15th July 2013: As part of our on-going research and passion for great art, we visited Venice's 55th Art Biennale; an absolute must-see in every art calendar. This bi-annual contemporary art fair features 88 National Participating countries and has been leading the way for over a hundred years. The experience of seeing contemporary art in the unique environment of Venetian architecture is incredibly special. This image reflects this sentiment beautifully, showing a piece in the New Zealand pavilion by contemporary artist Bill Culbert - a glass installation 'Level' which cleverly reflects Venice in six vessels of water installed on an almost invisible shelf (image credit - Jehane Boden Spiers).
The Biennale's Giardini is home to 30 archictectural pavilions, each housing a single country's choice of work. Jeremy Deller, selected by Great Britain, impressed with on-site paintings of an endangered species bird of prey allegedly shot down by Prince Harry on the Sandringham estate & of Victorian thinker William Morris in 'We sit starving amidst our Gold' - "Morris was so outraged by the manner in which a massive black boat dominated the Venetian quayside at the last Art Biennale in 2011 that he returned from the dead specifically to get rid of it". Visitors could make their own stamp of the painting to take home - linking superbly to the exhibition's display of an original Morris textile and hand-blocks, kindly lent to Deller by Art Fund winner of Museum of the Year 2013 - The William Morris Gallery . Yellow House Art Licensing is proud to license William Morris' drawings and paintings.
Other highlights included gold coins raining down from the roof of the Russian pavilion, so that visitors need an umbrella to walk underneath - although only women were allowed! Causing a stir in the Arsenale were the film-making of Sharon Hayes on interpretations of feminism, hot-air balloonist Nadar's first aerial photographs taken using a camera weighing a hefty 40 kg, and Alfredo Jaar's 1.60 scale model of the Giardini itself which every 3 minutes emerges from the water...
A major treat was to take a boat across to San Giorgio to see astonishing solo show by Marc Quinn at the Cini Foundation. An artist who made his name as part of the Young British Artists, this show is his largest and most important to date featuring more than 50 works, including his seminal piece 'Self' a sculpture of his head made with his own frozen blood.
Key to our industry is how Art Licensing is often still reviewed with disdain from some factions of the art-world - a scenario which Marc Quinn extensively challenges. He has indeed morphed his own work into a whole range of products, far beyond that of merely offering limited-edition-prints. Marc Quinn's products includes jewellery, stationery, rugs, and accessories with prices as high as £8000 for a gold ring to £4.00 for a temporary tattoo.
It's fascinating to see how Marc Quinn, one of the world's leading contemporary artists, has taken control of his own imagery to create a range of effectively self-licensed products to extend his oeuvre.
Great art - simply licensed.
Image credit for all photographs in this blog post - Jehane Boden Spiers