Danh Vo, Isamu Noguchi, Park Seo-Bo

Coinciding with the opening of the 59th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, Fondazione Querini Stampalia in collaboration with White Cube present from Wednesday April 20, 2022, a major exhibitioncurated by the artist Danh Vo and Chiara Bertola, Curator of Contemporary Art Program at the museum.

The exhibition poses a dialogue between Danh Vo’s practice and works by Park Seo-Bo (1931), credited as being the father of the ‘Dansaekhwa’ movement, and the American acclaimed sculptor, architect, designer and scenographer Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988).

The exhibition project entirely embraces the space of the historical palace once inhabited by the Venetian noble family Querinis, who lived there for generations, accumulating collections of objects, books and above all works of art that were bequeathed to the city with the birth of the foundation in 1869.

Known for his sensitivity to space and time, and both personal and collective history, Vo has been invited to navigate with his own vision the Fondazione’s labyrinthine layout, which comprises ancient rooms flanked with contemporary elements, in a constant journey through centuries.

Describing it as a ‘large sculpture’ which can be newly encountered and staged, the artist will punctuate the spaces of Querini palace by creating gentle interventions with Noguchi’s signature Akari lamps hung alongside his own works, some of which were conceived at his studio and farm in Güldenhof, north of Berlin. Also featured are works from Park’s renowned ‘Écriture’ series, featuring paintings inextricably linked to notions of time, space and material.

The exhibition is part of the long-time program Conservare il futuro conceived and curated by Chiara Bertola for Fondazione Querini Stampalia, where contemporary artists are invited to dialogue with the Fondazione spaces and to let them inspire new forms of expression – encouraging a living experimentation.