Jaume Plensa. Together, Basilica San Giorgio Maggiore, through November 22, 2015
One of the most spiritual and meditative projects of the 2015 Venice Art Biennale is Catalonian artist Jaume Plensa's installation located in the 16th-century Church of San Giorgio Maggiore (designed by the Renaissance-era genius Andrea Palladio). Titled “Together”, the installation is made up of two figures – a head made of stainless steel netting, and a hand constructed of cut-out metal letters, suspended from the ceiling. Depending on where you stand in relation to the pieces, they seem to change their shape – an optical illusion that gives the works an added aura of mysticism. Viewed through the perforated surface of the head sculpture, the symmetrical lines of Palladio's architectural design flow through it, allowing the space itself to literally enter the artwork and become part of the head. One has a glimpse of both the inside and the outside of the body – of both the tangibly physical aspect and the metaphysical one. Opposite the head hangs the hand made of letters from eight different world languages; it mimics the pose of a priest's hand in the act of benediction as he blesses his congregation.
In a different building not far from the church, another of Plensa's magical works can be seen – five alabaster heads of young girls arranged in perspective. Blindingly white on a black background in a dimly lit space, the disembodied heads are reminiscent of a surreal hologram – or a dreamy meditation.
Basilica San Giorgio Maggiore, Isola di S. Giorgio Maggiore