zaha hadid exhibition venice architecture biennale

zaha hadid retrospective at palazzo franchetti during venice architecture biennale
hafenstrasse development, hamburg, 1989
image © zaha hadid architects

zaha hadid exhibition at the palazzo franchetti
campo santo stefano, venice, italy
27 may – 27 november 2016

coinciding with the start of the 15th venice architecture biennale, palazzo franchetti will become the backdrop to an exhibition dedicated to the late zaha hadid. hosted by fondazione berengo, the retrospective will feature many of the unique seminal paintings and models created by the architect herself; the collection reflecting the dynamism of her projects.

the world (89 degrees), 1983
image © zaha hadid architects

from paintings to photography to film, early in her career hadid had particular interest in the russian avant-garde, exploring the composition techniques of fragmentation, layering and porosity that transcend all her projects.

hadid described her process, ‘my paintings really evolved thirty years ago because I thought the architectural drawings required a much greater degree of distortion and fragmentation to assist our research – but eventually, it affected the work of course. in the early days of our office the method we used to construct a drawing or painting or model led to new, exciting discoveries. we sometimes did not know what the research would lead to – but we knew there would be something, and that all the experiments had to lead to perfecting the project.’

grand buildings, trafalgar square, 1985
image © zaha hadid architects

three projects representing milestones in zaha hadid’s career will also be presented in their own room. beginning with the vitra fire station (completed 1993) in weil am rhein, germany, zaha hadid architects’ first completed scheme and followed by the rosenthal center for contemporary art in cincinnati (completed 2003), which contributed to zaha hadid being awarded the pritzker architecture prize in 2004. concluding the room’s projects is the maxxi museum of 21st century arts in rome (completed 2009) which reflects the periods in which the practice implemented and developed its wide-ranging experimentation with the rapid advancements in computer-aided design.

the peak, hong kong, 1982-83
image © zaha hadid architects

in addition, the ongoing projects of zaha hadid architects will be exhibited, including projects to be completed in the coming year. italian fashion house falconeri will be continuing its partnership with fondazione berengo supporting creativity and innovation in the arts as the major sponsor of the exhibition and will host a performance in tribute to zaha hadid on 25 may at palazzo franchetti by soloist anna tikhomirova of the bolshoi ballet.

‘visitors to the exhibition will have a greater understanding of zaha hadid’s pioneering vision that redefined architecture and design for the 21st century and captured imaginations across the globe. although I work in the art world and dame zaha hadid’s excellence was architecture, her work is also imbued with art, that patina that makes everything eternal, including the creator herself.’ – adriano berengo, president of fondazione berengo