The Art Newspaper

Essential Venice: Christian Marclay

The artist, showing in the ILLUMInazioni exhibition, shares his favourite spots

By The Art Newspaper. Web only
Published online: 03 June 2011

Marclay recommends the Negozio Olivetti, the Carlo Scarpa-designed ex-Olivetti store just off Piazza San Marco

I first went to Venice with my parents as a child. I remember waking up one morning to find the lobby of the hotel submerged in water. Since then I’ve not only experienced the acqua alta, but the fog, snow and searing heat. My first biennale was in 1978, and I’ve been attending regularly since.

I like to snoop around in the old Olivetti store on the Piazza San Marco; it was designed by Carlo Scarpa in 1959. It has been a cheesy art gallery for years, but I am pleased to see that it has been restored, so that you can properly see his eccentric and sensuous use of materials and textures, like bronze and marble mashups: it’s minimalist baroque. Throughout Venice you can find traces of this Venetian-born architect?/?designer: the Sculpture Garden in the Italian Pavilion and the Venezuelan Pavilion are both from the 1950s. In the 60s he landscaped the garden at the Querini Stampalia Museum (see guide, p22). The entrance to the Faculty of Philosophy [University of Venice, Campazzo dei Tolentini, Santa Croce 191] was designed in the 70s. He created some of the most unusual stairs, and ironically died falling down some—not his own, though. Watch your steps and look carefully; Scarpa is all in the details.

Venice is a time machine. It transports me to another era and makes me forget about the present. On my way to the fish market, I cross the canal on a traghetto, taking me back to the 16th century, when the fish and smell must have been the same. There is sense of continuity here, which is very comforting.

To get away from the crowds I recommend the Cannaregio neighbourhood (p14). It’s less touristy and it looks like paintings by De Chirico: open plazas with no one around. For an even quieter experience, I take the vaporetto to San Michele (p34), the island cemetery, and visit the tomb of Igor Stravinsky.

My favourite restaurant is Alle Testiere (p23), but it’s so small that during the biennale you need to reserve months in advance. For a quick lunch, I’ll go to Al Mascaron (p22). The cicchetti [snacks] are good: the baby octopus is delicious.

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