“NelBlu” by Davide Groppi at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice ( 6th Sept, 2019 )
On the occasion of the 2019 Venice Film Festival, Davide Groppi presented “NelBlu”, a sensory journey of light and art at the renowned Peggy Guggenheim Collection.
A lighting installation inspired by the main themes of the surrealist movement, in particular René Magritte’s “L’Empire des Lumières “ ( The Empire of Light ) one of the works on display at the museum.
Just like in surrealist cinema, painting and photography, light is also a fundamental element in NelBlu which unleashes profound sensations, casting doubt on our typical perceptions.
NelBlu pays homage to a colour which has always held a special place in the world of art.
Light and shadow vibrate together, transporting viewers to a dreamlike dimension, that intermediate state between sleep and wakefulness which is the undisputed domain of the unconscious and its most authentic impulses.
Created by Peggy Guggenheim (1898-1979), American collector and patron of the arts, the Collection is based in Palazzo Venier dei Leoni by Canal Grande.
The Collection is also part of the global network of Guggenheim museums, consisting in the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum of New York, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and the future Guggenheim Abu Dhabi
The museum’s façade and garden were immersed in an evocative atmosphere, paying homage to a colour which has always held a special place in the world of art, from Vasily Kandinsky and René Magritte to Vincent Van Gogh and Lucio Fontana; from Pablo Picasso’s melancholy “blue period” to the “most perfect expression of blue” made famous by Yves Klein.
“Illuminating art is a great responsibility.
Light is like a colour on the artist’s palette, or a chisel blow by a sculptor.
It must be delicate and respectful, light and sartorial” …………Davide Groppi
NelBlu is a coherent continuation of Davide Groppi’s thirty-year journey in the lighting field, which has always stood out for its strong links with modern and contemporary art, particularly as regards the relationship between art and lighting.
On display at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection are masterpieces by Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Magritte, Costantin Brâncuși and Jackson Pollock and, in the collection of informal Italian abstract art, extraordinary works by Fontana, Afro Basaldella, Agostino Bonalumi, Toti Scialoja, Emilio Vedova and Carla Accardi.
In 2018 Davide Groppi joined Guggenheim Intrapresæ, the prestigious group of companies which since 1992, have supported the exhibitions and activities of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.
“In the last few years we have been spending a lot of time exploring the world of art and the lighting of artwork.
For this reason, we were particularly honoured to become part of the Guggenheim Intrapresæ and be able to give our support to one of the most important museums in Italy for both European and American art from the first half of the 20th Century.
It is a museum of excellence visited by more than 400,000 people a year and we are honoured to support it with all our means” ………. Davide Groppi
Light is emotion, mystery and narration.
Light tells a story.
