V-A-C Foundation Opens Palazzo delle Zattere in Venice

The V-A-C Foundation, founded by Russian billionaire Leonid Mikhelson and Teresa Iarocci Mavica, has secured a 18+18 year lease on Palazzo delle Zattere in Venice from the Port Authority of Venice. The 17th-century building, overlooking the Giudecca Canal, has been restored by architects Alessandro Pedron and Maria La Tegola. Half of its 1,000 square meters will serve as exhibition space, with the remainder housing a restaurant, bookshop, garden, four artist studios, offices, and a conference room. The venue opens on May 13, 2017, coinciding with the Venice Biennale. Its inaugural exhibition, "Space Force Construction," is organized with the Art Institute of Chicago and features site-specific works by Barbara Kruger, Abraham Cruzvillegas, Kirill Gluschenko, Mikhail Tolmachev, along with historical pieces and works by Wolfgang Tillmans and David Goldblatt. The show does not include works from the V-A-C collection. Mikhelson, CEO of Novatek, is Russia's richest man per Forbes. The foundation aims to promote Russian contemporary art internationally.