I’m a painterly painter — flesh, the body, the portrait — human nature
Jenny Saville
In the year of the Biennale Arte, the International Gallery of Modern Art at Ca’ Pesaro returns to contemporary voices with an extraordinary exhibition dedicated to one of the most important painters of our time, Jenny Saville. This is the first major exhibition of Saville’s work in Venice and aims to document the development of her work by tracing her career from her beginnings in the 1990’s to the present day.
The exhibition at Ca’ Pesaro presents Saville’s work through over 30 paintings and drawings, including many seminal works from the past few decades. Saville’s practice is deeply rooted in the history of painting and at Ca’ Pesaro her monumental canvases engage in dialogue with the great painters of the past in Venice, creating a unique encounter between contemporary painting and the city’s artistic heritage. Saville’s relationship with the masters of the past – particularly the Italians – centres on the strong connection she continues to maintain with the Venetian School of painting. The final room of the exhibition presents a previously unseen cycle of works created by the artist in homage to Venice for Ca’ Pesaro. The exhibition becomes a sublime celebrationof the strength and power of Saville’s love of and devotion to painting, while also serving as an intimate and grand tribute to the city of Venice – confirming the city’s role as a living centre of cultural innovation.
