The bronze orchid created by the British artist Marc Quinn for the Centenary of the Chelsea Flower Show in London, is now on display on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, the small island in front of St. Mark's Square in Venice. The Rush of Nature, commissioned by the Royal Horticultural Society to raise money to support the new generations of horticulturists, is part of Quinn's solo exhibition presented by the Fondazione Giorgio Chini during the 55th Art Biennale. Orchids are a recurring theme in Quinn's work; their unmistakable shape, featuring sculptural and sensuous traits, and the richness of colours are all elements that fascinate the artist. It took six months to create this beautiful phalenopsis, from the first model in clay to the bronze flower, carefully smoothed before the patient work of painting and sanding back the improbable palette of colours on its perfect, huge petals. This moth orchid is true to nature, a joyful celebration of its beauty and of its inspiring energy and perfection. Quinn further explores the relationship between nature and art with the sculptures of five gigantic seashells scattered along the quay nearby. Again, he uses bronze, casted in refined reproductions of real shells obtained from 3D scanning, to convey their perfect geometric shapes and their polished and rough surfaces. The incessant work of the sea, the passage of time slowly consumes the seashells, revealing the intrinsic transience of beauty. For the sculpture placed near the church of San Giorgio, instead, time stopped in 2005, when, Alison Lapper Pregnant, the portrait of a pregnant, phocomelic artist made of Carrara marble, was installed in Trafalgar Square. This statue is presented in Venice in an 11 metre tall inflatable version, entitled Breath. After many years, this tribute to femininity and to a modern heroism still causes great sensations and controversy.
Reaching the island by vaporetto, the sculptures appear in reverse order: the statue of the imposing woman, the colossal seashells and the huge orchid, that is, from the provocative beauty of a disabled woman to the reassuring beauty of a flower. These large-scale sculptures intrigue and amaze people with their enormous size regardless of the scenery. If "the bronze seashells sculptures sit next to the sea, as almost as though they rolled in from the tides,”(1) the orchid planted in the quay seems lost. Quinn's sculptures are reflections on nature, created not for a specific landscape but to move around the world to make people think.
There is another island in Venice where specially created works of art dialogue with the tides and the breezes of the lagoon. It is the Island of San Francesco del Deserto, where the exhibition Beyond the mystical landscape reveals, through contemporary art, the spirit of the place.
Note:
(1) From the official presentation, Fondazione Giorgio Chini.
Photos:
TravelinaGarden, Venice, July 2013.
Links:
Marc Quinn, official website
www.marcquinn.com/
Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Venice, Island of San Giorgio Maggiore.
http://www.cini.it/en/events/marc-quinn-2
