Sotheby’s and Crystal Bridges Museum Celebrate the Future of Artistry at Venice Biennale
L’OFFICIEL speaks with the auction house’s Brooke Lampley about a special event at the much-acclaimed exhibition.
For this year’s Venice Biennale, the global art exhibition reemerged in full force as one of the most impactful in recent history. The 59th Biennale di Venezia—the renowned showcase that has captivated art devotees for more than a century—debuted the work of 213 artists from 58 countries around the world. Just opened in Venice, Italy, the biannual exhibition burst back onto the art scene, after a pandemic-imposed hiatus with renewed excitement and inspired energy.
Curator Cecilia Alemani selected a deeply felt message of transformation for the aptly-themed 2022 showcase, The Milk of Dreams. Titled after a book by artist Leonora Carrington, the Venice presentation takes a cue from the story’s surreal, magical world. And the exhibition, too, becomes a place where creative possibilities are limited only by the scope of imagination.
Celebrating the return of this year’s dynamic exhibit, Brooke Lampley, Sotheby’s Chairman and Worldwide Head of Sales for Global Fine Art, Sotheby’s CEO Charles Stewart gathered a collection of arts voices for a truly special event at the Gritti Palace on April 20. A well-established, defining presence in the art world, the auction house paid tribute to the contributions of arts innovators, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and Crystal Bridge’s Board Chairperson Olivia Walton. Among the art world insiders who attended were Rashid Johnson and Sheree Hovsepian, Luisa Loro Piana, Elisabetta Beccari, and Francesca Ruffini, as well as Stephen and Yana Peel, Pierre Lagrange and Ebs Burnough, and Brandon Buchanan.
“This dinner showcases the unique synergy between the city of Venice, the Biennale, and a Monet masterpiece that Sotheby’s is bringing to Venice in advance of its auction in New York in May. Monet’s painting of Santa Maria della Salute reflects the time that he spent in Venice in 1908, so the resonance is very specific,” Lampley tells L’OFFICIEL. “The dinner is also a collaboration with Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art honoring Olivia Walton as the new board chair. We are excited to bring Olivia and all of the Crystal Bridges team together in a celebration with our global collectors at the event, and further support and reflect Crystal Bridges’ mission to convey a more inclusive narrative of American art. The art world at large is craving meaningful experiences and opportunities to be together in person again, and the Biennale, a crowning event of the art world, convening the global art community in one of the world’s most beautiful cities, is an unparalleled draw.”
Crystal Bridges quickly emerged as an art destination since the museum’s founding in 2011. Intertwining the American spirit and the arts within the natural beauty of the Ozarks, philanthropist Alice Walton established the venue to become a pioneering presence in the arts. Currently, the venue has on view the first printing of the final US Constitution, a particularly rare piece of history on loan from arts patron Ken Griffin, who acquired the document in a record-setting auction last November. In addition to its reverence for history, Crystal Bridges also aims to be rooted in the contemporary moment. The museum has just announced a partnership with the producer of Lollapalooza for its newly-created FORMAT music, art, and technology festival, launching this fall.
Dedicated arts advocates, Lampley and Walton share a deep interest in uplifting the next creative generation. "In the arts, we are increasingly looking towards open-ended concepts and moving away from ideas that are elite or exclusive. This exhibition exemplifies the growing trend toward art historic and social interest in Surrealism, and the theme is especially timely and relevant. While Milk is a not necessarily a gendered topic, there is a clear feminine undertone that speaks to the organic economy of our world, as well as social politics and the work of women,” explains Lampley. “Though the art world has always attracted and been highly populated by women, the empowerment and leadership positions that women have ascended to, and that women are encouraged to assume, have increased greatly. I am proud of the progress of women in the arts as prominent, visibly active leaders."
An evolved creative landscape has contributed to important changes that resonate beyond the arts as well. "I have happily known Olivia a long time, before her appointment at Crystal Bridges, but it is amazing to reencounter someone in a new place in their journey and to be able to support the next phase of their work,” shares Lampley. “Crystal Bridges is dedicated to making art part of everyone’s everyday life and thereby expanding the definition of art and what that means to their community and visitors. At Sotheby’s, we have a long-standing commitment to expanding access to art and championing cultural institutions, and so we feel honored to be partnering with Crystal Bridges around these shared values.”
A wholly existential feel defines this year's Venice Biennale. The Milk of Dreams grapples with larger questions around the nature of change, technology, and most importantly, how our lives can best be defined. As arts voices extend these sentiments, their convictions enable art to powerfully transform the world around us. The creative opportunities of today foster the art world of tomorrow, and this Biennale’s celebratory creative moment breathes life into all the art world can become.
