Roman Opalka and Mariateresa Sartori
7 May - 24 November 2019
curated by Chiara Bertola
In conjunction with the 58th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition
As the second chapter of the project Roman Opalka. Dire il Tempo (Telling time) conceived and produced by BUILDING and Fondazione Querini Stampalia, in Milan and Venice respectively, the exhibition unfolds in the House Museum of the Fondazione Querini Stampalia, where the works of Roman Opałka will forge a dialogue with those of Mariateresa Sartori, and pieces from the institution's historical collections.
The project Dire il Tempo in two complementary exhibitions-chapters - in Milan and Venice - explores Roman Opałka's oeuvre, presenting a selection of works that mark fundamental milestones in his artistic career. The pieces, many of which have never been exhibited in Italy, or indeed at all, come from major public and private collections which include the Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź and above all the Fonds de Dotation Roman Opałka, a connection which became a close partnership in the course of the project. Both exhibitions revolved revolve around OPALKA 1965/1-∞, the project to which the artist dedicated much of his life. For the very first time, the first and last Détails are being presented together: the first from the Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź, Poland, is on its debut showing in Italy, while the last, unfinished canvas comes from a private collection and has never been exhibited before now.
Particularly significant in terms of gaining a critical appreciation of this artist's work, the Venetian chapter of the project brings together the two key works of the OPALKA 1965/1-∞ program, exhibiting them together for the very first time.
The Fondazione Querini Stampalia presents the Alpha and the Omega of this project, the first and the last Détail, reunited at last. Along with these two momentous paintings, the show also features a series of photographic self-portraits and the soundtrack of the artist's voice.
Together with Roman Opałka's representations of time, the Fondazione Querini Stampalia will present a group of works by Mariateresa Sartori (Venice, 1961), an artist from a different generation who was a close friend of Opałka's.
Displayed throughout the museum, Sartori's drawings and photographic images reveal the fine, almost invisible web of threads created by our movements through space and time. The focal point is the imposing installation Il tempo del suono. Onde (The Time of Sound. Waves): a wall completely covered with sheets of paper on which the artist used charcoal to translate the sound of ocean waves into a visual form in real time.
The Venetian exhibition was made possible thanks to the generous collaboration of Anneliese Lenz and the support of the galleries Lévy Gorvy, New York, Michela Rizzo, Venice, Studio G7, Bologna, and Doppelgaenger, Bari.