Vincenzo de Cotiis Foundation Opens 'Minimal Legends' at Palazzo Giustinian Lolin During Venice Biennale

The Vincenzo de Cotiis Foundation, housed in the Baroque Palazzo Giustinian Lolin overlooking a scenic Venetian waterway, has inaugurated its exhibition program with 'Minimal Legends,' timed to the 61st Venice Biennale. Curated by Lawrence Van Hagen of LVH Art, the show features nearly 20 works by seminal Minimalist and adjacent artists, including John Chamberlain, Sol LeWitt, Larry Bell, Agnes Martin, Mark Rothko, Frank Stella, Richard Serra, Dan Flavin, Bridget Riley, Donald Judd, Carl Andre, and Imi Knoebel, alongside two works by founder Vincenzo de Cotiis. Rather than a historical survey, the exhibition stages a conversation across generations and movements, acknowledging influences from Conceptual art, Light and Space, Abstract Expressionism, and Pop Art. Key works include LeWitt's 'Horizontal Progression #7,' Judd's 'Untitled' (1986-87), Chamberlain's 'Splendid Actor,' Andre's 'Fifth Copper Square,' Flavin's 'Untitled (to Sabine and Holger),' and de Cotiis's 'Untitled' (1997) in recycled aluminum. The installation occupies the palazzo's richly layered interiors, with de Cotiis's own monumental arches from recycled fiberglass, ancient stone, and Murano glass framing the courtyard. The show explores how artists reconsidered perception and spatial experience through industrial materials, light, and color, with de Cotiis's weathered surfaces echoing Venice's own patina.