The exhibition project arises from the painter's research and personal collection Ivan Glazunov. His pictorial manner has often been associated with the great traditions of the European schools of painting, and the central theme of his work is dedicated to the progressive disappearance of the traditional values that underlie Russian and European culture. With this exhibition, Glazunov wants to share with the European public a personal, but in reality increasingly widespread, cultural concern, one that originates from the incessant destruction of the historical and cultural links that have characterized our civilizations for many centuries. Like many other artists from his country, Glazunov is interested in the peculiarities of national cultures, languages and historical paths…, starting with those of his land.
Everything that has been created up to us - observes Glazunov - and that we have inherited, is the richness and diversity of our common civilization. Russia has always kept the memory of its past, and with this ability to make its tradition alive, our people arrived at the tragic events of the XNUMXth century. Now, having survived the revolution, the war, the Soviet regime, we are looking within ourselves for the strength to continue, remembering the cultural genetic code that has sustained us for centuries. Right now, when the world is rapidly changing and we live in a powerful and aggressive flow of information.
We need to preserve our original values, which have supported us at all times: they are the pivot that has allowed us not to get lost, which has preserved our image as a people. I want to show what is dear to me about Russia, what I love. Throughout my life, I have collected and studied Russian antiques: each of them can tell us about the people who lived centuries ago or more recently… These signs too have created the image of Russia that I love, that is dear to me, that it is important for me. Which I want to keep for my children and share with the public.
For this project between signs and memory, characterized by a strong family imprint, there could be no more suitable location than the ancient residence of the Querini Stampalias. Founded in 1869, the Querini Stampalia Foundation integrates the rooms of the house museum, its precious collections, the rich library, with the spaces of contemporary architecture, designed by Scarpa, Pastor, Botta: an evocative manifesto of its cultural mission as a frontier place and of comparison, between custody of the past and research attentive to new times.
The combination in the same space of paintings, costumes and antiques, one reflected in the other, restores, also through an unconventional set-up and the use of original multimedia devices, the strength and beauty of a past that is still present, immersing the viewer contemplating sometimes the majestic intimacy of Russian landscapes or in a series of engaging female portraits.
Venice, Querini Stampalia Foundation
15 October 2014 - 11 January 2015
