Following a different stream yet in close connection, Dutch artist Giselle Weegels also continuously explores through her art, but rather than focusing on the outside world, she pays attention to the inner world, the ups and downs of life from within.  The work she shows in Palazzo Bembo is part of a series of sculptures she made in response to the theme ‘cycle of life’. Within decay lies the seed of the new. Dying, budding and blooming are inextricably linked. This is the core of her work “The only way out is in”.

Mystery and introspection

Through art, we can communicate important statements and convey narratives of the past that concern beliefs and spiritual experiences. Art, however, can also be the means through which the spiritual is expressed ー the tool to show, elevate and connect with our deepest values.

Thanks to the internationality of the exhibition, there are multiple ways in which this is presented. From Taiwan, painter Calvin Teng astonishes visitors with artworks that depict nature as a genuine representation of his demeanour and state of mind. For Teng, the concept of “nature” resonates with the equivalent of the Greek word “physis,” understood as “to grow” or “to develop”, or of being in a world where all creations continue to thrive. Based on rich and poetic content and spiritual strength, the existence of all living things is made concrete and perceptible in the natural world, and so translated into the artist’s abstract paintings. With this installation, Calvin Teng pays tribute to the universe and the meaning of “being” in this world, reflecting on the “essence of life”.

From Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland in New Zealand, visual artist Karen Sewell brings her love and fascination for the stars and night sky. More specifically, what is hidden in the deepness of the sky and the mystery beyond that. 

Through sculpture, installation, photography, video, light and sound, the artist explores and expresses the human experiences of the numinous ー the liminal experiences that are felt rather than seen. Inside Palazzo Bembo, the public can join Karen in this exploration. Her installation Luminary I Luminare invites the viewer to think about the vastness of space, the cosmos and celestial events while being enveloped in sound and light. Karen explains how the exhibition offers “an opportunity for inward reflection and connection with what is beyond of what they can see; for viewers to step into a liminal moment of encounter with the unseen and unknown, to reflect on the balance in their lives and their world, and to consider the reality of the unseen spiritual realm”. 

"An opportunity for inward reflection and connection with what is beyond of what they can see; for viewers to step into a liminal moment of encounter with the unseen and unknown, to reflect on the balance in their lives and their world, and to consider the reality of the unseen spiritual realm”

The work seeks to evoke the unfathomable mystery and beauty of cosmic phenomena and acts as a potential threshold into the terrain of the numinous. To express this, Karen uses spherical and circular forms in sculptural and photographic works that reflect the artist’s interest in celestial bodies and sacred geometries. In fact, one of the first things noticeable when admiring Karen’s installation is the big spherical shape hanging, almost levitating, from the ceiling, which is presented with thoughtful details. The universal symbol of the sphere is a spiritual allegory that denotes infinity and for some the divine. According to the artist herself, “the sphere seems to float and hover in space defying gravity, and overcoming natural limitations, much like the cosmic bodies in our galaxy and beyond. This leads us beyond what we might have already known or experienced, to a sense of cosmic wonder.”