nilufar gallery opens two exhibitions at giovanni nicelli private airport in venice

nilufar gallery takes over the oldest commercial italian airport

Along the narrow strip Venice Lido island, Nilufar Gallery debuts a new collaboration with the Giovanni Nicelli private airport. The gallery’s founder Nina Yashar announces the partnership with an exhibition that will occupy the hall of the renowned, 1920’s-era airport — all in conjunction with the opening of the Biennale Arte 2022. this exhibition displays a selection of historical design pieces together with contemporary works by avant-garde artists.

At the same time, a second exhibition will debut nearby in ‘Spazio Esso,’ the airport’s former fuel distributor. This second show celebrates the European debut of ceramic artist Sin Ying Cassandra Ho.

The exhibitions have opened today, April 21st and will show until June 30th 2022.

views of the Giovanni Nicelli private airport on Venice Lido Island
image © Giovanni Emilio Galanello

an harmonious blend of historic and contemporary design

The two exhibitions by Nilufar Gallery (see more here) follow a renovation of the exclusive and historic Giovanni Nicelli private airport. Curated by Nina Yashar, the first show occupies the airport’s arrivals/departures hall, and brings an harmonious blend of historic and contemporary design to reflect the timelessness of the artistic expression.

Works by great masters including Gio Ponti, Franco Albini, Ignazio Moncada, BBPR, Pietro Consagra, Angelo Lelii and Joaquim Tenreiro, will dialogue with contemporary artifacts by avant-garde artists such as Martino Gamper, Bethan Laura Wood and Analogia Projects. All of the artworks rest on the elegant and yet distinct moquette, kindly lended by Besana Carpet Lab.

image © Giovanni Emilio Galanello

Yashar comments: ‘I’ve always desired an itinerant approach, bringing and moving artefacts with their stories around the world; doing it in Venice, and specifically in the setting of Lido, is an unprecedented gift.

‘I have a strong connection to this enchanting city, so I am beyond delighted to curate a selection that mirrors its cross-culturalism and collaborate with my dear friend Laura Alfieri‘

image © Giovanni Emilio Galanello

This dialogue between old and new suits the location of the exhibition, as Giovanni Nicelli is the oldest commercial airport in Italy. Upon its inauguration nearly a century ago, the airport was at once defined as the best and most modern in Italy by the Duke of Genoa. The airport remains a prime and rare example of 1920’s style; the hall was enriched with paintings commissioned to the futurist artist Tato, the furnishings, balustrades and fixtures were designed by the architect Mario Emmer, while the decorations and interiors were entrusted to Giovanni Nei Pasinetti.

Constructed Realities: Life Beyond Borders

Nilufar Gallery will debut the work of Sin Ying Cassandra Ho with Constructed Realities: Life Beyond Borders at ‘Spazio Esso,’ the Venice airport’s former fuel distributor.

The artist identifies herself as a ‘global sapien,’ having lived in multicultural cities like New York City, Toronto, and Hong Kong (where she is originally from), while working in her studio in Jingdezhen. Her multicultural background accompanied by a strong sense of Chinese heritage and identity have guided her artistic practice towards expressions of ceramics that could merge the various influences into a cohesive and balanced narrative.

Ho’s work uses the tensions and juxtaposition of life experiences and cultural observations, selecting European and Chinese elements, iconic decorative motifs and images from both historic and contemporary perspectives, building symbols of cross-cultural narratives.

Spazio Esso, site of Constructed Realities: Life Beyond Borders | image courtesy Nilufar Gallery

ceramics shaped by digital and analog craft

In her ceramic work on display at Nilufar Gallery’s Venice airport takeover, most of the styles and forms derive from Chinese history. Inspired by the theoretical definitions of the vase’s elements, referred to as the lip, neck, shoulder, belly, and foot, Ho chooses her works’ shapes according to how they relate to the human body.

Her cut-and-paste technique creates recognizable and simultaneously unfamiliar silhouettes, with symbols from both East and West that are hand painted, digitally designed and then transferred onto the glazed surface.

This mixture of digital and analog, together with the fragmentation of her work, creates a visual distortion creating a shifting dimensionality that evokes cubism.

Constructed Realities: Life Beyond Borders exhibition view at Spazio Esso | image courtesy Nilufar Gallery
Constructed Realities: Life Beyond Borders exhibition view at Spazio Esso | image courtesy Nilufar Gallery
Constructed Realities: Life Beyond Borders exhibition view at Spazio Esso | image courtesy Nilufar Gallery
Constructed Realities: Life Beyond Borders exhibition view at Spazio Esso | image courtesy Nilufar Gallery