Venice, Valdés's bronzes arrive in St. Mark's Square: operation prompts debate

Twelve large bronze statues, in St. Mark ’s Square in Venice, installed to be precise in the Piazzetta, or between the Doge’s Palace and the Marciana Library: they arrived on Thursday and will remain there until next June 15, just in time to welcome the first visitors to the Venice Biennale, which opens on April 20, and to cover the first two months of the opening of the great international exhibition, gaining sure visibility by being in the city’s most beloved and frequented square. We are talking about Las meninas, a series of works by Spanish artist Manolo Valdés, part of an exhibition mounted by the Contini Gallery, which has represented the 80-year-old sculptor for years.

The exhibition, titled Las Meninas in San Marco, includes installations by the artist in Piazzetta San Marco, Riva Ca’ di Dio and the Arsenale, and was closed following an agreement between Contini and Vela SpA, an investee company of the City of Venice that handles city marketing activities as well as special events, including the Valdés exhibition. The commercial agreement is worth 122 thousand euros: basically, in order to exhibit the Spaniard’s works in one of the world’s most famous squares for almost three months, Contini will pay about 1,500 euros a day. Not bad for the gallery, considering that a medium-sized booth at one of Italy’s major art fairs (which usually last 4-5 days) is priced between 10 and 20 thousand euros. In addition, the City of Venice is receiving as a gift a sculpture by Valdés, Reina Maria, which Contini estimates at 500 thousand euros, delivered with no placement constraints (the exchange will take place at the end of the exhibition) and no charge to the administration for its placement.

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However, it is an operation that is causing a lot of discussion, despite the fact that the exhibition in St. Mark’s Square has received the approval of the Superintendent: in fact, Valdés’ Meninas tend to get quite conspicuous, also because they are all placed in single file, in one of the symbolic places of Venice, as well as among those most traveled by tourists. Thus, those arriving in St. Mark’s Square between now and June 15 will see this sort of black line rising between the Doge’s Palace and the Marciana. The first criticisms came from the Venetian section of Italia Nostra, which through its Facebook page spoke of “Venice-window-dressing”: “Are we supposed to be happy with this flourishing of art exhibitions and not just temporary ones (with whole palaces being surrendered to collectors)? The refrain is always the same: better this way than that the palaces go to ruin. People close their eyes to the consequences of this extreme ’biennalization’ of the city. Gone are functions for the citizens and consequently gone are the citizens. And the city disappears. Starting with the operation of Palazzo Grassi, and the conversion into an auditorium, with (as they say with an abused term) ’breathtaking’ views, of the squero of San Giorgio. Is this what we want? In our thoughts there is always Paolo Sarpi, the stalwart defender, at the cost of his own life, of the Republic. his centenary, last year, passed almost in silence. And this is no accident.”

Criticism also comes from the association “Mi Riconosci,” according to which the price of 122 thousand euros paid for the exhibition will guarantee Contini “an obvious multiplier effect, given the centrality of the sculptures that will be photographed and spread on social media obsessively.” According to the association, Las Meninas “are quality works, there is no discussion. What is debated is what relation they have to the Piazza, and the appropriateness of putting 13 of them, all together (there are two more sculptures by Valdés, in the package, displayed toward the Arsenale), today, so much so that they become the real center of the interests of unsuspecting tourists, to the detriment of Tetrarchs and various Marcian masterpieces. What should be discussed is to what extent it is possible to put public spaces in our cities on rent, who gets to decide that, and why. In Venice, the problem is more serious than elsewhere, with an entire city being turned into an exhibitor for artists who want to associate their name with that of the Biennale, with public and private spaces rented out at more or less high prices. But this is not just a Venetian trend, we know that very well.”

Venice, Valdés's bronzes arrive in St. Mark's Square: operation prompts debate

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