Fondaco Marcello - Not Only Biennale
Wallace Chan - Titans: A Dialogue between materials, space and time
At the Fondaco Marcello, until October 31, Chinese multidisciplinary artist Wallace Chan's first major sculpture exhibition entitled Titans: A dialogue between materials, space and time, curated by James Putnam features a series of large-scale titanium and iron sculptures.
A Dialogue Between Materials and Time - 1 - 2020
"I Juxtaposed titanium and iron beams and gave them faces and shapes so that they would stand as something monumental and poetic. The iron beams will rust in a few hundred years. The titanium will outlive the iron beams. Both materials will outlive me. My time, and the lifespan of iron and titanium are measured against one another. Time is at once terribly short yet interminably long. It encompasses everything.'
Wallace Chan
The free-standing sculpture series, A Dialogue between Materials and Time, explores the juxtaposition between lightness and durability of titanium and iron's weightiness and susceptibility to corrosion. With the russet, oxidised iron making a striking contrast to the titanium's polished silver surface, the materials evoke the passage of time, since iron will eventually rust away while the titanium could last for eternity.
A Dialogue Between Materials and Time - III - II - 2020
"The combination of the free-standing sculptures and site-specific installation reveal Chan's fascination with perception and the refraction of light and, in this context, the unique quality of 'Venetian light' - the wonderful reflection of the sun on the water that inspired the great Venetian Renaissance painters.
James Putnam
curator
Nicola Verlato and James Putnam
A Dialogue Between Materials and Time - V - 2020
Visitors can also see a new art film, entitled The Art of Materials, about Chan's extraordinary life and work by the award winning director, Martina Margaux Cozzi. A virtual tour, interviews and behind-the-scenes contents are also available online on Wallace Chan's website.
The Art of Materials - film still
Martina Margaux Cozzi
A Dialogue Between Materials and Time - XIII - 2020
Francesco da Mosto and Bianca Arrivabene Valenti Gonzaga