Genesis

Davide Battistin exhibits a new series of paintings dedicated to the essence of Venice at the Istituto Veneto di
Scienze, Lettere ed Arti

One can lose and rediscover oneself in the dreamlike, surreal, extra-ordinary Venice in terms of colours and atmospheres by Davide Battistin. A revelation at the beginning of the new millennium, the artist has ,in recent years, become a much sought-after poet of a city that is as evanescent as it is profoundly real in the feeling of Venetians. 

Now with Genesis – a new series of paintings on display in Venice at the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti until 18 February 2024 in a show organised by lineadacqua – Battistin takes a further step forward and looks back to his origins. In thirteen large-format paintings, the artist draws inspiration from the marshy waters and small, low-lying islands from which the Venetians launched themselves to conquer the world, because it is in the extraordinariness of its genesis that the imaginative power of this city lies.

The lagoon, which lies right at the heart of the legend, and the atmospheric light sought in the pools of water, portrayed with superb technique in Battistin’s canvases, form the prelude to the metaphysical handling of the architecture. The essentiality of the stones, reduced to shades of light, imperiously affirms the profound non-ordinary nature of what catches his eye. Battistin is capable of seeing the extraordinary in every moment. His soul never surrenders to habit, and is unable to stop being surprised. 

"Never intimidated by the potentially oppressive weight of the infinite visual descriptions of Venice,” as Ian Warrell observes, with his painting the artist extracts "the very essence of the material of which Venice is made"; and shows in light and colour the "quintessence of the creative spark of a people that illuminated humanity for a millennium”. Yet a sense of profound disquiet also appears inevitable.

While it is true that, by manifesting his full awareness of the Venetian miracle in his canvases, Battistin succeeds in making the constant presence of man felt in the deserted Venice of his paintings, equally evident is the choice to exclude a humanity that today more than ever grips and overwhelms a city that has become, in spite of itself, a paradigm of the fragility of our world.

Battistin paints a virginal, timeless city, immersed in sometimes apocalyptic atmospheres, in spectral lights that accentuate its beauty. His paintings are an ode to beauty but also a warning to us all about how much and what we are willing to do to protect the world we live in.

The Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, which has always been at the front line in the defence of Venice and its lagoon environment, becomes the chosen venue for an extraordinarily evocative exhibition, accompanied by original music by Alvise Seggi, a multi-instrumentalist and composer of music for films and documentaries, and Michele Bonivento, himself a composer, sound designer and eclectic arranger. An exhibition that invites everyone to a renewed sense of awareness and responsibility.

 

Opening hours

From 10 am to 6 pm - Closed on Wednesdays

 

Extraordinary opening/closures

24-25-26-27 December closed

31 December from 10 am to 3 pm

1 January closed