Long before the era of museum commissions and massive exhibitions, the Catholic Church was at the center of the European art world. Renaissance patrons, eager to curry favor with the powerful papacy and show off their wealth, poured their money into lavish paintings and sculptures given as gifts to the church, and artists made a living depicting Biblical scenes and characters. A version of this system can be seen today in Venice, at San Giorgio Maggiore in Italy, a divine cathedral designed by architect Andrea Palladio and built between 1566 and 1610. During the 61st Venice Biennale, San Giorgio Maggiore opens its doors to the public to view two collections of artwork: newly restored paintings by Renaissance master Tintoretto and The Shape of Time, a career-spanning exhibition by American sculptor Barry X. Ball is inspired by the role of religion in art and the history of classical art as viewed in a contemporary context.
After a short journey across the Venetian lagoon, one reaches the front steps of the storied basilica, which, in addition to housing a functioning Benedictine monastery predating Palladio’s construction, invites artists to display their works in the grand cloister; Previous collaborators include Luc Tuymans, Ai Weiwei, and Michelangelo-Pistoletto/” title=”Michelangelo Pistoletto” class=”company-link”>Michelangelo Pistoletto. Curated by Bob Nikas, “The Shape of Time” matches the grandeur of the cathedral with Paul’s classically inspired designs, high-tech studio techniques and luxurious materials, including onyx, rare marble, chrome and gold. Paint that shimmers in a way that matches the splendor This old church dates back to the Renaissance era The crowned pope, reflected (2013-24), a magnificent and somewhat impenetrable base of Mexican agate and gold-plated scaffolding reflected on a mirrored base. Although it lacks some of the deeper meaning of the show’s other 22 works, it sets the tone for a group of contemporary works sure to delight Renaissance patrons and popes.
In a side hall connecting the basilica and the treasury, Paul displays ten of his works Medardo Rosso Project (2012-), a series highlighting the artist’s artistic excellence and his ability to reinterpret art history. Starting with 3D scans of works by Italian sculptor Medardo Rosso (1858-1928), he abstracted the originals, relying on the shadows and innate qualities of the stone to create the image. Take the ball statue Sick child (2013-22): Based on Rousseau’s bronze cast Child illness (1893-1895), the bust shows a child with an upturned gaze and a small delicate bronze “halo” created at the vertical seam of the caster – a signature flourish in Rousseau’s work that also appears in many of Boole’s portrait busts. Ball Sick child The sculptures highlight the mysterious and incomplete nature of Child illness By embracing the distinctive texture of “wounded” Mexican opal, creating childlike features with the natural imperfections on the stone’s surface. in The baby at the breast (2013-19), The Distinctive Features of Rousseau toddler (1889-90) became legible only through the shadows cast on the golden rocky calcite surface.
The Treasury of San Giorgio Maggiore contains three works displaying one of Paul’s main motifs: the Buddha. Three Buddha figures —Buddha (2018-25) and duo Hermes Buddha reversed (2018-23) – They are oriented towards the center of the room and looking at each other. Buddha It was framed by Palma il Giovanni Presentation of Jesus Christ in the templeoil on canvas from the late 16th century. It is one of the only instances where the Catholic Church allows Buddhist images in its buildings, and this mix of religious images reflects “the cross-cultural ecumenism that runs through the show…we have Christianity, Judaism, Islam and the Abrahamic religions, which extends into Buddhism,” Paul tells the Observer. Another work that explores this relationship between different religious beliefs is that of Paul Beta (2011-22), shown in the right wing of the basilica. Based on Michelangelo Rondanini Pieta (1555), Boole’s copy is both a tribute to the Italian master and a reflection of the ambiguity of the original work, which was thought to have been completed in the last days of the artist’s life. this Beta It is rough and sad, the emotions heightened by Paul’s use of alternating soft surface textures and Mary’s pained posture. During an exclusive tour, Paul said that in addition to replacing the face of Jesus with that of an elderly Michelangelo, one of his major interventions in the original work was a newly designed and built base incorporating images of “pagan” folklore. Paul also told the Observer that he is proud that many of these works are carved from Iranian onyx, a tribute to the Iranian craftsmen who have been the source of the artist’s raw materials throughout his career and are now embroiled in a feverish struggle.
Another figure who rises to Michelangelo’s place in The Shape of Time is that of Pope St. John Paul II, whose image is the centerpiece of the sculptural work presented in the wood-panelled choir behind the church’s high altar. It can be said that the focus of the exhibition, Pope Saint John Paul II (2012-24) is a larger-than-life bust of the late Pope. Swirling tendrils of gold, silver, aluminum and steel form its face and miter. Although impressive in scope and sheer craftsmanship, precious metals Pope Saint John Paul II It is out of place among other onyx and marble sculptures – not only in the medium, but also in the way Paul extracts forms from the stone with intact natural qualities. The delicate balance of the ball between the artist’s hand and the beauty of nature is lost, overtaken by the showmanship of the studio.
surrounding Pope Saint John Paul II It is a tribute to the man who feels most in tune with Paul’s decades-long practice. The pseudo-collection of Giuseppe Panza (1998-2001) is a series of nine realistic sculptures of the Panza Emeritus, the famous Italian art patron who, before his death in 2010, amassed an impressive collection of Paul’s sculptures. Each is a slightly different size, carved from polished Macedonian marble, the nine heads arranged facing a semicircle Pope Saint John Paul II. Arguably one of the last Italian art collectors who could match the rigor of his Renaissance counterparts, it is fitting that Panza is also depicted in The Shape of Time as a patron saint, a link between past and present, and perhaps most importantly, the secular and the sacred.
“Barry x Paul”Form of timeIt is on display at the Basilica di San Giorgio Maggiore during the Venice Biennale.
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