Danh Vo, Isamu Noguchi, Park Seo-Bo

20 April – 27 November 2022

Danh Vo, Isamu Noguchi, Park Seo-Bo

Curated by Danh Vo and Chiara Bertola
Fondazione Querini Stampalia, Venezia

Coinciding with the opening of the 59th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, Fondazione Querini Stampalia in collaboration with White Cube present from Wednesday April 20, 2022, a major exhibition curated by the artist Danh Vo and Chiara Bertola, Curator of Contemporary Art Program at the museum.

Presenting a dialogue between Danh Vo’s practice and works by Park Seo-Bo (1931), credited as being the father of the 'Dansaekhwa' movement, and the American acclaimed sculptor, architect, designer and scenographer Isamu Noguchi (1904–1988), the exhibition spans the historical palace once inhabited by the Venetian noble family the Querinis. Among the first founders of Venice, they accumulated a vast collection of objects, books and above all works of art over many generations which were bequeathed to the city with the birth of the foundation in 1869.

Known for his sensitivity to space and time, and both personal and collective history, Vo has been invited to navigate with his own vision the Fondazione’s labyrinthine layout. Featuring ancient rooms flanked with contemporary elements, the palace was restored by renowned architects over the years to reflect Venetian culture and traditions across the centuries.

Describing it as a ‘large sculpture’ which can be newly encountered and staged, the artist will punctuate the spaces of the Querini palace by creating gentle interventions with Noguchi’s signature ‘Akari’ lamps hung alongside his own works, some of which were conceived at his studio and farm in Güldenhof, north of Berlin. Also featured are works from Park’s renowned ‘Écriture’ series, featuring paintings inextricably linked to notions of time, space and material.

The exhibition is part of the long-time program Conservare il futuro conceived and curated by Chiara Bertola for Fondazione Querini Stampalia, where contemporary artists are invited to dialogue with the Fondazione spaces and to let them inspire new forms of expression - encouraging a living experimentation.