I’ve been a huge fan of Berlinde de Bruyckere ever since I first saw a retrospective of her work at museum De Pont in the Netherlands. In the years since I have had the opportunity to attend several other exhibitions of her work, and each one left me in awe. I rejoiced when I read that Berlinde de Bruyckere had been invited to create an exhibition for the Abbazia di San Giorgio Maggiore, a 16th-century, Renaissance-style church located on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, as part of the 2024 Venice Biennale.
Inside the Basilica Berlinde de Bruyckere has installed an assembly of her Arcangeli. I had already seen two of her Arcangeli back in 2021 at an exhibition at the Bonnefanten museum in Maastricht but here, in this church, they have found a home. De Bruyckere has created large pedestals so that the Arcangeli seem to hover between heaven and earth, on the verge of ascending and descending. They are placed against the background of a tilted mirrored screen, which multiplies the figure of the archangel and emphasizes their duality between physical presence and virtual appearance.
The figure of the archangel entered De Bruyckere’s repertoire during the COVID-19 pandemic. Asked by the Belgian newspaper De Standaard which artwork she would like to have with her during quarantine, she named Giorgione’s painting “Cristo morto sorretto da un angelo” (1502-1510), which shows an angel wrapping his arms around a tormented Christ.
De Bruyckere’s archangels appear to be weighed down by the burden they carry. The heavy cloth offers protection, but it also prevents the angels from spreading their wings and rising up.
In the exhibition’s last room a “fallen” Arcangelo lies on a tomb-like pedestal, its naked legs appearing from underneath a blanket. The idea for the fallen Arcangelo arose from the question De Bruyckere asked herself during the pandemic: “How much of the other’s burden can one person carry, before they themselves collapse?” It is a powerful image, especially now with wars raging in different parts of the world.
The exhibition was conceived specifically for the Abbazia di San Giorgio Maggiore and consists of both new and existing work. In the sacristy De Bruyckere has installed an installation of rusty metal welding tables and dead tree trunks cast in wax. They conjure post-apocalyptic images of a world in ruins. On the walls of the corridor of the Monastery De Bruyckere has mounted a series of vitrines with sculptural arrangements of body parts cast in wax. The sculptures were inspired by the 16th century wood carving’s in the church’s choir area, which portray scenes from the life of Benedict of Nursia. I’ve always liked these vitrines, because they transport me back to my childhood when I liked to visit natural history museums.
"City of Refuge III" is one of the highlights of this year’s Venice Biennale. It is well worth the short boat trip to the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, which can be reached with Vaporetto 2 from S. Marco-San Zaccaria.
Incidentally, the exhibition’s title was taken from a song by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. It frames the exhibition as secure zone where the visitors can find shelter from the violence outside.
Berlinde De Bruyckere: City of Refuge III is at the Abbazia di San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice through 24 November 2024.
More Berlinde De Bruyckere:
Berlinde De Bruyckere retrospective at Museum De Pont.
Berlinde de Bruyckere: Engelenkeel at the Bonnefanten Museum, Maastricht.
Berlinde De Bruyckere: Sculptures and Drawings 2000-2014
Philippe Vandenberg and Berlinde De Bruyckere at Museum De Pont.