INAUGURATED THE EXHIBITION I LIBRI D ACQUA BY ANTONIO NOCERA - collateral event - la Biennale di Venezia

PRESS RELEASE  GIORGIO NAPOLITANO CONGRATULATES THE EXHIBITION “I LIBRI D’ACQUA” BY ANTONIO NOCERA Collateral Event of the 55th International Art Exhibition – la Biennale di Venezia Venice, 6th June 2013 - Inaugurated on Friday, May 31st the exhibition “I libri d’acqua” di Antonio Nocera, a collateral event of the 55. International Art Exhibition – la Biennale di Venezia, will be open until November 24th, at the Monastery of St. Nicolò at Venice Lido. Among the speakers at the vernissage, Councilor Bruno Filippini for the Municipality of Venice, the President of the Pellicani Foundation Nicola Pellicani and Professor Fabrizio Marrella for EIUC (European Inter-University Centre For Human Rights and Democratisation). The Head of State Giorgio Napolitano sent his congratulations, writing in a heart-felt letter to the master "I am certain that your works are going to raise the interest of the public, not only for their imaginative quality and artistic achievement, but also for the inspiration that guides them in dealing with the phenomena of our times and the fecund exchanges between different traditions and cultural realities." The exhibition is made of a big sculpture/installation located in the central open-air area of the claustrum of the Monastery and about twenty artist books, of different sizes and shapes, on view in transparent cases that seem to be floating in mid-air in the cloister. The central installation, titled “Il libro dell’acqua”, is made of 22 painted aluminum panels, each one connected to the other, and resting on an iron platform sized 400x400 cm, full of glass of different blue shades. It is a big open book that seems to be rising from the sea waters and stand out against the sky. Glass, iron and paper are the materials dominating the exhibition together with the blue color of the artworks. The central subject of Antonio Nocera’s representational world is migration, an ancient phenomenon that has touched millions of people all over the globe, starting from the Greek and Roman colonizations to the conquer of the New World up to the present. During the whole period of the exhibition the public will be able to visit the artist’s atelier, made available by the Monastery, where a great number of the works were made. An immersion into the creative process and perhaps a chance to meet the Master at work. The areas dedicated to the exhibition “I libri d’acqua” will also be the setting where, on July 13th, the yearly Diplomatic Conference organized by EIUC will take place, a unique moment of dialogue and reflection on the issue of human rights in which international scholars and diplomats will participate. EXHIBITION COORDINATES VENUE Monastery St. Nicolò - Riviera San Nicolò, 26 Venice Lido OPENING HOURS every day from Monday to Friday 9-13 and 14-17 Saturdays 10-17 (closed on Sundays) closed from August 5 to August 15, 2013 HOW TO GET THERE waterbus stop "Lido", then bus line "V" at minutes 00 20 40 www.ilibridacqua.it www.eiuc.org