Photos and the City

Tag: travel

Castle Combe

Last Sunday I landed in Winter Wonderland – London greeted me with a little snowstorm and it kind of stayed like that for the whole day. But I still made it to two of the villages in the Cotswolds I had planned. After spending some time on the motorway I arrived in the picturesque village Castle Combe.

The Cotswolds is a rural area in the south of England and was named an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Rolling hills and ancient villages where time seemed to have stood still.

An area to enjoy the unspoiled nature and the most beautiful towns and villages – often used as a location for film and TV. Castle Combe in County Wiltshire is said to be one of the prettiest villages in England.

The 14th-century market cross, erected when the privilege to hold a weekly market in Castle Combe was granted, stands where the three principal streets of the lower village converge. Next to the cross is one of Castle Combe’s two village pumps. Small stone steps near the cross were for horse riders to mount and dismount, and close by are the remains of the buttercross, built in the late 19th century from old masonry. (Castle Combe)

Tiny cake shop on a doorstep – the carrot cake was amazing!

Castle Combe got its name from a castle which was situated above today´s village. First a fort built by the Romans and then rebuilt into a castle by the Normans. In the Middle Ages Castle Combe became a centre for the wool industry with the river By Brook providing the power to run the mills.

The village houses are all of typical Cotswold type, constructed in stone with thick walls and roofs made from split natural stone tiles. The properties are many hundreds of years old and are listed as ancient monuments. Strict rules apply to preserve the beauty and character of Castle Combe for later generations to admire. (Castle Combe)

19/12/2017
Treasures of the Wreck of the Unbelievable.

Another reason besides the fog for me to come back to Venice in November was the Damien Hirst exhibition in the Punta della Dogana and Palazzo Grassi: “Treasures of the Wreck of the Unbelievable.”

On the day of the show’s preview, curator Elena Guena narrated the fairytale of Cif Amotan II, the first-century Antioch freed-slave-turned-art-collector whose ship, the Apistos (Greek for “unbelievable”), had sunk into the Indian Ocean 2,000 years ago along with his colossal wealth of art and artifacts. In 2008, the story goes, his wreckage was discovered. These were his treasures, which Hirst himself had painstakingly lifted from the bottom of the ocean to put on display here. (Artnews.com)

Hirst goes to extraordinary lengths to tell this story and mixes historical elements with modern – sometimes resulting in huge sculptures.

But I especially like the smaller objects – the golden treasures rescued from deep down in the sea!

Spread through two of Venice’s most palatial museums, its 189 pieces in bronze, marble, malachite, rock crystal, silver, gold, and more brought to life the legend of an (entirely fictional) 2nd-century collector, and his (entirely fictional) hoard of coral-covered sculptures and religious relics salvaged from an (entirely fictional) shipwreck in the Indian Ocean. Taking ten years and more than $65 million to create, and ending this Sunday, “Treasures” is in all likelihood the most extravagant and expensive show of work that a single artist has ever produced. (Vulture.com)

Not everyone loved the grande exhibition – it polarised from the beginning – from being “the worst in the last decade” to “surprising, unsettling and delighting”.

I did enjoy the exhibition at Punta della Dogana – didn´t understand all the connections or context – but just had to admire the beauty of the artwork and textures. Doing both parts in one day wasn´t probably the best idea but I didn´t want to miss the one at Palazzo Grassi – coming here soon!

08/12/2017
Giardino della Marinaressa – #maximaCOMEPASS

While strolling around the Arsenale I stumbled upon an exhibition of the American sculptor Carole A. Feuerman in the Giardino della Marinaressa.

It´s only one of four simultaneously shows going on in Venice of the artist – the sculptures are colourful like the houses in Burano and it took me a while to realize that they are actually sculptures and not real human being sitting and standing in these beautiful surroundings.

Carole A. Feuerman is recognized as a pioneering figure in the world of hyperrealist sculpture. Together with Hanson and De Andrea, Feuerman is one of the three artists that started the Hyperrealism movement in the late seventies by making sculptures portraying their models in a life-like manner. Dubbed ‘the reigning doyenne of super-realism’ by art historian John T. Spike, Feuerman has solidified her place in art history. (Carole A. Feuerman)

It was interesting to see these artworks and even to see how people interact with them. Like me trying to figure out from the distance if these are real people or art or both and then connecting with the figures up close.

In the next garden, I found some turtles from the Seychelles and a massive Rhino – a very special one… somehow taking in its surrounding but still shielding itself from them.

The King Kong Rhino by Shih Li-Jen

From the outdoor exhibitions of the Biennale to the normal Venetian life and streets. Like the Cannareggio the Arsenale is a residential and very quiet area. The perfect place to escape the busy life around San Marco.

Could it be any more picture perfect?

Find the Gondola!

05/12/2017