It was the second decade of the twentieth century which saw the beginning of the revolution which would catapult Western art out of its own tradition, away from a concern with technical dexterity and verisimilitude. Like a snake burrowing into the sand to then slowly re-emerge with a new skin, art too periodically changes appearance, its mode of being and acting. In a relatively short time, visual art has changed entirely, just like the ship of the Argonauts which, during the course of its voyage, lost each of the parts that had originally constituted the vessel.Fragment after fragment, art has become other than itself and yet maintained its overall identity. One hundred years after the beginning of this great change, it has become a world of sounds, tactile sensations, events and often ephemeral materials. The simple definitions of ‘painting’ and sculpture are no longer adequate. Other categories have had to be devised: performance, installation, video, landscape art, and so on. Paradoxically, in spite of the difficulties in comprehension that this dramatic change has caused, the public no longer sees contemporary art as something alien to themselves; they search it out, want to learn about it, listen to it.
So let's allow the works themselves to take on voice. Not all can be understood or explained, but let’s allow these works to tell us what they can through the words of interpreters and authors. A series of sculptures, installations and works in the Pinault collection can thus be “interrogated”, given the opportunity to answer questions regarding the world of sense and significance that they inhabit.
Angela Vettese
Free entry for :
- the residents of Venice, on presentation of an ID Card
- the Membership Card of Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana holders
- all students of the University Ca 'Foscari, IUAV of Venice and Accademia delle Belle Arti on presentation of their student card.
