Castello 2432, Fondamenta dei Penini, 30122, Venezia
Vaporetto: Arsenale, ACTV 1 – 4.1 – 4.2, Alilaguna linea blu / Celestia, ACTV 4.1 – 4.2 – 5.1 – 5.2

Open Tuesday – Sunday, 11am-7pm

Ikon collaborates with curator Hesperia Iliadou in Venice to present Ann Veronica Janssens’ video work Oscar (2009).

This video offers a real-time filmed portrait of the 102-year-old Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer in a moment of intimacy and silence. Niemeyer is shown smoking a cigarillo, almost motionless, as his mind wanders. The film, with its touching sensuality, takes us through the wisps of smoke and brings us face to face with the depth of Niemeyer’s gaze. It draws us into speculation of what this man – the very personification of modernism – could possibly be thinking. Niemeyer strikes us as being almost all too human.

Oscar Niemeyer established himself in the 1940s as a major exponent of modernism. His iconic works include public buildings designed for the city of Brasília, including the Cathedral and the National Congress of Brazil, and the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.

Belgian artist Ann Veronica Janssens is a sculptor of light, sound and space. Ikon presented a solo exhibition by Janssens in 2002 which conveyed the artist’s characteristic fascination with natural phenomena and everyday experience.

Organised to coincide with the Venice Architecture Biennale 2021 (22 May – 21 November 2021).