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Julie Mehretu Exhibition at Palazzo Grassi
From: 17-03-2024 To: 06-01-2025 Campo San Samuele 3231, VeniceTELEFONO E FAX: +39 041 2401 308
WEBSITE: www.pinaultcollection.com
EMAIL: visite@palazzograssi.it
LOCATION: Campo San Samuele 3231, Venice
The Julie Mehretu exhibition titled "Ensemble" will be presented at Palazzo Grassi from 17 March 2024 to 6 January 2025. Curated by Caroline Bourgeois, Chief Curator of the Pinault Collection, together with Julie Mehretu herself, this is the most comprehensive exhibition of Mehretu’s work to date in Europe. Spanning 25 years of her artistic journey, the exhibition features over fifty works, including both paintings and prints, with a particular focus on recent pieces from 2021-2024.
Spread across two floors of Palazzo Grassi, the Julie Mehretu exhibition brings together 17 works from the Pinault Collection alongside key loans from international museums and private collections. This rich selection allows visitors to experience the full scope of Mehretu's dynamic and evolving artistic practice. Her works are known for their intricate layering of lines, forms, and marks, which create complex compositions that reflect global issues, urban landscapes, and the chaotic nature of contemporary life.
The exhibition is structured as a non-chronological exploration of Mehretu’s oeuvre, encouraging visitors to engage freely with her work. Central to the concept of the Julie Mehretu exhibition is the theme of collaboration and dialogue. Alongside Mehretu’s works, the exhibition features pieces by several of her closest artist friends, including Nairy Baghramian, Huma Bhabha, Tacita Dean, David Hammons, Robin Coste Lewis, Paul Pfeiffer, and Jessica Rankin. These artists, who share with Mehretu an experience of displacement—whether leaving or fleeing countries like Ethiopia, Iran, and Pakistan—engage in a rich visual and conceptual dialogue with her art.
Through this exhibition, Mehretu explores the idea that art is not created in isolation. Instead, it is deeply influenced by connections, relationships and shared experiences. This collaborative spirit is at the heart of Ensemble, revealing how Mehretu’s artistic practice has been shaped by her peers and how her works resonate with broader social, political, and cultural themes.
The Julie Mehretu exhibition will also include a series of public conferences and cultural events at the Teatrino di Palazzo Grassi, providing additional insights into the exhibition’s themes and the artists involved. A comprehensive catalogue, published by Marsilio Arte, Venice, will accompany the exhibition, featuring contributions by Hilton Als, Caroline Bourgeois, Patricia Falguières, Julie Mehretu, Jason Moran, and two in-depth conversations between Mehretu, Paul Pfeiffer, Lawrence Chua, and Caroline Bourgeois.
In collaboration with K21–Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Düsseldorf, which will present the exhibition in 2025, the Julie Mehretu exhibition at Palazzo Grassi offers a unique opportunity to explore the work of one of the most significant contemporary artists today, showcasing her continued innovation and engagement with the world around her.
Images courtesy of https://www.flickr.com/photos/ugardener/52018331061 - Ph. JR P