Mountaineering in Venice

by Leonhard Emmerling

 

Simon Glaister has a kind of multiple personality. He is an engineer by trade, an artist, a biker, surfer, skater, rock climber and mountaineer. Today, the mountaineer was on duty, while the other Glaisters had a day off. To hang wires from the rim above the capitals of the half-columns it was necessary to climb up to that pretty small ledge.

 

It gave us, who stayed on the ground, the opportunity to muse about the famous sotto in sù (seen from below) technique of baroque painting, any visitor can perfectly study at the frescoes of Giambattista Tiepolo in the Ca’ Rezzonico in Venice.

On the Strada Nova we met Heather Galbraith, co-commissioner of New Zealand’s Venice project and curator of the exhibition Save Yourself by Francis Upritchard. They were in the company of Francis’s sister Hannah, and of Tobias Berger.

 

Tobias, the former director of Artspace Auckland, curates the Hong Kong pavilion in Venice, one of the many collateral events of the Biennale.

It is great to have Heather here in Venice. Carla van Zon and Tanea Heke from the International Team have also arrived back to support the teams. Tanea came to the church to check if everything is alright. Now it will take only a couple of days and the installation will be finished, and the series of festivities will commence.

Relaxing with a Spritz Aperol, I had a wee chat with the director of the Venice Biennale, Daniel Birnbaum who looked pretty relaxed, considering that he had to put together the big exhibition Making Worlds in the Arsenale. All the best of luck for him on the last meters.

Comments

Great pics, reminds me of my days spent in Venice... Lovely place, but way too crowded most of the time.