Open 10

Press conference

30th August 2007 at 12.00 / Hotel Des Bains

Performance by the artist Iris Brosch

30th August 2007 at 4.00 pm / Blue Moon

Inauguration cocktail party

30th August 2007 at 7.00 pm / Nicelli Airport

Open to the public

31st August – 14th October 2007

Location

Open-air spaces at Venice Lido: Piazzale and Gran Viale S. Maria Elisabetta, Tempio Votivo, Via Lepanto, Lungomare G. Marconi, Parco Hotel Des Bains, Blue Moon, Terrace / Hall Hotel The Westin Excelsior

Organization

Arte Communications, Venice

Joint Organization

Venice City Council, Department of Cultural Production

From 30 August to 14 October, in the open-air spaces at Venice Lido, OPEN, the International Exhibition of Sculptures and Installations, celebrates its first ten years. Ten years of sculptures, installations, happenings and performances, showing how art can invade the outside environment to attract the observer, capturing his gaze and cheering his soul. A stage, a point of arrival and of starting off again, more conscious and more severe but always in line with the philosophy of its curator and founder, Paolo De Grandis. In fact, contrary to other yearly events, from which one might always expect something new, OPEN proposes its linearity, its integration and its introductory character, aspects that have matured thanks to the simplicity of the basic idea and to the exhibition context offered by the open-air spaces at Venice Lido: territories to explore, focal points for exchange and confrontation, choreographic spaces often left open so that they can be transformed, places where the visitor can ideally negotiate the contents of the works on display, in both physical and mental terms. Curators of international repute have been also involved, among them Achille Bonito Oliva, Alanna Heiss, Chang Tsong-zung and Vincenzo Sanfo. So, this offers a really special opportunity for comparison and dialogue between artists, curators and institutions in order to valorise contemporary culture and give space to artistic creativity from all over the world. As always, OPEN combines the presence of important artists such as Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Lee Ufan, John Henry, Beverly Pepper and historic figures of contemporary art such as Sandro Chia, Enzo Cucchi and Giuseppe Spagnulo, with the works of already recognised, talented young artists such as Daniele Nitti Sotres, Antonella Zazzera and Enzo Castagno, while also continuing to present promising artists whose talent has still to be discovered. The successful formula of the Academies continues with the presence of the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts. Again, this year the presence of Asiatic artists is particularly numerous and feature work by Hu Xiangcheng, Li Chen, Shi Jinsong, Xiang Jin and Shan-Shan Sheng. As every year, all the artists have been completely won over by the magic of OPEN, where each detail is the fruit of a profound collaboration between space, art, territory; this year too, they have created works designed especially for the occasion. Art is therefore declined in all its variations, from the most severe essence to light-hearted entertainment with the performance by Iris Brosch and the intervention of B.zarro. This tenth edition is a proof of growth. Forty-eight artists have been tackled the challenge to organise and reformulate the concept of art in the open air. On the confines of philosophy, art is fragmented into multilayered visions in which energy is consumed at the limit of its possibilities. Furthermore, Arte Communications organises the seventh edition of the OPEN prize. The prize will be awarded to a director taking part in the 64. Venice International Film Festival whose work reveals, in an unprecedented way, a fruitful interest in the fascinating theme of the mutual interaction between art and cinema, two art forms which live on image and are nourished by the desire to express emotions (the awarding ceremony will take place on Saturday 8th September, 3 pm, Palazzo del Casinò – Sala Perla, Venice Lido). OPEN is organised by Arte Communications and is jointly organised by the Department of Culture of the Venice City Council under the patronage of the Italian Ministry of the Cultural Heritage, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Veneto Region, the Province of Venice and Venice City Council. The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue available daily from the Infopoint in Lido at the Lungomare G. Marconi (in front of the Hotel Des Bains) from 31/08 to 10/09 h. 10.00 am – 7.00 pm; from 11/09 to 14/10 h. 11.00 am – 5.00 pm; in Venice, Riva San Biagio, Castello 2145 (Arsenale) daily h. 10.00 am – 6.00 pm.

The graphic concept of OPEN has been realised by Studio Camuffo.

Curators

Achille Bonito Oliva, Alanna Heiss, Chang Tsong-zung, Paolo De Grandis, Vincenzo Sanfo, Pilvi Kalhama, Enrico Pedrini, Zhang Qing, Bruno Grossetti, Daniele Crippa, Naomi Evans, Konstantinos Yeoryiou, David Andriadze, Gianluca Marziani, Gloria Vallese, Leone Jannuzzi, Giampaolo Trotta, Art – St – Urban, John T. Spike, Ken Rollins, Margery Gordon.

Participating Artists

Argentina

Eduardo Pla

Australia

Lindy Lee

Bulgaria

Christo e Jeanne-Claude

Cina

Hu Xiangcheng, Li Chen

Shan Shan Sheng,

Shi Jinsong, Xiang Jin

Cipro

Kyriakos Kallis

Corea

Lee Ufan

Finlandia

Pasi Eerik Karjula

Francia

Ariane Michel,

Fréderique Nalbandian

Georgia

Tamara Kvesitadze

Germania

Iris Brosch

Gran Bretagna

Michael Lyons

India

Kriti Arora, Bharti Kher

Isole Vergini Statunitensi

Cornelia Kubler Kavanagh

Italia

B.zarro, Enzo Castagno,

Sandro Chia,

Ferruccio Gard e Maurizio Rosa, Resi

Girardello e Cristina Treppo, Luigi Masin,

Gianfranco Meggiato, Marco Nereo Rotelli,

Daniele Nitti Sotres, Giuseppe Spagnulo,

Barbara Taboni, Antonella Zazzera

Lussemburgo

Florence Hoffmann

Paesi Bassi

Jackie Sleper

Romania

Martin-Emilian Balint

Repubblica di San Marino

Leonardo Blanco

Svizzera

Heinz Aeschlimann

USA

Carole A. Feuerman, John Henry, Beverly

Pepper, Daniel Rothbart

Finnish Academy of Fine Arts

Jukka Rusanen, Antti Majava,

Sampo Malin

special thanks to

Starwood Hotels & Resorts –

Hotel The Westin Excelsior

Hotel Des Bains

Grand Hotel Ausonia e Hungaria

Blue Moon-Green House Alberoni

Hotel Villa Mabapa

Vesta S.p.a.

Luca Ballarin

Endar

Clear Channel Jolly Pubblicità

Jgpdecaux Milano

Venezia News

Pierluigi Morasco, Broker di Assicurazioni

Tosetto Allestimenti

Visual Culture Research Center, China Art Academy

Hanart T Z Gallery

Galerie Enrico Navarra

Grossetti Arte Contemporanea

Asia Art Center

Berengo Studio, Murano

La Biennale di Venezia

Ministry of Education ond Culture, Cyprus

Finnish Academy of Fine Arts

Il Gazzettino

La Nuova di Venezia e Mestre

Guestinvenice.com

Il Portale di Venezia