The key points
- The 59th Biennale of Art opens in Venice on 23 April next
- The Italian Pavilion represents the work of a single artist, Gian Maria Tosatti
- Two thirds of the funding for the Pavilion is private (1.4 million) and Valentino is the main sponsor
Valentino strengthens his bond with the art world (and with Venice) by sponsoring the Italian Pavilion at the 59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, scheduled from 23 April to 27 November 2022 and curated by Cecilia Alemani.
The Italian Pavilion is curated by Eugenio Viola and, for the first time in the history of the event, it will be represented by a unique artist: Gian Maria Tosatti. An artist with whom Pier Paolo Piccioli, creative director of Valentino, shares curiosity and system of values and with whom he has undertaken a dialogue «History of the night and the fate of comets», this is the title of the work, is «a large environmental installation that it offers an evocative vision of the current state of humanity and its prospects, with a proactive and optimistic gaze ”, reads the note from the maison. The president of the Biennale, Roberto Cicutto, defined it as «A message of“ hope ”and of coexistence that want to be a signal in a complicated moment in which we live. A message of peace and sustainability ».
The location of the Italian Pavilion – housed on the walls of the Tese delle Vergini – is also dear to Valentino: Pier Paolo Piccioli had chosen the Gaggiandre of the Arsenale to present the Valentino DesAteliers high fashion collection, in July 2021. Also in that case the project it was conceived as a dialogue between fashion, contemporary art and talented artists. And on that occasion the maison sponsored the 49th International Theater Festival – La Biennale di Venezia.
As stated during the presentation press conference by Onofrio Cutaia, director general of the contemporary creativity department of the Mic and commissioner of the Italian Pavilion, against a public allocation of 600,000 euros, the private funds that supported the work amounted to 1.4 millions and therefore more than two thirds of the total. Cutaia defined the private funds “necessary because the work is very important and structured and needs financial resources, which are not infinite but are necessary”.
