Cultural
Temporary Pavilion
LAS Art Foundation / Josèfa Ntjam
On occasion of the first, ever, inclusion of the Accademia di Belle Arti - Venice’s Art School - within the Venice Biennale circuit, UNA / UNLESS presents the project for a temporary pavilion designed to host “swell of spæc(i)es”,, a major commission by LAS Art Foundation of artist Josèfa Ntjam, which will be a Collateral Event of the 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. The pavilion and exhibition will be open to the public between the 20th April and the 24th November 2024.
Mirroring the identity of UNA / UNLESS, an interdisciplinary studio founded by architect Giulia Foscari, the pavilion draws its inspiration at once from the historical context of the renaissance building of the Accademia, and from the utopian dimension inherent in Ntjam’s work.
The pavilion is situated within the courtyard of what was once the Ospedale degli Incurabili: a “square” surrounded by doric colonnades that has witness in the past centuries the appearance and disappearance of a wooden chapel (built in 1523) and a church by Jacopo Sansovino, erected in 1565 and demolished in 1831, after the Ospedale degli Incurabili was repurposed to host a civic hospital and military barracks. Now, at the heart of the Venetian Accademia di Belle Arti, that was once housed on the ground floor of the Gallerie dell’Accademia museum until the Grandi Gallerie project of 1999 saw its relocation in this presigious venue, the courtyard assumes the function of a space devoted to artistic experimentations.
Conceived with this spirit, the pavilion is a triangular blue prism that appears to have fallen from outer space, or else from the celestial virtual realms projected by Josefa Ntjam in “swell of spæc(i)es”. While its abstract presence might seem at first alien, its inherent symmetry and its reflective surface which allows for an optical illusion that reconstructs the fourth side of the loggia, establish a subtle dialogue with the historic context.
With a surface of approximately 350 sqm, the pavilion subtly interlocks with the structure of the old hospital, of which it becomes a temporary extension. Hermetic and impenetrable from the courtyard, the pavilion is
completely open towards the loggias in which the art students – the soul of the Accademia along with their professors – unfold and discuss their research.
Upon entering the pavilion a large convex surface, which evokes the absence of Sansovino’s church by tracing its original footprint, conceal a large LED screen that immerses the viewer in the otherworldly environment of “swell of spæc(i)es”. Once filled with the music of the church choir, the space will be filled with sound once again, with a rich soundscape composed by Fatima al Qadiri and voices emanating from sonic sculptures.
60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, Collateral Event
Accademia di Belle Arti, Venice
April 20 - November 24, 2024
Download Press Release here.
Photo Credits
LAS Art Foundation | UNA / UNLESS Temporary Pavilion at Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia, Venice, 2024. Commissioned by LAS Art Foundation. © 2024 UNA / UNLESS.
Photos:
Andrea Rossetti
Leonardo Mizar
Mirroring the identity of UNA / UNLESS, an interdisciplinary studio founded by architect Giulia Foscari, the pavilion draws its inspiration at once from the historical context of the renaissance building of the Accademia, and from the utopian dimension inherent in Ntjam’s work.
The pavilion is situated within the courtyard of what was once the Ospedale degli Incurabili: a “square” surrounded by doric colonnades that has witness in the past centuries the appearance and disappearance of a wooden chapel (built in 1523) and a church by Jacopo Sansovino, erected in 1565 and demolished in 1831, after the Ospedale degli Incurabili was repurposed to host a civic hospital and military barracks. Now, at the heart of the Venetian Accademia di Belle Arti, that was once housed on the ground floor of the Gallerie dell’Accademia museum until the Grandi Gallerie project of 1999 saw its relocation in this presigious venue, the courtyard assumes the function of a space devoted to artistic experimentations.
Conceived with this spirit, the pavilion is a triangular blue prism that appears to have fallen from outer space, or else from the celestial virtual realms projected by Josefa Ntjam in “swell of spæc(i)es”. While its abstract presence might seem at first alien, its inherent symmetry and its reflective surface which allows for an optical illusion that reconstructs the fourth side of the loggia, establish a subtle dialogue with the historic context.
With a surface of approximately 350 sqm, the pavilion subtly interlocks with the structure of the old hospital, of which it becomes a temporary extension. Hermetic and impenetrable from the courtyard, the pavilion is
completely open towards the loggias in which the art students – the soul of the Accademia along with their professors – unfold and discuss their research.
Upon entering the pavilion a large convex surface, which evokes the absence of Sansovino’s church by tracing its original footprint, conceal a large LED screen that immerses the viewer in the otherworldly environment of “swell of spæc(i)es”. Once filled with the music of the church choir, the space will be filled with sound once again, with a rich soundscape composed by Fatima al Qadiri and voices emanating from sonic sculptures.
60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, Collateral Event
Accademia di Belle Arti, Venice
April 20 - November 24, 2024
Download Press Release here.
| Project Title: | Temporary Pavilion x LAS Art Foundation & Josèfa Ntjam |
| Year: | 2024 |
| Client: | LAS Art Foundation |
| Artist: | Josèfa Ntjam |
| Designer: | UNA / UNLESS |
| UNA / UNLESS Team: | Giulia Foscari, Federica Zambeletti, Karol Czarzasty, Silvia Sandor, Olympia Simopoulou, Francesca Benetti Genolini. |
| LAS Art Foundation Team: | Alexis Convento, Harriet Collins, Carly Whitefield, Sophie Korschildgen, Zoe Büchtemann, Felix Thon, Selin Şahin, Cosima Otte and Moritz Weber, Veronica Jonsson, Alice Lamperti, Coraly von Bismarck . |
| Production: | DH Office |
Photo Credits
LAS Art Foundation | UNA / UNLESS Temporary Pavilion at Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia, Venice, 2024. Commissioned by LAS Art Foundation. © 2024 UNA / UNLESS.
Photos:
Andrea Rossetti
Leonardo Mizar
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