It was a beautiful moment, watching Venice’s largest gondola gliding through the water with a beaming Lisa Reihana and Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy on board for the grand opening of Reihana’s Biennale exhibition.
Lisa Reihana in Venice. Photo: RNZ / Lynn Freeman
It was a crowded house for the opening, so many people packed in that it was difficult to see Reihana’s 10 year-long labour of love. But the strong turnout is a promising sign that word is out about Lisa Reihana: Emmisaries.
The work is already guaranteed a higher profile, with news revealed at the opening that it will go on to be shown at the Royal Academy in London and the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris. This shows the power of the Biennale to open doors for our artists.
It was great to see the 2015 New Zealand Biennale artist Simon Denny at the exhibition. His show about surveillance was object rich and set in an historic Venetian library.
You can see why New Zealand has earned a reputation in Venice for diversity in its visual art scene – before Denny, Bill Culbert installed lights and objects in an old building and there was Michael Parekowhai’s bull and piano exhibition by the Grand Canal.
Lost in the whirlwind of media coverage about Lisa Reihana: Emissaries is the fact that another New Zealand artist also has work on show at the Arsenale.
Horse Power from Argentina by Claudia Fontes Photo: RNZ / Lynn Freeman
Ex-pat Francis Upritchard, who represented New Zealand at the Biennale back in 2009, has been invited back as part of a curated group show.
Her collection of curious characters draws you in, and that’s a big ask when your plinth is one of many crammed into a massive brick warehouse of a venue. Upritchard’s invitation is yet more proof that New Zealand’s carved out a name for itself at the Venice Biennale.
There’s been little time to go exploring other Arsenale exhibitions, but having sought out Upritchard’s show I did get to look around. Again my ability to get lost proved invaluable, as I came across a massive white horse in a side building. It merited a closer look and I’m so pleased. It’s an Argentinian work called Horse Power.
First you see a girl looking up at a massive blue-eyed white horse seemingly in motion. We’re talking two storeys high just about. Then you notice big chunks of white stone? Cloud? Vapour? Suspended in front of and behind the horse. It’s a work that’s equally beautiful and threatening. The photos can’t do it justice but see what you make of it.
Tomorrow is the last full day in Venice. Time to explore the other venues, notably the Giardini which is another massive Biennale hub. And to seek out fringe artists who try to catch the eye of the world’s press during this week’s Vernissage.
Francis Upritchard's contribution to the VIVA ARTE VIVA exhibition. Photo: RNZ / Lynn Freeman
Lynn Freeman’s time at the Venice Biennale is supported by Creative New Zealand.
