Elective Affinities Picasso, Matisse, Klee e Giacometti

The title of the exhibition, Elective Affinities, was chosen to evoke and underline the potential dialogue that arises from the meeting of these two important collections, from similarities in iconography to subject matter. The title is inspired by the famous novel of the same name by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a writer who spent time in Venice during his travels to Italy.

At Gallerie dell'Accademia

17 works from Museum Berggruen will be integrated into Gallerie dell'Accademia’s permanent displays, where visitors are invited to discover two very different collections - some of the greatest Venetian paintings alongside Heinz Berggruen’s collection of modernist masterpieces.

Picasso’s portrait of Dora Maar with Green Fingernails is shown alongside Giorgione’s La Vecchia - very different works linked by an intimate relationship between artist and sitter. Two studies by Picasso for Les Demoiselles d'Avignon are displayed alongside a series of sketches by Tiepolo. Sculptures by Giacometti and Canova will also be in dialogue with each other.

At Casa dei Tre Oci, Giudecca

Casa dei Tre Oci will display works on paper - four works from the collection of Gallerie dell'Accademia and 26 from Museum Berggruen, including those by Klee, Picasso, Cézanne and Matisse. This neo-Gothic palace, designed as a home and studio by the artist Mario de Maria and built in 1913, will reopen to the public after major restoration to become the new headquarters of the Berggruen Institute Europe - a place of study and international discussion, hosting exhibitions, workshops and symposiums.

Performance by Miles Greenberg at Palazzo Malipiero

Museum Berggruen – Neue Nationalgalerie will present a new performance work by Miles Greenberg (Canadian, b. 1997) on the occasion of the opening of the 60th Biennale of Contemporary Art. Co-curated by Klaus Biesenbach and Lisa Botti, Greenberg’s durational performance, “Sebastian”, forms a dialogue with the iconography of Saint Sebastian at the Gallerie dell’Accademia, as well as with Venice’s storied blackamoor motifs. This piece, as opposed to a linear narrative, will be presented as an open ritual over the course of eight hours at the historic Palazzo Malipiero.