Recent award recipient of the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement and Portuguese master architect, Álvaro Siza, will be honored with an exhibition exclusively dedicated to his most personal aspects as one of the leading players in the international design scene at the 2012 Venice Biennale. The collateral event, “Álvaro Siza. Viagem sem Programa”, will feature an exclusive collection of 53 works, personally selected by the architect himself for this event, that were developed from travel notes and sketches. The exhibit will be organized in sequential order as a narration of Siza’s work in architecture and concept of life. It will be seen as “a succession of prospects, dreams, memories and the faces of unknown persons and friends encounters in that extraordinary “Journey without a plan”, which is life itself.”
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“Álvaro Siza. Viagem sem Programa” takes you inside the extraordinary eidetic memory of Siza, as it highlights the power of drawings, mainly portraits, created during his youth, on his many work trips abroad, at recent dinner parties with friends and moments “free from the burden of work” populated with memoirs, views and ironical stances accumulated with the passing of time. Every portrait contributes to giving form to his way of living and conceiving life.
Curators Greta Ruffino and Raul Betti explain: “The exhibition explores the qualities of human nature and design culture alike, with a view to revealing the indissoluble link between these to factors and the Portuguese artist’s most intimate sentiments. It is thus an emotive itinerary that expresses his acute capacity for observation, which he then translates into tangible fragments of reality.”
Additionally, the exhibition will feature a 2011 interview made in Portugal where Siza discusses his personal involvement with design, his childhood, the beginning of his career, his most important encounters and closest friendships, as well as a glimpse into some astonishing new projects.
Exhibit: “Álvaro Siza. Viagem sem Programa” Date: August 29 – November 11, 2012 Location: Fondazione Querini Stampalia Organizer: MedicinaMentis cultural association Curators: Greta Ruffino and Raul Betti
