With the Biennale having just begun, we wanted to continue celebrating the culture and history of the host city of this prestigious arts exhibition. We did not have to look far for inspiration - stories of Venice’s past glories (and drama) can be found right in the names of our fabrics.
What’s the story behind this fabric? On the Dandolo pattern card is the unassuming description, “Inspired by 17th Century Italian design. Named after the prominent Venetian Family.”
The Dandolo family was prominent, indeed. Wealthy, powerful, and influential, its members held high government positions in Venice. In the 12th Century, Vitale Dandolo was a jurist and a close advisor of Doge Vitale II Michiel. The most famous member of this clan, however, is Vitale’s son, Enrico Dandolo.
Enrico Dandolo
Born around 1107 in what, at the time, was the Republic of Venice, Enrico secured a government position without much difficulty, considering his family’s influence. But it wasn’t until his 60’s when his role in Venice politics became more important. He served the Republic in several diplomatic missions, such as accompanying Doge Michiel to Constantinople in 1171. On a later expedition to Constantinople, with the Byzantine ambassador, Enrico so diligently protected the interests of the Venetians that it was rumored the Byzantine emperor, Manuel I Comnenus, had him blinded. (It is more likely, though, that Enrico, who already had poor vision, suffered a blow to the head, which caused his blindness.)
Jean LeClerc's Doge Enrico Dandolo Recruiting for the Crusade, 1621
With these and other accomplishments to his name (he also served as Venice’s ambassador to the King of Sicily in 1174 and to Ferrara in 1191), Enrico was elected Doge of Venice on June 1, 1192. He was blind and was believed to be in his 80s at the time, but he showed tremendous ambition and strength. He had so much strength - both mental and physical - that he organized, funded, and led forces in the Fourth Crusade. Though they never reached the Holy Land, they captured Constantinople. He was at least 90 years old.
Dandolo ... who knew?
This year at the Venice Biennale, we are supporting two artists at the Venice Pavilion: AES + F and Anahita Razmi.
Innovative Russian group AES + F is composed of artists Tatiana Arzamasova, Lev Evzovich, Evgeny Svyatsky - who formed AES Group in 1987 - and photographer Vladimir Fridkes, who joined them in 1995. They focus on photograph, photo- and computer-based art, video art, and traditional media such as drawing, painting, and sculpture. Living and working in Moscow, their work has been shown in festivals, museums, and galleries worldwide.
Last Riot Sculptures, Composition #4 (Two Boys)
Part of Allegoria Sacra, Panorama #2
Video and performance artist Anahita Razmi is of Iranian origin and based in Stuttgart, Germany. Much of her work deals with gender and identity issues, or the appropriation of nationally or culturally significant objects within new and unexpected settings.
Arsenals - installation view, photo Thomas Ganzenmueller
Travels with a Paykan
We are excited to be a part of the Biennale, supporting these artists in their endeavors to create new images and conversations through their art.
The Venice Biennale, or Biennale di Venezia, is a major contemporary art exhibition in Venice that takes place every two years. A tradition showcasing international artists and new artistic trends for more than a century, the 55th International Art Exhibition opens to the public on June 1st until November 24th, 2013.
Works at the Biennale are displayed at different venues across the city. At the Venice Pavilion, promoted by Fondaco, coordinated by Giovanna Zabotti and curated by Ewald Stastny, emphasis is placed on the theme “The Silk Road.” This historical network of trade routes, extending 4,000 miles, connected Asia, Europe, the Mediterranean region, and parts of North and East Africa. It is named after the lucrative trade of Chinese silk that began during the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD).
Luxurious silk and other goods were traded among distant civilizations along these routes, but so were ideas, languages, technologies, religions, and philosophies. One important destination along this route where cultures intersected is Venice. After Marco Polo opened the route between Venice and the East in the 13th century, the city was able to obtain goods such as porcelain and pearls from the Far East, silks and cottons from Egypt and Asia Minor, and wool from England. Thus the trade centers and textile industry of Venice flourished.
At the Venice Pavilion, six artists, representing different worlds and interpreting the theme in their own ways, recreate the crossing of cultures that occurred along the Silk Road. These artists include Mimmo Roselli, Yiqing Yin, Marya Kazoun, Marialuisa Tadei, Anahita Razmi, AES+F.
