Emilio Vedova 1919-2006
January 25 – April 20, 2008
Press conference: January 23, 2008, 10 am
Opening: January 24, 2008, 7 pm
Alte Jakobstrasse 124-128
10969 Berlin, Germany
Emilio Vedova’s first retrospective in the Berlinische Galerie
“Addio Vedova, artist of the rebellion” – that’s how La Repubblica bad farewell to Emilio Vedova in fall 2006. A good year after his death and for the first time in Germany, the Berlinische Galerie is presenting an extensive retrospective on the Venetian painter who is among the most significant artists of gestural abstract painting in Europe. Vedova felt closely connected to the city of Berlin ever since his stay there from the end of 1963 to mid 1965 as ‘artist in residence’ funded by the Ford Foundation.
The Berlinische Galerie has been able to realize this major retrospective, Emilio Vedova 1919-2006, in collaboration with the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna in Rome and the Emilio and Annabianca Vedova Foundation in Venice. Vedova was also very much involved in the development of this large exhibition of his work until his death on October 25, 2006. The exhibition, open from January 25 until April 20, 2008, shows a cross-section of all of the artist’s creative periods – from his first to his last work. The retrospective is complemented by documentary film material and an ambitious supporting program developed in cooperation with the Italian Cultural Institute Berlin. In addition, the Berlinische Galerie is showing six large works by Georg Baselitz – these works were shown at the Biennale di Venezia 2007 as part of a tribute to Vedova in the Venetian Pavilion.
Emilio Vedova is the leading representative of Italian abstract expressionism and is regarded as one of the most important post-war artists in Italy. His work has been honored with numerous prizes such as the Golden Lion of the Venice Biennial for his life’s work (1997) and most recently in 2004 with the Art Prize of NORD/LB Hanover. Vedova has exhibited works four times at documenta and was a regular at the Venice Biennial. In 1993, the artist was selected to become a member of the Academy of Arts in Berlin. A good year after Vedova’s death, the Berlinische Galerie would like to do justice to the Venetian painter’s impressive and substantial creations with his first extensive retrospective in Germany.
Electa Publishers is publishing a full 290 page, two-language (German/English) color catalog for the retrospective with contributions from important authors, curators, and theoreticians from Germany and Italy.
The catalog and the exhibition Emilio Vedova 1919-2006 in the Berlinische Galerie are made possible by the Stiftung Deutsche Klassenlotterie Berlin (German Lottery Trust).
Press contact:
Goldmann Public Relations Berlin, Julia Boberski
Zimmerstrasse 11, 10969 Berlin, Germany
phone: +49 (0)30-259 357-14, fax: +49 (0)30-259 357-29
e-mail: jboberski@goldmannpr.de