The Venice Film Festival wrapped up its 81st edition on Saturday, when Pedro Almodóvar scooped the Golden Lion for best film for his feature-length, English-language debut “The Room Next Door,” starring Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore.
The award ceremony was just the peak of a star-studded edition that sealed the event’s official comeback. The rich schedule, A-list attendance and memorable fashion moments contributed to the success. Coppa Volpi for best actress winner Nicole Kidman’s Schiaparelli fall 2024 couture beaded fringed corset and velvet column skirt; jury president Isabelle Huppert’s Balenciaga fits; Angelina Jolie’s custom Tamara Ralph dress; Lady Gaga’s black Christian Dior couture ballgown, and that Philip Treacy headpiece notoriously worn by Isabella Blow, as well as pretty much every single look served by Cate Blanchett and Taylor Russell helped turn Venice’s red carpet into a glam spectacle of international resonance.
But far from the Lido’s frenzy, on the quiet island of San Giorgio Maggiore, another study in beauty was unfolding in the majestic spaces of Fondazione Giorgio Cini. At its third iteration, the Homo Faber artisan exhibition deserved equal attention as it made for a compelling showcase of craftsmanship and artistry, as good as the city’s Art Biennale.
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Running until Sept. 30, the event champions artisanal talent by showcasing a variety of materials, techniques and skills through live demonstrations, immersive experiences and unique creations from all over the world. It is organized by the Geneva-based Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship nonprofit, which was established by Compagnie Financière Richemont’s chairman Johann Rupert and Italian entrepreneur Franco Cologni with the mission to promote, encourage and preserve fine artisanal practices in different fields.
This edition coinciding with the film festival maximized its visibility, while also leveraging the involvement of “Challengers” and “Call Me by Your Name” director Luca Guadagnino.
To be sure, Guadagnino played double duty in Venice. On one side of the lagoon he premiered his latest movie, “Queer,” flanked by the cast headlined by Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey, as well as his fashion pal Jonathan Anderson, who designed the costumes. On the other, Guadagnino was tasked with overseeing the artistic direction of Homo Faber along with architect Nicolò Rosmarini, developing the scenography around the showcase’s theme “The Journey of Life.”
The title builds on an idea of Michelangelo Foundation vice president Hanneli Rupert, and resulted in an exploration of the essential role handmade objects play in our daily lives. A key point of difference compared to previous editions is the creation of a specific exhibition path to follow, as the overarching goal was to guide visitors through a 10-stop journey, from birth to afterlife.
“I came up with the theme after thinking firstly about the visitor flow, as for this edition we wanted to guide visitors along a path. With something as all-encompassing as craft, I wanted a theme that was broad which could equally be interpreted at any level,” said Rupert, stressing she aimed at a simple concept “that would resonate globally, and simultaneously allow us to show, for the first time, works from around the world.”
To wit, the inaugural show in 2018 spotlighted European craftsmanship, while the sophomore iteration in 2022 celebrated its interconnections with Japanese talents. “For the third, we have a truly global selection,” said Rupert, pointing to the 800 objects by more than 400 artisans from 70 countries being showcased, which display 105 different crafts.
“As with anyone who exhibits in Venice, the logistics are a challenge, particularly with so many objects,” she said when asked about the trickiest part of the project.
Guadagnino and his namesake design studio conceived the indoor and outdoor set-ups, playing with mirrors reflecting the island’s natural surrounding and lighting as well as plenty of pleated fabric covering walls and structural elements, in a tribute to Venetian-born designer Carlo Scarpa.
“My job has always been to find a way to tell a story within the coordinates that I’m given,” Guadagnino said. “This amazing and very streamlined and universal concept of ‘The Journey of Life’ really led us to understand how to envelope the audience through the amazing architecture of the Fondazione Cini so that the craft on display was not going to be overwhelmed, but at the same time the place itself was given a lot of relevance.”
Upon entering through an open-air maze flanked by mirrors, visitors go into a courtyard representing birth, where a first large-scale installation is staged: a pink thread running through a colonnade, which is lined up with panels richly embroidered by different artisans and themed after the Game of the Goose.
The ludic concept continues in an indoor hall dedicated to childhood, filled with fun artifacts and crafty games, spanning from a wooden pinball machine to bespoke backgammon sets by London-based artisan Alexandra Llewellyn, from a doll house meticulously crafted from paper by Rebecca and Lucy Clayton to the playful design pieces by U.S. talent Liam Lee.
One of the highlights is the Cenacolo Palladiano hall dedicated to celebrations and conviviality. A staircase lined with 40-foot-high papier mâché cypress trees guides visitors in a rectangular hall decked in pink pleated fabric. Standing at the center, a long mirrored table displays designs nodding to feasts and food, ranging from Buccellati’s silver garland of handmade artichokes and Laboratorio Paravicini hand-painted plates to intricate ceramic pieces by France’s Virginie Boudsocq and the sleek crystal designs by Czech glassmakers Filip Dobias, David Gabera and Jakub Petr.
The “Sala delle Fotografie” space touches on the theme of inheritance via photography and videos projected on the ceiling and spotlights the stories of family-run businesses, which are passing down traditions and skills from one generation to another, while a series of standout objects displayed as example include a bonsai tree sculpture by French bronzesmith Pierre Salagnac.
A separate area is dedicated to love, divided in a hall themed after courting and rich in floral references across different media — from vases by South Korean artisan Hye-Jeong Ko and paper artifacts by Studio Marianne Guely to Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry — and the other after unions. The latter includes live demonstrations by artisans from Richemont brands such as Buccellati and Vacheron Constantin, as well as pieces developed by Serapian, among others.
Cartier and Dunhill are among the houses spotlighted in a space celebrating nature, next to a bold sculpture by the U.K.’s talent Josh Gluckstein; giant pebble-shaped mother-of-pearl furniture by South Korea’s Samyong Hwang; a colorful desk by Valentine Huyghues Despointes, and wooden artifacts crafted by French artisans Alain Mailland and Ludovic Deplanque.
A hall dedicated to travel displays inventive world maps and paper globes, as well as the jaw-dropping work of Swiss self-taught clockmaker-slash-artist Miki Eleta. It also contains a tea room furnished with bespoke Cappellini and Christofle tableware for a quick break half-way through the journey. Other places for a break include the informal La Cicchetteria bar and a culinary experience developed with Michelin star restaurant Local and rising star chef Salvatore Sodano, served in a space decked in de Gournay wallpaper, bespoke furniture by Dante Negro and cushions covered in Fortuny fabrics.
After returning to the path, visitors access the other standout hall of the exhibition, dedicated to dreams. Guadagnino reimagined the foundation’s former swimming pool as a space immersed in darkness for a highly suggestive effect. Mannequins in hooded Alaïa dresses are lined up on the water’s surface, evoking a mysterious procession, while all around the pool a series of inventive masks crafted from leather, metal, textiles and plastic add to the mystic vibe.
The two final rooms are dedicated to fellowship and the transmission of skills across generations — shedding light on craftsmen from houses such as IWC, Montblanc, Piaget and Santoni and independent artisans and the objects they crafted together — and to the afterlife, displaying artisans such as London’s visual artist Katrin Spranger and Peter Olson.
“With this showcase we hoped to show the audience what incredible work can be done by hand and for them to understand how important and meaningful craft is,” Rupert said. “We also hope it will inspire people to live with more craft in their homes and to choose handmade over machine-made items.”
