“The Wind Makes the Sky. La Biennale di Venezia on the traces of Marco Polo”

Today La Biennale di Venezia and the China Academy of Art (CAA) inaugurated The Perfect Path. Hangzhou, Marco Polo’s “city of heaven”, a group exhibition of contemporary art curated by Luigia Lonardelli, at the Art Museum of China Academy of Art at Hangzhou (Zhejiang, People's Republic of China), open from 10 November 2024 to 10 January 2025. 

The exhibition represents the first stage of the Special Project by La Biennale di Venezia’s Historical Archive titled The Wind Makes the Sky. La Biennale di Venezia on the Traces of Marco Polo, which retraces Marco Polo’s travels on the 700th anniversary of his death (1324 – 2024), realized with the special support of the Italian Cultural Institute in Shanghai and the Consulate General of Italy in Shanghai. 

This exhibition is the sign of the first collaboration arising from the three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) recently signed by La Biennale di Venezia and the China Academy of Art (CAA), with the intent to activate a series of exchange programmes and to promote a cultural and artistic dialogue between Italy and China.

The second stage of the project will open in December 2024 in Venice at La Biennale Headquarter, and the third stage in the fall of 2025 in Istanbul.

The Perfect Path is a group exhibition of contemporary art that brings together a group of 18 Chinese artists, based on experimentation that has found fertile ground in the China Academy of Art (CAA). 

On Sunday 10 November, the exhibition will be visited by the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella.

During the press conference held this morning, moderated by Yu Xuhong, Director of the Art Museum of China Academy of Art, featured speakers included Jin Yibin, Party secretary of the China Academy of Art, Tiziana D’Angelo, Consul General of Italy in Shanghai, Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, President of La Biennale di Venezia, Francesco D’Arelli, Director of the Italian Institute of Culture in Shanghai, Debora Rossi, Head of La Biennale’s Historical Archive, Xu Jiang, President of the Academic Committee of the China Academy of Art, and Luigia Lonardelli, Curator of the exhibition.

“The Perfect Path, the title of the exhibition, is one of the ways to describe the concept of dao - stated the Curator Luigi Lonardelli - the path that each of us is called upon to discover and pursue. Around this principle, the exhibition gathers a group of 18 Chinese artists who have distinguished themselves for their unconventional approach to artistic genres, with an outlook mindful of tradition which at the same time fully embraces the latest technological developments. There is also a selection of creations by the students of the School of Animation and Games and the School of Film Art, that stand out for their particularly innovative approach. The exhibition displays andenhances the works of artists operating within the Chinese artistic system, which continues to reveal itself as one of the most significant areas of renewal in the languages of visual art, with the aim of portraying a generation that has envisioned and traced an original and innovative path rooted in a millenary tradition. The exhibition seeks to present a panorama of the versatility within the individual careers of the artists who have developed many different techniques and working methods, with particular attention to the installation-based and digital nature of the most recent experimentations.”

“The celebration of the anniversary of Marco Polo’s death – said the Curator - is an opportunity to retrace the steps of a journey that not only led to the conception of a refined treatise on trade universally recognized for its extraordinary nature, but also represents the path towards the unknown of a young man who travelled through the familiar lands of the Middle East, through the Central Asian deserts, coming into contact with a new world and becoming fully part of it, without erasing the differences but acquiring a mutual language of respect and understanding. Today, over seven centuries later, the language of art still embodies that same instinct, both mad and sublime at the same time, to chase the thrill of the thirst for knowledge by turning the gaze eastward.”

This was also the occasion to present the stage designed by artist Cevdet Erek from Istanbul, Amfibio, a modular and adaptable space of encounter and performance, conceived to host performances, readings and thematic focuses and to be permeable, in its realisation and audio system, to the architectural traditions and rhythms of the places through which it will travel. This gathering space will follow the subsequent stages of the project The Wind Makes the Sky as a shelter that can offer a place for respite and sharing. 

“Many are the influences to be found in the design by Cevdet Erek – explained the Curator – ranging from the temporary architectures to the merchandise display systems to the aquatic structures; Amfibio preserves its dual nature in its very title, while the root of 'amfi' refers to the idea of being around.”

The graphic identity and the brand’s design of this Special Project are by Headline, Rovereto (Italy). The design is structured through geometrically tridimensional elements that, in their final configuration, form the symbol of the Dao. This visual choice isn’t merely aesthetic, but deeply conceptual: the geometric shapes symbolise the articulated and complex nature of the journey, evoking the idea of forward movement and progress.

La Biennale di Venezia was established in 1895 and is acknowledged today as one of the most prestigious cultural institutions. La Biennale di Venezia stands at the forefront of research and promotion of new contemporary art trends and organizes events in all its specific Departments: Art (1895), Architecture (1980), Cinema (1932), Theatre (1934), Dance (1999), Music (1930) – alongside exhibitions, performing arts,research and training activities. The history of La Biennale di Venezia is documented in the Library at the Central Pavilion in the Giardini and in the Historical Archive in its offices in Marghera,pending its move to the new headquarters at the Arsenale.

The China Academy of Art (CAA) is a university at the cutting-edge of the art world, which aims to enhance Chinese art in sectors such as design, theatre, cinema, television, and architecture.