Fondazione Claudio Buziol
Francis attended a gathering at the Fondazione Claudio Buziol last year and was offered the three front rooms of their premises for her Biennale exhibitions. It’s a stunning venue for the exhibtion and a very nice place for us to work, so I thought I’d take a closer look at the building and the Foundation’s programme. Housed in one floor of the Palazzo Mangili Valmanara, the Fondazione Claudio Buziol is primarily interested in design, and the promotion of a series of social, educational and cultural activities - either directly or in collaboration with other institutions, organisations and schools.
The palazzo was once owned by Joseph Smith, British consul at Venice from 1744–1760. Joseph was a patron of artists, most notably Canaletto, banker to the British community at Venice and a major draw on the British Grand Tour. I like to imagine people arriving by boat at the Canal side entrance to the palazzo and ascending to the very rooms we sit in for parties.
Various rooms at the Buziol used as offices by staff and artists and designers in residence
Claudio Buziol
Claudio Buziol was founder of the Fashion Box group, an established collection of companies which manufacture and distribute the Replay fashion brands in over 50 countries in
From the Fondazione Claudio Buziol website:
The Foundation’s main aims are at a glance expressed through the project’s name, “Fast Forward”, a name that, playing with the same technical terminology which is behind the name “Replay”, indicates a particular attention towards youth creativity. More specifically, the Foundation - either giving direct support or through collaborations with other institutions - supports initiatives and projects that assist young people in their education and training.
Spanish filmmaker and artist Carlos Casas
Currently in residence is Spanish filmmaker and artist Carlos Casas, who is researching the concept of parades. He has created a channel on YouTube to feature a selection of films based on his research, and to pose a series of questions:
Can a film be a parade? Is there a Film-parade? Can a Film be a parade of images?
Check out his YouTube channel to see more of this project led by Andrea Lissoni and Carlos Casas.
Federica Pezzato who co-ordinates programmes at the Foundation.
This coming Wednesday I’m attending a free lecture at the Foundation by Scott Schuman, creator of the popular ‘The Satorialist’ blog. He is here for the Foundation’s ‘Pause Summer workshops’ with designers and artists including Schuman, and also Lanzini, Martino Gramper, Abake , Zaunka and El Ultimo Grito. Check out the Fondazione Claudio Buziol website for more details.
Fondazione Claudio Buziol are also hosting a series of summer music evenings, a design competition, as well as their regular activities like promoting young designers on T-shirts for the Replay fashion brand.
The rooms that Save Yourself is installed in are exquisite. Even the radiators are decorative.
The marble sections of wall are in fact painted surfaces, a tromp l’oeil effect of coloured marble.
At a glance the walls appear to be wallpapered but when you get up close you notice they are in fact silk. A fine layer of gauze in the same hue protects the silks from dust: a practical form of conservation which is almost invisible to the eye. One room is dark red, one cream and the third boasts golden yellow stripes.
Many visitors in the yellow-striped room have looked up and commented on the connection between the dancers in the ceiling painting and the cluster of figures in this room who are in various poses of motion. It is not just the burnished mirrors which Francis draws into her exhibition.
The rooms overlook the Grand Canal so we can pop out onto the balcony for a bit of fresh air if we need some respite from the hot weather
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