Biennale Arte 2022 – reflections on a trip of a lifetime. Part Two: Face to face with artists
Last November, during the 59th Venice Art Biennale, Stonehage Fleming organised the trip of a lifetime for a few art-loving friends of the firm.
Here, in the second of a series of two, Maria tells of the experiences guests had of meeting and hearing stories from important artists of the day.
Having the opportunity to meet and talk to great artists added another layer to our tour. Our visit to the studio of Alex Hartley was a real highlight. Sculptor, Alex told us about his experience as a working artist in Venice including the privilege of creating in a space overlooking one of the most iconic views in the world. The water stretching alongside the studio can be quite distracting, he told us, but also a very peaceful environment to work in. He has taken many photos and made a great deal of preparatory studies for upcoming works to be exhibited at the Galleria Victoria Miro in Venice. The visit gave us a new dimension – a different perspective from which to consider art and the artist.
Our meeting with Gian Maria Tosatti, in the Biennale’s Pavilio Italia was no less enlightening. 2022 was the first time the Italian Pavilion presented the work of a single artist. His large, site-specific installation, History of Night and Destiny of Comets, is a highly intelligent and moving work. It was fantastic to meet Gian Maria in situ and have the opportunity to hear him – an artist engaged with social problems – explain in his own words what he had created. It was a particularly special moment for me as Gian Maria received the 2021 Artisti Per Frescobaldi Prize, awarded by friends of Stonehage Fleming, the Frescobaldi family.
These artist visits were just another way we were able to offer our guests an insider’s tour of Venice where the group truly experienced the Venetian’s Venice, with its fair share of unforgettable moments and authentic, little-known lunch spots.
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