Born in Venice on 4 July 1957, Paolo De Grandis has distinguished himself for his activity as a curator, including over 150 exhibitions with artists of international caliber, hosted in unconventional spaces in the Lagoon and giving life to the concept of Widespread biennial. A life dedicated to art that stopped at 67 years old following a tumor against which De Grandis had been fighting for some time. In addition to his numerous exhibition projects – also taken outside the borders of Venice -, the art historian and curator leaves a legacy of PDG Art Communicationsthe company founded in the early nineties which, to date, manages various exhibition spaces in Venice and provides locations for exhibitions and events.
Paolo De Grandis: career and exhibitions
After conducting his studies in Venice, in the 1970s Paolo De Grandis moved to the United States where his interest in curating was born. A passion that he took shape thanks to the meeting with Silvia Kennedy – we read in Corriere del Veneto – who encouraged him to follow and thanks to whom, in 1984, he curated the exhibition Quarteton the occasion of 41st Venice Biennale, and hosted in the spaces of the Scuola Grande S. Giovanni Evangelista. The project brought together important works by Joseph Beuys, Enzo Cucchi, Bruce Nauman and Luciano Fabroand saw the co curation of Achille Bonito Oliva, Alanna Heiss and Kasper Konig, and was considered the first collateral event of the 1984 International Art Exhibition. In the 1980s, De Grandis also had the opportunity to collaborate with Germano Celant ororganizing the exhibition focused on Arte Povera at MoMa, then run by Alanna Heiss. Subsequently, in the nineties, the Venetian curator began to manage the exhibition events of the collateral pavilions of the Biennale, subsequently taking on the role of curator, commissioner and coordinator. In 1997, however, De Grandis gave life to OPENan international exhibition of sculptures and installations presented on the occasion of Venice Film Festival, bringing together over the years the works of different artists, among which stand out: Yoko Ono, Emilio Vedova, Richard Long, Mimmo Rotella, Beverly Pepper, Carl Andre, Fabrizio Plessi and many more
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Paolo De Grandis and PDG Arte Communications
Based on the concept that art should inhabit spaces that were not necessarily conventional and conformed to pre-established canons, Palo De Grandis founded the PDG Arte Communications, the company that brought together and managed various spaces spread around the Lagoon. A company that collaborated immediately with the Biennale, organizing 132 exhibitions (of which 59 national participations and 73 collateral events) presenting the first participation of countries such as: Andorra, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Jamaica, Morocco, Monaco, Estonia, Latvia, Ukraine, Singapore, Ecuador; and collateral holdings of Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and US Virgin Island. Directed by Carlotta Scarpa, PDG Arte Communications still offers services for the organization of art exhibitions in terms of curation, organization and coordination.
Paolo De Grandis and the exhibitions in Rome
The format has been taking shape since 2016 From La Biennale di Venezia & OPEN to Rome. International Perspectives, a project conceived and curated by Paolo De Grandis, Claudio Crescentini and Carlotta Scarpa (Director of PDG Arte Communications), dedicated to the presentation of some international installations coming from Venice Biennale and OPEN – recomposed and remodeled site-specific – in the museum spaces of Rome. Among these we remember the restaged work of Marìa Verònica Leòn Veintemilla (Ecuador, 1971) in the MACRO spaces in 2016, e Liv Chevalier (Beijing, 1961) hosted at the Mattatoio in 2017.
Valentina Muzi
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