Francesco Lauretta Reflects on Venice Before the Biennale
Francesco Lauretta visits Venice to quit painting, recounting his encounters with exhibitions by Michael Armitage, Amar Kanwar, Lorna Simpson, and Paulo Nazareth. He revisits the Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni to admire Vittore Carpaccio's works. Lauretta reflects on the absence of Italian artists in the upcoming Venice Biennale, attributing it to a lack of strong painters in Italy. He notes a shift in global art discourse, where non-Western artists assert their identities, often with Western acquiescence. Lauretta recalls his first Venice visit for a major Emilio Vedova exhibition and mentions influential shows by Marlene Dumas and Julie Mehretu.
Key facts
- Francesco Lauretta visited Venice to see exhibitions by Michael Armitage, Amar Kanwar, Lorna Simpson, and Paulo Nazareth.
- He revisited the Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni to see Vittore Carpaccio's works.
- Lauretta notes the absence of Italian artists in the upcoming Venice Biennale.
- He criticizes contemporary Italian painting as weak and derivative.
- He recalls his first Venice visit for an Emilio Vedova exhibition.
- He mentions influential shows by Marlene Dumas and Julie Mehretu.
- Lauretta observes that non-Western artists now demand recognition for past injustices.
- He suggests Western institutions accommodate these demands to assuage guilt.
Entities
Artists
- Francesco Lauretta
- Emilio Vedova
- Marlene Dumas
- Julie Mehretu
- Luc Tuymans
- Rudolf Stingel
- Michael Armitage
- Amar Kanwar
- Lorna Simpson
- Paulo Nazareth
- Vittore Carpaccio
- Enrique Vila-Matas
Institutions
- Palazzo Grassi
- Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni
- Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia
- Venice Biennale
Locations
- Venice
- Italy
Sources
- Artslife —