Beverly Barkat: Evocative Surfaces

Preview: May 9–12, 8:15am–7pm
Vernissage (RSVP only): May 10, 7–10pm 
Press / professional brunch: May 12, 11am–3pm 

RSVP essential by May 5: elena@lightboxgroup.net
 

To coincide with the 57th Venice Biennale, the Palazzo Grimani Museum is staging Evocative Surfaces, an exhibition by the artist Beverly Barkat (b. 1966). It features site-specific installations of large-scale paintings created especially for the spaces of the palazzo and is supported by Outset Contemporary Art Fund.

"Evocative Surfaces was inspired by the Palazzo Grimani and the energy within the building," says Barkat, who specifically chose the palazzo for her painting project. "I want my pieces to do more than just hang in the palazzo, I want to create a dialogue between old and new, the place and my paintings. At Palazzo Grimani line and colour, architecture and painting come together at every turn and complement each other, and my work responds to that."

One of the only Renaissance palazzos in Venice, this outstanding building was designed by some of the most influential architects of the period—Palladio, Serlio and Sansovino—and boasts an extraordinary decorative scheme and frescoes, including a nude by Giorgione.

In the palace’s main hall, Barkat has created a site-specific installation in response to the interior architecture and the natural light that floods the space. It features 12 monumental paintings on semi-transparent PVC sheets, hung near the windows and suspended from the wooden beams of the ceiling to the floor. Visitors can walk among these sail-like works, which will waft gently with the breeze from the windows and the movement of viewers.

The sheets are painted on both sides and present an overlay of images that combine to recall the pastoral landscapes of the palazzo interiors. The dual painting surface evokes ideas of transparency, mirroring and fluidity that engage with the Venetian context and create a contemplative space.

Daniele Ferrara, Director of the Palazzo Grimani Museum and the Polo Museale del Veneto, has commented:

"Barkat melts the historic into the contemporary… Like the Renaissance artists, like the patron Giovanni Grimani himself, Barkat immerses herself in the architectural context of the palazzo... For me the most important contribution Barkat has made is in rereading the space with her painting. Her work inspires many possible developments; it is as open to reality as to imagination and dreams."

Barkat's foundations in both glassmaking and in painting enable the artist to consider her paintings in three dimensions. Interested in the interplay of color, line, form and texture, she creates richly layered work in dynamic compositions that are at once energetic and lyrical. Beverly Barkat’s Evocative Surfaces widens her ongoing preoccupation with the intersection of old and new that speaks pertinently today.

Artist’s biography
Beverly Barkat was born in 1966 (Johannesburg) and moved to Israel in 1976. She grew up with parents who were themselves artists and was surrounded by art. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem. She has held critically acclaimed exhibitions in Israel and the Far East, while her works have been shown in galleries and art fairs across the globe.

Interested in experimenting with materials and in the power of architectural space, Barkat submerged herself in architectural projects. These included the building and renovation of communal spaces, private homes and libraries in elementary schools with the intention of improving the educational climate.

In 2009 Barkat opened her Jerusalem studio, where she has continued to develop her own painterly language. She has been exploring drawing and painting with mixed media on paper, self-stretched canvasses and PVC, while incorporating the techniques acquired from the various art disciplines in which she specialises.

Media enquiries
Sarah Greenberg, Evergreen Arts
T +44 (0) 786 654 3242 / sgreenberg@evergreen-arts.com / www.evergreen-arts.com