May 25
It is Saturday, the sun is out and Venice is buzzing with visitors for the Biennale. I chat with people all day at the gallery and also write an invitation for my closing reception, which will be next Thursday, May 30 from 7:00 – 9:00 pm.
IMPRECISION: The Aesthetics of Failure presents drawings, a video projection, and performances. It examines the tensions between failure and perfection: the techniques, limitations and the implications – in particular, improvisational processes. In my drawings, I’ve noticed that aiming for something ugly can produce beauty. Failure creates new pathways; it disrupts prescribed patterns. Drawing blindfolded with one’s attention on something other than the drawing, almost always produces a quality of line, unity and balance of shapes – even – or more prominently, as control moves further away.
I have been asking: What is failure? How does failure relate to imperfection? We often think of failure as the opposite of success, however, in many ways, failure can be associated with eliminating expectation or a state of not ‘consciously’ aiming for pure perfection. Embracing ‘failure’ per se can often lead to a more balanced symmetry. So, is a failure the resolution?
Alongside my solo exhibition, a selection of my video works are featured in Alive in the Universe, curated by Caroline Wiseman and David Baldry at the Palazzo Pesaro Parafava, Venice until June 5, 2019. The exhibition includes artists from varying disciplines such as Sarah Lucan, Julian Simmons, Maggi Hambling and Eileen Haring Woods. For more information go to www.aliveintheuniverse.com
A PDF of my exhibition catalogue can be downloaded at www.clairezakiewicz.com, a selection of the drawings on display are listed at www.clairezakiewicz.com/venice.html and you can follow my instagram page at @clairezakiewicz
This week a prominent performance artist from New York, Hector Canonge, is flying over to perform a piece created especially for the exhibition titled SOMAGRAPHIKA, a project that explores the spatial relationship of drawing and corporeal movement. Through a series of actions, Canonge creates a canvas where lines of charcoal recreate the various shapes of his continuous performative movement. The project consists of a performance made for video, which is being screened at Alive in the Universe and a live presentation at the finnisage of IMPRECISION: The Aesthetics of Failure, where the artist captures a series of bodily impressions delivered over a period of time.
IMPRECISION: The Aesthetics of Failure is open daily this week until May 31 from 1:00 – 7:00pm at: ARTI3160, Salizzada Malipiero, San Marco, 3209/A – 3160, Venice, Italy
