Scotland takes its place on the Venice stage

On 7 June the 53rd Venice Biennale – the world’s largest and most prestigious showcase for contemporary visual art, opened its doors to the public.

The Biennale showcases the best contemporary art in presentations from countries across the world, and this year Scotland is represented by a Glasgow artist Martin Boyce in a solo show entitled No Reflections.

Situated within the 15^th century Palazzo Pisani No Reflections transforms seven rooms in the fading grandeur of this palace with suspended, geometric chandeliers, sculptural autumn leaves, stepping stones, brass letters, tables and benches – each altered from the everyday into an atmospheric, poetic landscape.

The concept for No Reflections makes reference to a starting point in Boyce’s work; a photograph of four concrete trees created by Joël and Jan Martel for the 1925 ‘Exposition des Arts Décoratifs’ in Paris. These trees, Boyce says, ‘represent a perfect collapse of architecture and nature, visualising oppositional elements of urban existence: the natural versus the constructed, the populated versus the uninhabited, old versus new.’

Boyce developed this new work for Venice in close collaboration with the curatorial team from Dundee Contemporary Arts of Judith Winter, Deputy Director/Head of Arts Programme and Graham Domke, Exhibitions Curator.

Following the close of the summer-long Biennale in November, Scottish audiences can  experience the work first hand when it returns to Scotland to be exhibited at Dundee Contemporary arts in December as the culmination of its 10th anniversary celebrations.

Representing the fourth Scottish presentation at Venice by Scotland and Venice, a partnership between the Scottish Arts Council, National Galleries of Scotland and the British Council, No Reflections builds on the critical success of previous projects which have promoted artists including Turner Prize winner Simon Starling and Turner Prize nominees, Cathy Wilkes and Jim Lambie.

Read more about  Martin Boyce and the Scotland and Venice exhibition by visiting the official website www.scotlandandvenice.com