Udo Kittelmann curates Walton Ford's 'Lion of God' at Ateneo Veneto
Walton Ford's site-specific exhibition 'Lion of God' opens at the Ateneo Veneto in Venice during the 2024 art season. Curated by Udo Kittelmann, former director of the Nationalgalerie Berlin (2008–2020), the show features new paintings inspired by Jacopo Tintoretto's 'Apparition of the Virgin to Saint Jerome' (c. 1580), displayed in the Sala Tommaseo. Ford, born in Larchmont in 1960, centers the lion—Saint Jerome's attribute—as protagonist, continuing his focus on non-human animals. Kittelmann first encountered Ford's work in 2009 and invited him for his first European institutional exhibition at Hamburger Bahnhof in 2010, which drew 140,000 visitors despite criticism. The curator emphasizes deep dialogue with the artist and the political dimension of Ford's work, which avoids didacticism. The exhibition is conceived as a concrete dialogue with Tintoretto's masterpiece and Venice itself, the lion being the city's symbol. Kittelmann notes that art transcends centuries, always making the invisible visible, and that Ford's work challenges human arrogance and cruelty, citing Spinoza: 'The idea of the ocean is always contained in a drop of water.'
Key facts
- Walton Ford's 'Lion of God' exhibition is held at the Ateneo Veneto in Venice in 2024.
- The show is curated by Udo Kittelmann, former director of the Nationalgalerie Berlin.
- Ford's new paintings are inspired by Tintoretto's 'Apparition of the Virgin to Saint Jerome' (c. 1580).
- The Tintoretto work is exceptionally displayed in the Sala Tommaseo for the exhibition's duration.
- Ford's works are site-specific, engaging in dialogue with the Venetian master's painting.
- The lion is the central subject, reflecting Ford's interest in non-human animals.
- Kittelmann first saw Ford's work in 2009 and invited him for a 2010 show at Hamburger Bahnhof.
- The 2010 exhibition attracted 140,000 visitors despite initial criticism.
- Kittelmann describes curating as caring for the artist's imagination and desires.
- Ford's work is political but not didactic, emerging organically from the pieces.
- The exhibition explores themes of harmony between species, as seen in a painting of a lion embracing a donkey.
- Kittelmann quotes Spinoza to emphasize care for the whole through the part.
Entities
Artists
- Walton Ford
- Jacopo Tintoretto
- Paul Klee
- Baruch Spinoza
Institutions
- Ateneo Veneto di Scienze, Lettere e Arti
- Scuola Grande di San Fantin
- Teatro La Fenice
- Nationalgalerie Berlin
- Alte Nationalgalerie
- Hamburger Bahnhof
- Neue Nationalgalerie
- Museum Berggruen
- Artribune
Locations
- Venice
- Italy
- Larchmont
- United States
- Düsseldorf
- Germany
- Berlin