisher, Sperling & Kuper.

Unbuilt Venice

Back in January, there was a dinner discussion about an article in la Repubblica about a relatively new book about Palladio called Unbuilt Venice by Antonio Foscari, who is a professor of architecture at the Università Iuav di Venezia here in town, a member of the Board of Directors at the Louvre, as well as owning one of the most famous Palladian villas in the world. I said I was fascinated by all things Palladio, and they got me a copy of the article. 

The article stated, "Still celebrated and copied all over the world -- exhibitions were held to celebrate his 500 year anniversary in Vicenza, London, Madrid, and New York -- last month Palladio was called 'the father of American architecture" by the United States Congress.'


In the article, Professor Foscari said, "There isn't a house in Texas with a porch, a gable or a facade that doesn't connect to Palladio." He also stated, "Building homes on the indefensible  Venetian mainland, where there were castles, is a revolutionary act: its impact, in the middle of the sixteenth century, completely transformed the territory. Palladio was a man deeply rooted in history. He was the executor of an innovative policy of the Republic of Venice. Today it is not understood clearly enough how it was time for a modern country house with its open lodges. The Palladian house became the center of agricultural production." 

Then, at another dinner, a man at the table started speaking again about the same article. Again I said how fascinated I was about Palladio, and that I had the article. The man speaking said, "I wrote the book." I said, "Which book?" He replied, "Unbuilt Venice. I wrote it." I said, "You are Antonio Foscari?" And he said, yes. I was stunned. I said, "It is such an honor to sit at the same table with you!" I have to confess that I then jumped up and down and behaved like a total groupie before I calmed down and finished my meal. 

I have yet to get my hands on a copy of the book, but here is the blurb from the Harvard Book Store website:


After the successful conclusion of the centenary celebrations of Andrea Palladio's birth, there are still many unanswered questions about his work. Antonio Foscari retraces Andrea Palladio's life and offers new perspectives on the architects built and unbuilt work. The author reveals an image of Venice that differs from the one we all know: a city that projects herself into the modern age by abandoning the accepted principles of late medieval culture that had so profoundly influenced its formation.


Click HERE to go to the Harvard Book Store.

Venice Is a Fish

Venice is a Fish, subtitled A Sensual Guide by Tiziano Scarpa is not a new book, but it's one I recently stumbled upon. Scarpa is Venetian, and captures the essence of the city as only a Venetian can:

"Venice is crammed full of ghosts. Writers and directors have smelt them everywhere."

""Venice is encrusted with imagination. Its stones creak beneath an impressive pile of apparitions. There isn't another place in the world that could bear all that visionary tonnage on its shoulders." 

"Put on very dark sunglasses: protect yourself. Venice can be lethal. In the historic centre the aesthetic radioactivity is extremely high. Every angle radiates beauty, apparently shabby: profoundly devious, inexorable."

"...the true flavour of Venice isn't sweetness. If you want to test its character, you must go into a bàcaro, a kind of inn. They are fewer and fewer in number these days. You'll find the highest concentration of them in the calli near the Rialto market. I'm not going to tell you what they're called because I've decided that in this book I'm not going to name a single hotel, restaurant, bar or shop. Partly out of impartiality, partly because we Venetians jealously guard our secrets; we don't like to give away those few places that the tourists haven't yet discovered. So take it as a challenge, a treasure hunt."

"But I promised you practical advice. Is it true that in Venice people make love outdoors, on every street corner?" And then: "In the historic centre, try to find a hiding place from which you can make a dignified and hastily dissembling exit at any moment as if nothing happened. Unless yours is an exhibitionist, brazen love that thrives on risk: but in that case you don't need my advice, and you won't feel intimidated wherever you go."

The English translation by Shaun Whiteside is a little awkward at times, but that is a problem many translators have, capturing the rhythm and the utterly different way of phrasing an idea unique to Venetians. (Also Whiteside is from County Tyrone in Northern Ireland, where they have their own idiosyncrasies when it comes to the English language, which might make it sound odd to American ears -- but there is nothing like an Irishman to capture the poetry.) Scarpa describes how Venetians play soccer, and, to me, it's also how they write, and do many other things:

"Do what we call 'acting Venetian': after the war the phrase alluded to our football team, 'doing the Venetian', 'doing a Venice'. Our footballers had an exasperating, selfish style of play, always with the ball at their feet, loads of dribbling and hardly any passing, a limited vision of the game.

Of course they did: they'd grown up in that varicose whirlpool of alleyways, little streets, sharp turns, bottlenecks. So obviously, even when they took to the field in shorts and jerseys, they went on seeing calli and campielli -- streets and squares -- everywhere, and struggled to disentangle themselves from a private labyrinthine hallucination between the midfield and the penalty area."

I read the reviews up on Amazon on both the US and UK sites, and was surprised (but not really) by how many people did not really "get" it. All I can say is that if you don't really get it, you don't really get Venice. I am pleased, however, that Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review.

Click HERE to go to Amazon USA.
Click HERE to go to Amazon UK.

Ciao from Venice,
#VeniceBooks
Cat Bauer
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog