Gio Ponti in Venice

I just received an invitation for the opening of a great exhibition in Venice, which I will most probably attend and I copied part of the Press release included in the invite (below in Italic).
During Venice’s 13th International Architectural Exhibition, from August 27th to September 28th, Molteni&C and Rubelli will be paying homage to Gio Ponti with the “Vivere alla Ponti” exhibition set up in Palazzo Corner Spinelli, the Rubelli company’s historical head offices.

                           Gio Ponti and his wife at their via Dezza apartment in Milan (1950’s)

The exhibition’s main protagonists will be the furniture collection reissued by Molteni&C and the limited edition of an armchair designed by Gio Ponti for his via Dezza home in Milan, upholstered in the Punteggiato and Rattoppato velvets, also designed for Rubelli by Gio Ponti and displayed at the 1934 Biennale.

 
The Punteggiato and Rattoppato fabrics are respectively a chiseled velvet with a geometrical-design on metal background and velvet worked with abstract graphics. Both belong to the Rubelli velvet and damask collection designed for the Venetian company by the great Maestro of 20th century architecture. Presented for the occasion alongside drawings and blueprints
on original paper.
 
The display is completed by the exhibition:
“Vivere alla Ponti. Experiments in domestic life and architecture for living and working”.
Organized by the Milan Order of Architects in collaboration with Molteni&C, the exhibition is a homage to Gio Ponti’s domestic design and his still modern vision of what is modern. An intimate and professional story, accompanied by letters, family photos and video documents showing how alive and vital the great 20th century Maestro was”.
It will be very inspiring to be there and learn more about Gio Ponti (read a previous post: Meet Gio Ponti) in the atmosphere of the magnificent Palazzo Spinelli in Venice (described in a previous post HERE).
©2012 Tent London Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".

If you need help to enjoy your home more, please send me an email.  It will be an investment in happiness at home, a well designed house is always a good part of a great life and a beautiful room will make you happy every time you walk in!

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A-Efendy Designers, Events, Furniture, Tent London Interiors, Textiles, Venice

2013 Venice Biennale and more on contemporary art

 Image by Marco De Scalzi

Like a bomb exploding on the Lagoon…Massimiliano Gioni will be the director, in 2013, of the
Venice Art Biennale. (On the left a painting by Elizabeth Peyton, on the right Gioni with a work of Paul McCarthy).

Not bad for a guy who is only 38 years old, who started with Flash Art magazine and revealed immediately a great talent for communication and the ability of easily wading through the difficult art world.

Image by Marco De Scalzi                                                         Image by Miranda July

Massimiliano Gioni’s curriculum is fabulous, just to name a few positions he was director of the 8th Art Biennale in Gwangju, South Korea, he is Head curator at the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York, he curated the 4th Biennale in Berlin together with Maurizio Cattelan and Ali Subotnick, he is the artistic director of the Fondazione Trussardi in Milan and on and on…

Image by Jason Nocito

Massimiliano Gioni with Ali Subotnick and  Maurizio Cattelan in Berlin, 2006.

Image by Marco De Scalzi

Massimiliano Gioni in Milan, at Manzoni Theatre, where an exhibition dedicated to the Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist was recently held. 

He has  also founded Family Business, a New York gallery in partnership with Maurizio Cattelan,  integrated into the Anna Kustera gallery and dedicated to new, previously un-exhibited artists.
Gioni was in Vancouver a few years ago, invited by the Contemporary Art Society of Vancouver and I had the pleasure of listening to his brilliant lecture on contemporary art and to chat with him at the following reception hosted by Monica Reyes.  We all agreed that he was one of the most interesting personalities we had met, so young and so brilliant.

                                                                   *****

Talking about contemporary art…if you live in Vancouver and  have an interest in contemporary art or simply want to know more about art consider joining CASV, it will be an incredible experience meeting all those great art personalities.  Just last night we were invited by Bob Rennie, principal of Rennie collection,  one of the largest collections of contemporary art in Canada, to see the latest installation of Vancouverite Damian Moppett. It was very interesting to hear the long talk of Bob Rennie about his passion for contemporary art and later to be able to wander around the building, in working spaces and best of all in his private office, of course filled with art.
I wish I took pictures but I was too busy looking around, taking mental notes of furniture, art, objects and of course talking…!

Image by Rafal Gerszak

Image by Rafal Gerszak

Damian Moppett installing his pieces at Rennie Collection.

©2012 Tent London Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".
 
If you need help to enjoy your home more, please send me an email.  It will be an investment in happiness at home, a well designed house is always a good part of a great life and a beautiful room will make you happy every time you walk in!
 
If you receive this post by Email and wish to leave a comment please click HERE and go to the comments section. You’ll make me happy!

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A-Efendy Antiques and Art, Artists, Events, Tent London Interiors, Vancouver, Venice

I invite you to Venice

 

My loyal readers may remember that a year ago The Address magazine published an article on Milan written by me (HERE on Pages 106-113).

 

This year I have written instead of Venice,

Venezia in Italian, one of my favorite cities in the world.

The Address is an exclusive online luxury property and lifestyle magazine, a division of W International, based in London UK, designed for an international audience. One of their regular features is an Insiders' Guide where invited contributors are giving their best tips to visitors to various destinations. No one can buy advertising space in the magazine, there is actually no advertising at all, inclusion is by invitation-only, so I was even more thrilled when they asked me again to write as an Insider, a year after I wrote about Milan,  choosing another city in the world and my heart went to splendid Venezia.

You can read online the whole current issue, N.10, HERE and you can find my article on Venice at pages from 186 to 195.

 

At page 193 a funny thing happened, my original image taken at Villa Pisani of Napoleon’s bed was badly cropped for layout reasons and as you can see from the image published

and my original image

 

Napoleon lost his “logo”!!!

It is always a pleasure to read The Address and day dreaming about fabulous houses and interesting destinations can inspire and excite our minds.  So many gorgeous houses around the world, so many extraordinary cities.

Let's dream on!

©2011 Tent London Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".

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A-Efendy Holidays, Lifestyle, Magazines, Tent London Interiors, Travel, Venice

Venice treasures for sale

 

In a beautiful “palazzo” on the Grand Canal there is
a superb collection of antiques, art and furniture.

Let’s go up the stairs and have a peek inside.

"Le Roy" clock with 12 stars to celebrate coronation of Napoleon, 1803

One of two gueridons of the Directoire period, from Naples, very rare.

Venetian secretaire, 1760, Rosewood and fruit woods, built for Doge Marino Balbi

with his initials MB inlaid.

Sculpture by Mussolin (Nove) in ceramic with bronze effect (1970)

Bust by Lecompte, signed and dated 1769.

Flemish cabinet (XVII century) in Mediterranean tortoise, ebony and ivory with a French clock of the same period. The cabinet was never restored, in original conditions.  A similar one was used by Michael Smith (see his book “Elements of Style” page 158)

A collection of antique miniatures

A magnificent silver Fabergé cup, signed, with dolphins and siren in a shell.

A collection of elegance and style telling stories of many centuries.

If you are interested in any of these items or if you want to receive more information on price, dimensions, material, other items for sale, please write to:

info@brillanteinteriors.com

I will be happy to help you.

Photography©Albarosa Simonetti. All images cannot be used without written permission from the author.
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A-Efendy Antiques and Art, Tent London Interiors, Venice

Peggy Guggenheim!

 Venice, 1966

Yes... I was talking about Peggy Guggenheim in my previous post Can you guess who she is? and so many of you guessed right (the comments are now published on that post) but the first to give the right answer was John Lyle. I am sure many of you are familiar with his name, if not I encourage you to go HERE to see his website, full of extraordinary pieces.
Back to Peggy, she was one of the most influential collectors of modern art in the twentieth century...Hard to believe but she considered herself as the poor Guggenheim, since the death of her father aboard the Titanic created some financial troubles for her mother, so even if she was quite wealthy her lifestyle was not comparable to those of her uncles.  She became friend, or lover, or wife of many outstanding artists, among them Max Ernst, Marcel Duchamp, Yves Tanguy, Laurence Vail, Samuel Beckett and she started collecting works from unknown artists of her time, soon to become icons in the art world.
During my last visit to Venice I went once again to  Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, her long searched dream home, an unfinished palace on the Grand Canal. The name comes from the eight carved marble  lion heads decorating the facade.  The palazzo construction began in 1748 for the Venier family (three of the city's doges were Venier); the building remained incompiuto, unfinished, for uncertain reasons, several speculations no precise answer. When Peggy saw it the palazzo still had only one finished floor and she decided to keep it that way.

In the beautiful garden of the palazzo Peggy installed a marble Byzantine throne. The enigmatic shapes of sculptures by Brancusi, Giacometti and others created a great contrast with it and are still there, with latest new additions.

"Standing Woman" (1947) by Alberto Giacometti

Maurizio Nannucci (2003)

A sculpture by Anish Kapoor (2007)

Inside the building we can appreciate a vast collection of modern and contemporary art, her furniture are gone but luckily we can still see photographs and explanations of how the palazzo looked when she lived there. Below is a picture of Peggy  in her bedroom, which had a view of the Grand Canal, notice on the wall behind the bed,  shimmering like the Venetian water, the silver sculpture with  fish and butterfly, made by Calder  in 1946 in new York, but absolutely at home here in Venice.

Now the piece rests on a wall of her previous bedroom, surrounded by other art, in front there is a window with a display of her glass collection reflecting the lights on the water. The bedroom when she lived there had turquoise walls, curtains made out of Indian saris and a marabou bedcover of the same color. Venetian mirrors and a huge collection of her earrings were adorning the walls.

 

The Library

This room could very well be featured on today's Interior design magazines, timeless style. She wanted white vinyl on the sofas, easy to wash every morning since her many dogs felt at home in the best seats. Over the sofas she placed black and white striped fur rugs which she said the dogs adored to lick...

The dining room

Princess Pignatelli once said to her that if she would throw in the Grand Canal all those ugly pictures she would have the most beautiful house in Venice, of course Peggy knew she had an exquisite collection and her house was the best display for it.
In August 1978, Peggy turned eighty and her birthday was celebrated appropriately.  Descending from  her personal gondola, to go to the party held for her at the Gritti Hotel she was greeted by a banner with her name and a phrase "To the Ultima Dogaressa" referring to the power of the ancient dogi of Venice. So famous was her collection that Venice's international Biennale once gave her a pavilion all to herself.  Peggy said: "It was wonderful, I was listed with Germany and France. I felt like a whole country all by myself."
Later in life she found a way that would permanently preserve her palazzo and her collection. In 1976 she donated her collection to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation (started by her uncle in New York) stating that the collection must remain in its location in Venice, thus creating the Venetian branch Guggenheim-Venice.

She passed away on 23 December 1979 and her ashes were buried in the garden between her marble throne and the graves of her beloved dogs. The marble headstone is engraved with the simple inscription:

"Here lies Peggy Guggenheim, 1898-1979"

Photography by Albarosa Simonetti (images of Peggy Guggenheim were photographed from the walls)

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A-Efendy Antiques and Art, Can you guess, Tent London Interiors, Venice

Can you guess who she is?

Hints:

A rebel, enigmatic as a sphinx, an art addict, she had many lovers, some famous some infamous, a few husbands, many dogs, a life full of pain but also full of excitement and passion (she lived in Italy for thirty years and she is buried there, near her beloved dogs).

She is the girl on the left and she made a mark on the XX century.

Who is she?

The comments will not be published until the identity will be revealed on a following post.
The first person with the right answer...will not win anything... only a mention!

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A-Efendy Antiques and Art, Can you guess, Tent London Interiors, Venice

A... maze yourself

A model of a maze in a villa I visited recently, the magnificent Villa Pisani, in Stra, one of the several Ville venete, on the river Brenta, between Padua and Venice, Northern Italy.
Construction of the villa started in the early 18th century in a late baroque style, commissioned by the noble, and then still very wealthy, Pisani family. In its 114 rooms doges, kings and emperors were welcomed and today it has become a national museum with 18th and 19th century works of art and furniture and one of Gianbattista Tiepolo masterpieces.

The real  maze in the park, where I was happily lost until someone from a small tower in the center gave us directions on how to exit.

A guest bedroom, with original furniture, decoration and wallpaper.

The chandelier attracted my attention for quite awhile, I don't particularly like modern sparkling crystal chandeliers but I love antique glass ones.

The decline of the Pisani family toward the end of the century brought them huge debts so they were forced to sell the villa to Napoleon Bonaparte, who had become King of Italy in 1805.

The Napoleonic apartment is particularly interesting, with remarkable art treasures like this imposing canopy bed with the Emperor's initial on it.

and his several mattresses...

I like to think of the following works of art as family album when photography was not invented yet.

In 1814 the battle of Waterloo decided the history of Europe and brought the Hapsburg imperial family, lords of Veneto, to Villa Pisani.  When Veneto was annexed by the Kingdom of Italy the villa did not become part of the Savoy family possessions but became property of the State.  I know, Italian history is quite complicated, so back to the villa interior decoration.

I suppose it was great to play cards in this room sitting on these elegant 19th century chairs, cheered by the colorful paintings on the walls.

Another gorgeous chandelier and a rich display of antique textiles underneath.

Did I say I love glass chandeliers? Even if I obviously would not use  this window treatment in a modern house I appreciate its beauty and the sinuous lines of the light fixture and of the silk draperies are really enchanting when seen together.

A ceiling painted in 1760 by Giovan Battista Tiepolo in the ballroom at the center of the villa displays the greatest magnificence. It represents The Glory of the Pisani Family by a luminous affresco in his sublime and peculiar style. Luckily this masterpiece is safe, since it risked to be destroyed due to the the great project of modernization of the villa requested by Napoleon when he purchased the villa.

A view from a gate

And a view of the superb garden.

An "amazing" day in an Italian smaller version of Versailles.

Photography by Albarosa Simonetti

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A-Efendy Antiques and Art, Outdoor, Tent London Interiors, Venice