UPCOMING EXHIBITION
Michael Kenna: Venezia
By Todd Herman,
Chief Curator and Curator of European Art
“White swan of cities slumbering in
thy nest . . .
White phantom city, whose untrodden
streets
Are rivers, and whose pavements are
the shifting
Shadows of the palaces and strips of
sky.”
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,
“Venice”
“It is the city of mirrors, the city of
mirages, at once solid and liquid, at
once air and stone.”
—Erica Jong
No city has been written about,
photographed or painted more than
Venice, Italy. Without a doubt it is one of
the most magical cities ever to exist and
has captured the imagination of artists for
hundreds of years.
From Vivaldi to Canaletto, Shakespeare
to Calvino, this almost mythical city has
inspired some of Western culture’s greatest
works of art. The magic and mystery of
La Serenissima (the Most Serene One)
are hard to come by as we jostle our way
between throngs of tourists, each trying
to capture a glimmer of the muse that
touched so many before us. But it is still
there—around a tight corner, on a boat
ride at sunset, at the bottom of a glass
of prosecco in a sun-drenched campo. It
takes time and dedication to see past the
English-language menus and billboards
to uncover the essence of this city. This
is what makes Kenna’s photographs so
alluring—he captures ?????????????)%?????????????????????????????????)??????????????????????????????()??????? ????????Y???????%????????????????????????????((?????5???????-???????????????????)?????????????????????????????????)???????????????????????Q????????)????????????Q???????????????)????????????????????!???????????)?????????????????????????????????)???????????????????????????????????)??????????????? ??????????????????)?????????????????????????????)????????????????????????????)????????????????!???????????????)???????????????????????????)???????????????????????????????)???????????????????????????????)????????????????????????????? ?????)?????qQ???????????????????????????)?????????????????????????????????()?????t?-???????????????q%?e???????????)?????????????????????????????????t)-????????????Y??????????????????)?????????????????????????????)???????Y??????????????????Q????)M????????????????????????????+?q]?????????????????????????????)?????????????????????????????)??????????????????????????????)?????????????????????????5???????-????)????????????????Y??????e???????????)???????????????????????????????)?????????????????????????t)=?????????????????????????)??????????????????????-?????????)??????????????((?((0