THE
EMILY HARVEY FOUNDATION RESIDENCY
The Emily Harvey Foundation
Venice, Italy
May 18 - June 15, 2006
June 18, 2006
I had the good fortune to be invited to be a resident
at the Emily Harvey Foundation in Venice in the Spring
of 2006. The apartment/studio I was assigned was in the
Dorsoduro, over a stationery store. It was located not
far from the Universitiy, Campo Santa Margherita and
Campo San Barnaba. The Vaporetto (water bus) stop was
Piazzale Roma, near the car park, with easy access to
the train station. The third floor apartment/studio was
recently renovated and fully equipped for living. It
was spacious, light, aesthetically designed, highly conducive
to creative work and came complete with an altana (roof
deck).
The other two artists who were there were Alison Knowles
from New York City and
Reinhart Buettner from Germany. Alison’s studio
was on the second floor and Reinhart’s was near
the Rialto Bridge.
Had I not visited Venice before, based in Cannaregio
the first time and the Castello the second time, I don’t
think this residency world have been as successful for
me - the temptation to go out and explore the city and
see the art in the museums world have been too compelling.
On the previous trips, I visited most of the major museums
and studied the collections. When I first arrived this
time, I wanted to make a strong start with painting and
established studio hours in the morning through the afternoon.
I went out in the late afternoon after the Venetian mid
day break. The long days made it possible to take walks
and explore Venice until sunset. Venice itself is a museum.
I also worked on paintings later in the evenings after
dinner on a daily basis.
During the month long residency, I completed over twenty
small paintings. Some were more experimental, others
were studies, while some will become parts of larger
paintings. During the third week, I began to see several
possibilities for groups of paintings emerge: The lagoon,
the alleys and colors in Burano, architectural elements
and reflections, and murano glass, used as a source for
color and the illusion of depth in abstract painting.
Getting out into the Lagoon by vaporetto and seeing
the Islands was an important part of the experience.
I had been to Murano to see the glass factories on a
previous trip, so this time I went to Burano and to Torcello,
much farther out in the lagoon. Torcello is the historic
heart of Venice, the original island settlement. Burano,
with the beautifully painted colorful houses was of interest
to me and once there, it was the alleys and the way the
light made different shadow colors at unusual angles
that found their way into my paintings. My paintings
remain basically abstract, but tempered by the ambiance
and experience of being in Venice.
One of the most rewarding experiences of this invitation
to be at the Emily Harvey Foundation, apart from the
time and space to paint, was the sense of being a "temporary
resident" of Venice. I enjoyed getting to
know my neighborhood in the Dorsoduro and having a "Carta
Venezia"—a resident vaporetto pass.
The difference from being in Venice as a visitor and
being there as a resident, even a temporary resident
for a month, is like the difference between day and night.
In the month I was there, I could start to feel something
of the pulse of the city and feel the history of La Serenissima.
I am grateful for the generosity of Emily Harvey (1941
- 2004) for her foresight and wisdom to establish this
amazing international opportunity for artists and creative
thinkers. I often found myself wishing that I had known
her, so that I could express my appreciation in person,
then realizing that short of that, the best I could do
to honor her was make the most of being there creatively—to
use the time well for painting and new ideas.
I would like to acknowledge the generous help of Ewa
Gornaik-Morgan, who is in charge of the Venice office,
and her husband, Bob Morgan, for their assistance in
getting settled in. A special thanks to Berty Skuber
and to Henry Martin for their correspondence, guidance
and information about the Emily Harvey Foundation.
I would also like to acknowledge the helpful SOS (Static
Opportunity Stipend) grant from The Art Center of the
Capital Region and New York Foundation for the Arts,
The Sage Colleges Faculty travel fund.
The Emily Harvey Foundation
537 Broadway, New York, NY 100013
S. Polo, 322 30125 Venezia, Italy
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