The Prada Foundation announced the opening, on May 31 2011, of its new exhibition space in Venice, the Ca’ Corner della Regina, an historic palazzo on the Grand Canal. Belonging to the Comune di Venezia, the building was made available by the Fondazione Musei Civici, which oversees its use and administration, for a period of six years with the option of renewal. Ca’ Corner will open with an exhibition documenting the multiple activity of the Prada Foundation.
Ca’ Corner della Regina is considered the first architectural example to introduce non-Baroque parameters as dominant themes, even if some elements of the prior style remain. Built between 1724 and 1728 by DomenicoRossi for the Corner family of San Cassiano atop the ruins of the palazzo in which Caterina Corner—future queen of Cyprus—was born, it displays an architecture stylistically reminiscent of Baldassare Longhena’s nearby Ca’ Pesaro, the current venue of the Galleria Internazionale d’Arte Moderna.
With the support of the Prada Foundation, the restoration of the building, which for now will be limited to conservation, has been planned in gradual stages based on the directives of the Soprintendenza per i Beni Architettonici e Paesaggistici di Venezia e della Laguna, with the help of the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia.
The rooms of Ca’ Corner della Regina that have been involved in the first phase of conservation, will house the imposing sculptures of Anish Kapoor, Michael Heizer and Jeff Koons. Together they will constitute the entire exhibition space, interspersed with important works by Walter De Maria, John Baldessari, Charles Ray, Tom Friedman, Domenico Gnoli, Damien Hirst, Louise Bourgeois, Blinky Palermo, Bruce Nauman, Pino Pascali, Donald Judd, Francesco Vezzoli and Maurizio Cattelan.
PUBLIC OPENING: Saturday 4 June 2011, 10am-6pm, until Sunday, October 2 2011
HOURS: Wednesday to Monday, 10 am-6 pm, closed Tuesdays
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