We are honored to participate in this project, alongside Bevilacqua and Rubelli, Venetian fabric houses also known for the beautiful qualityand artistry of their textiles. We are supporting the artists by contributing our experience and opening our workshops for the Biennale.
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Our very own Pietro Lunetta and the curator for the Venice Pavilion, Ewald Stastny
By AES+F. This white sculpture is made of metal.
By Yiqing Yin. Embroidered with thread.
For more photos, click here.
Summer is right around the corner.... One activity we hope to accomplish in the coming months is to tackle our summer reading list. On the list this year? Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time.
We've mentioned Proust before. The French writer (1871-1922) was a contemporary and admirer of Mariano Fortuny. He is most famous for his novel In Search of Lost Time, which some critics have hailed as the definitive novel of the twentieth century.
Proust found much of his inspiration in aesthetic philosophy. For example, he had a particular interest in Impressionism, and wanted to emulate its subject matter through his work. Furthermore, throughout the seven-volume In Search of Lost Time, Proust makes several references to Fortuny, such as this excerpt from Volume Five: The Captive:
Of all the outdoor and indoor gowns that Mme de Guermantes wore, those which seemed most to respond to a specific intention, to be endowed with a special significance, were the garments made by Fortuny from old Venetian models. Is it their historical character, or is it rather that each one of them is unique, that gives them so special a significance that the pose of the woman who is wearing one while waiting for you or while she talks to you assumes an exceptional importance, as though the costume had been the fruit of a long deliberation and your conversation was somehow detached from everyday life like a scene in a novel?
It won't be a quick read, but In Search of Lost Time - with Proust's vivid writing, interspersed with themes of guilt, anxiety, and memory - is sure to keep us busy.
Two weeks ago, The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC held their Annual Gala.
Guests at the black-tie event dined within the museum among the Phillips’ masterpieces, then headed to the After Party at the Italian Embassy. We were honored to be a part of the spectacular event; each table was set with a stunning display of flowers and a matching Fortuny table runner.
The Gala was designed by Barry Dixon, who was also an honoree, along with Lidia Bastianich and Roberto Coin. All proceeds go to The Phillips Collection’s award-winning arts education programs, which reach 180,000 students and educators each year.
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“(Fortuny) is remembered as a Renaissance Man, for his versatile mosaic of
talents,
but it is the specific category of textiles and garments that guarantees
his
immortality. Any of these, taken from one of his magical ateliers,
stands on its
own, offering us a window into another world.”
Caroline Milbank, Fashion Historian
From ancient Greco-Roman art to Christian churches to Gaudi’s Parc Guell, mosaics are a form of art that has been used for centuries. It involves the arrangement of small pieces of a certain material, most commonly glass or stone, to create a design or picture.
A famous mosaic of ancient origin is The Beauty of Durres, an elliptical depiction of a woman’s head surrounded by flora and fauna. Discovered in 1916 in Durres, Albania, the mosaic decorated the floor of a private and luxurious restroom during the 4th century BCE. Luxurious, indeed.
The Beauty of Durres - Durres, Albania
In the Nea Moni monastery, built in the 11th century on the Greek island of Chios, mosaic panels have survived, depicting evangelists and scenes from Christ’s life.
Mosaic panels in Nea Moni - Chios, Greece
Mosaics took on a new form during the 20th century, when Catalan architects such as Antoni Gaudi created patterns from shards of broken tiles. This technique, known as trencadis, can be seen in Gaudi’s Parc Guell in Barcelona.
Parc Guell - Barcelona, Spain
This brings us to the debut of our Fortuny mosaics, both the first patent in fabric mosaics and our company’s first patent since Fortuny passed in 1949. Handmade in Italy with 1- or 2-cm fabric tiles, they are customizable in pattern, color, and fabric. If you’ve been to the New York showroom recently, you may have noticed these mosaic panels:
Mosaic photos by Steve Freihon
Fortuny mosaics can be used for panels, wall coverings, and floors - and we even have a client who’s thinking of using it for a headboard. We’re excited for the possibilities of these mosaics and can’t wait to see the beautiful designs they’ll surely depict.
"Unlike the hardness and resistance of the traditional material of a mosaic,
which have always been selected to weather the elements, Fortuny has turned
the concept of a mosaic into something soft and warm, while still maintaining
the same benefits of being a mosaic and the many opportunities
it presents to clients with what they can do to it.“
Pietro Lunetta, Fortuny Design Director and Mosaics Creator
Read more about them in Interior Design magazine.
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