Il Gazzettino: Judi Harvest, A Fusion of Glass and Nature
The creations of the American artist at Palazzo Tiepolo Passi
- Enzo Di Martino, Venezia
Judi Harvest, one of the most fascinating and original American artists, has spent the last thirty years in a creative oscillation between Venice and New York, her two urban reference points, apart from Miami, her birthplace. Her work in glass takes inspiration from both places, however, in contrast to the impressive architectural styles that characterize those cities, it focuses on nature and its problems.
In Murano, Judi Harvest discovered the extraordinary expressive potential of glass and has created, over the past twenty years, significant works of art. Beginning with an incredible Rhinoceros as part of the multimedia installation called “Rhinoscimento” which was shown at Spazio Proietto during the 2001 Venice Biennale. Following this, beginning in 2003, her large glass sculpture “Buddha /Fragmented Peace,” was installed for a long time at Calle Vallaresso, in front of the Capitaneria di Porto San Marco, and is now in an important private collection in Russia. In this same space, from 2005, the artist had for a long period installed another impressive piece also in Murano glass titled “Full Moon, Luna Piena,” and the year after, she created “Venetian Satellite” which was shown at the entrance of the historical Caffè Florian in Piazza San Marco.
This is but a short list documenting the artist’s fondness for working in Murano glass. A preference which, along with the apiary she created in the garden of the Murano glass factory where she works, led her to create “Propagation, Bees, + Seeds,” a group of works of both tiny and grand dimensions, completely in glass, which are being shown until November at Palazzo Tiepolo Passi, near Casa Goldoni. Together these works form an ecological exhibition that displays the artist’s concerns for the future of the bees and seeds. These elements are realized with great expertise and precision in Murano glass, a material that aptly signifies resistance to the passage of time.
