Bibi Smit exhibits glass installation in Venice

Wouldn’t it be nice to be in a space where you can forget everything, turn off your thoughts and only focus on your senses for a moment? To find a moment of stillness? Opening on 20 April 2024, Bibi Smit aims to achieve this feeling with her latest artwork, ‘Surge’, which will be shown in the Palazzo Mora in Venice, Italy, as part of the collective exhibition ‘Personal Structures’.

‘Surge’ is a site-specific installation that invites the audience to step away from reality as we perceive it. It consists of blown glass sculptures, video projections and sound. Filmed in the area around her studio, each video loop shows fragments of water reflections and fire, creating a subtle, strange and dreamy image. Viewers are invited to experience the alienating feeling of not knowing exactly what they are seeing. As they try to make sense of the shapes, the video morphs into organic elements. The mind turns off thoughts and worries and becomes part of the immersive experience. For a moment, the imaginative space is full of possibilities, colour and movement.

Bibi Smit is known for creating sculptures and installations exploring the patterns and movement of natural phenomena, such as clouds, murmurations and water. She has shown her work in national and international exhibitions since the 1990s. She lives and works in the Netherlands.

This biennial exhibition is hosted by the European Cultural Centre and runs from 20 April 20 to 24 November 2024. It is free to visit and open every day except Tuesdays from 10am to 6pm.

Find out more: https://www.bibismit.nl/surge.html and https://personalstructures.com

Image: Detail of Bibi Smit’s ‘Surge’ (2024), comprising blown and sandblasted glass, projection and sound (H: 309cm, W: 87cm, D: 378cm).