photograph by Manfredi Bellati
Arsenale Nuovissimo - Spazio Thesis 107 and 108 – Jan Fabre. Jan Fabre’s new work series From the Feet to the Brain, until September 20th, represent an important step in his work development. With five room-filling sculptural tableaus, Fabre created a mythical world of horror, beauty, and metamorphosis that was hardly conceivable in conventional artistic terms and constantly alternated between reality and dream. The installation follows the layout of the human body. Five exhibition levels with metaphoric titles borrowed from different zones of the body – starting with the feet in the basement and ending with the brain on the upper level – created a gesamtkunstwerk of mysterious complexity.
Above: The Brain. From a wooden balcony inspired by Flemish staircases Fabre offers a view of a timeless battlefield with 4 trenches leading to one big crater. In this crater we discover the skinless head of a giant. On this head stands the artist, presenting himself as a Lilliputian, digging his way through the brain, discovering not only the structural physiognomy of the face but the terra incognita of the brain. Whereas sex represents the force of the artist’s creative potential, the brain is the place where it happens. This is why Fabre regards the brain as “the most sexy part of the body.”
photograph courtesy La Biennale
Arsenale Nuovissimo - Tesa 89 – Unconditional Love. Unconditional Love is a collateral event of the Biennale and is being held in the brand new space, Arsenale Nuovissimo, until November 5th. The exhibition was organized by Buro 17 and presents a spectrum of artistic approaches to defining the essence of unbridled love. Curated by Alexandrina Markvo, Alinda Sbragia, and Christina Steinbrecher who have chosen artists from various countries and generations to trigger a spontaneous and surprising dialogue between artworks. Unconditional Love is dedicated to the egoism and the irony of love. The exhibition explores the word, and its forms of expression are in relation to the emotional and physical states of the individual, as well as those of the masses.Above: The Feast of Trimalchio, video (digital animation) by AES+F, 2009