Regular visitors to the Venice Biennale are well used to the collaboration between art collector, interiors expert and all-round aesthete Axel Vervoordt and the Palazzo Fortuny, which has resulted in three previous exhibitions of art, artefacts and architecture. Always well received by critics, the fourth incarnation at the 2011 Biennale is as impressive as ever. For Tra: Edge of Becoming, Vervoordt and his eponymous art foundation were inspired by the work of economist Benard Lietaer, scientist Eddi de Wolf and the architect Tatsuro Miki to put together a show that explores the links between places, history, creative heritage and wisdom. Over 300 works from a variety of periods are on display in the gilded rooms of Palazzo Fortuny, including pieces by Auguste Rodin, Marina Abramovic, Anish Kappor and Lucio Fontana. Unlike in a traditional gallery format that might seek to create a white cube space with no distractions, at Tra: Edge of Becoming, Vervoordt has carefully placed paintings and sculptures within the rich interiors and side-by-side to fascinating antiques. A room that presents 8th-century Bhudda toros next to a Richard Serra drawing is typical of the show and demonstrates Vervoordt’s interest in the interaction of objects within spaces. “The visitor themselves has to give effort to take time to look. You could run through it and see nothing or feel nothing. You have to be very opened minded,” says Vervoordt of how to appreciate this unique exhibition. “When you empty yourself totally and be receptive, then it’s just amazing.”


Axel Vervoordt on how to appreciate Tra: Edge of Becoming:

“It’s an invitation. It’s not about proving anything. I think the visitor themselves has to make the effort to take time to look. You could run through it and see nothing or feel nothing. You have to be very opened minded. It’s very different looking at an abstract painting to looking at a figurative painting or even classical music [compared to] contemporary music. If you look at classical painting you look at the figures. If you look at abstract paining you look for the concept. If you are used to looking at both, then you see the abstract part in the figurative painting and you feel the energy of abstract painting. Like Rothko said, don’t look at it, just feel it. You have to be eaten by the colour. If you have to look at what you see, you don’t understand a Rothko. But when you empty yourself totally and be receptive, then it’s just amazing. With music it’s the same. If you listen to beautiful Mozart of Beethoven which I love, you always know what melodies are coming. In a lot of contemporary music, if you listen that way then you are lost. You have to think nothing, just be open and let the music come through you. Then that is a wonderful experience.”
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What’s in a name?
Tra: Edge of Becoming

TRA was chosen for its many meanings. Firstly, it can be read inversely to spell “art”. In Italian it is a preposition that signifies “in-between” and “inside”, and also connotes an action that goes “beyond” or “ahead of”. TRA is also a common suffix in many Sanskrit words such as “mantra”, “tantra”, “yantra”. Mantra is the literal translation of “instrument of thought”, man - to think and tra - an instrument or tool. “Tantra” is the ancient system of knowledge that connects sexual and cosmic energy. “Yantras” are the signs and drawings that act like doors for energetic healing. TRA relates to the idea of being purified through a ritual and creative transformation. It is also the space between two dimensions and marks the moment of passage and a breach towards new experiences. In this sense, TRA connects to the Japanese notion of “ma” that indicates the empty, yet positive space between two objects. The subtitle of the exhibition, EDGE OF BECOMING, relates to the void leading to the possible powers of energy. TRA. EDGE OF BECOMING seeks the healing balance and creative interaction that unfolds every beginning.


More info:

http://www.museiciviciveneziani.it/frame.asp?musid=2&sezione=musei

www.axel-vervoordt.com/foundation.aspx