Parallel to the Biennale Arte 2024 – 60th International Art Exhibition in Venice 24 August to 21 September 2024 – Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana
With his solo exhibition “The Description of the World“, dwhich will be shown from 24 August to 21 September parallel to the Biennale Arte 2024 in the magnificent Salone Sansoviniano of the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana on Piazza San Marco, the German artist Dietmar Brixy explores the theme of “foreignness”, moving between cultures and identities. Marco Polo’s famous work “The Description of the World” gives its name to the exhibition, which is accessed via the Museo Correr. The collection of antique globes and world maps as well as the will of Marco Polo, the 700th anniversary of whose death falls this year, provide an exciting platform in the state rooms of the Biblioteca Marciana for Brixy’s oil paintings from the “Happy”, “Reflect” and “Journey” series as well as his tondi, the so-called “Bamboo Bubbles”, which take up the shape of the globes and captivate with true explosions of colour and organic forms inspired by nature.
The highlight of the exhibitionis a 3 metre high room installation in the shape of an octagon, which immerses visitors in an immersive experience. Brixy was inspired by the octagonal ceiling painting by the famous Renaissance artist Titian, which is located above the installation. This interplay creates a timeless connection that fuses the classical elegance of the Renaissance with the expressive vitality of modern art.
The Brixy exhibition, curated by Dr Tayfun Belgin, former director of the Osthaus Museum Hagen, is part of the exhibition project “At Home Abroad”, a series of four consecutive solo exhibitions by important contemporary artists, who, in line with the motto of the 60th Biennale Arte “Foreigners Everywhere”, artistically explore the themes of foreignness and being foreign. The art project was initiated by exhibition organiser Dirk Geuer in collaboration with the Ministero della Cultura and the Fondazione Musei Civici Venezia.
Travelling and encounters with the diversity of foreign cultures have always been an inspiration for artists. Dietmar Brixy is also such a traveller, a seeker. His expeditions have taken him to European countries, but also to Malaysia, Mexico, India, Bali, Thailand, the Seychelles and the USA. Over the years, Brixy has developed a special approach to capturing his experiences, adventures and perceptions in his works. The Mannheim-based artist experiments with various materials and techniques to create this unique aesthetic language of form, which embodies movement, energy and change. His works, which have been recognised in numerous exhibitions in Germany and abroad, are often large-format and can be experienced both as paintings and installations. Another highlight for 2024 is the art installation at the Altes Pumpwerk in Mannheim-Neckarau, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary after the exhibition in Venice and is further evidence of Brixy’s commitment and artistic versatility.
Exhibition organiser Dirk Geuer comments on Dietmar Brixy’s exhibition „The Description of the World“: “Similar to the writings of Marco Polo, the colourful works of artist Dietmar Brixy invite the viewer to engage with the world as a place of encounter, openness and togetherness.”
Dr Tayfun Belgin, curator of the exhibition, adds: “Dietmar Brixy opens up a visual event that we perceive from a kind of stage. He takes us by the hand, as it were, and leads us into a panoramic visual event. We look from left to right, from top to bottom, stopping briefly in the centre to pause at one point. This powerful rhythm of colours, this colouring taken from nature and its infinite phenomena initially leaves us speechless.”
Dietmar Brixy – „The Description of the World“
24 August to 21 September 2024
Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana
Piazza San Marco 13/a, 30124 Venedig
Access to the exhibition is via the Museum Correr during the exhibition period.
Piazza San Marco 52, 30124 Venedig
Opening hours daily 10 am – 6 pm (last admission 5 pm)