from march 15, 2008 to november 30, 2008




Including clothes, accessories and trompe-l’oeil creations, the eighty-plus pieces in this show are all made of paper by the Belgian artist Isabelle de Borchgrave (Bruxelles, 1947). The exhibition also offers an unusual account of the world of Mariano Fortuny, with the evocative works organised within his palazzo-museum to illustrate episodes in his life and his significance for figures such as D'Annunzio and Proust. Spread over all three floors of the Museum, it comprises a number of three-dimensional models and the recreation of atmospheric settings.

Conjuring up the climate within which Fortuny lived and worked, this ‘exhibition-installation’ reflects all the various facets of the talent of a contemporary artist who is also a designer, and director. It reveals the different ways in which she has been inspired by Mariano Fortuny’s intellectual heritage and by the museum which perpetuates it.

An eclectic figure, Isabelle de Borchgrave works in media that range from painting to fashion, from textiles to decoration. Her work involves a very special exploitation of paper, which can be transformed to achieve effects comparable to silk, lace, damask and plissé, in a whole variety of colours and shades. This is art that brings together a keen eye, a skilled hand and an inexhaustible delight in experimentation.

In effect, an encounter between Isabelle de Borchgrave and Mariano Fortuny (1871-1949) – an artist whose own work embraced a number of fields: painting, photography, fashion, set design and theatre lighting – might almost be said to have been inevitable. This Venice show is more than just an act of homage to the Catalan artist. It expresses a veritable communion of spirits and senses; in her free interpretation of atmosphere and episode, Isabelle captures the very genius of the place. The exhibition is accompanied by a book-catalogue published by Skira.

The exhibition and the catalogue are curated by Pascaline Vatin Barbini.

Isabelle’s rare early talent in the field of painting and drawing led her into the world of fashion design, where her creativity found expression in the production of textiles. Her sharp eye and delight in the exploration of materials then found further scope in the creation of fabrics for interiors and in the design of ceramics, with her work being taken up by important manufacturers. In 1998 she produced a travelling exhibition entitled Papiers à la Mode: 300 years of fashion and costume history illustrated by 180 spectacular pieces (costumes, accessories and clothes) all made out of paper (the designs produced in collaboration with Rita Brown). The show would prove to be an international success.

Since then, paper has provided her with an endless field of experimentation. It has served her not only in the creation of clothes – where it shows how painting can become three-dimensional; how technical skill can transform the very qualities of material – but in a vast range of other artistic projects.

The Venetian show marks a new phase in her artistic exploration. Not only are these precious garments stunning three-dimensional creations, they also meet a remarkable challenge: how to recreate the atmosphere of a particular period by somehow entering into total empathy with it.

With this in mind, the exhibition pays homage to the spirit of the Museum itself - and to the approach which inspires the work of both Fortuny and De Borchgrave - by including a sort of reconstruction of the artist’s studio. On the ground floor, visitors can immerse themselves in the atmosphere of Isabelle’s work-place, getting some idea of the creative processes involved in her art and the materials she uses.

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Fortuny Museum
San Marco 3958 - Campo San Beneto
30124 Venice
Tel. ++39041 5200995
Fax. ++39041 5223088
info: mkt.musei@comune.venezia.it

Opening times:
10am - 6pm (Ticket office 10am - 5pm);
Closed on Tuesday and 25th Decembre and 1st January