During the opening week of the Biennale, Venice becomes the throbbing centre of contemporary art, and the city’s galleries and art spaces seize the opportunity to catch international attention. Following this trend, on May 30th Caterina Tognon Gallery presented the solo show “Terra Platonica” by Portuguese artist Francisco Tropa and curated by Simone Menegoi at Palazzo da Ponte, Venice. “Terra Platonica” consists of visually and poetically striking works, most of which were produced especially for this exhibition. Using delicate materials—glass, wood and metals—the works evoke the unknown of universe. The exhibition is held together by some recurrent cubic shapes given to the works, referencing a set of antiquated depictions of the heart and the cosmos that fascinated the artist. Tropa borrows from some texts such as Flammarion’s book on astronomical myths (to which the exhibition owes its title), a sixth-century essay by Alexandrian cartographer and monk Cosmas Indicopleustes, and finally Dante’s Divine Comedy, all of which reflect on the pursuit of truth in relation to art. The resulting works focus on the fundamental human impulse to investigate our surrounding reality. The exhibition is part of a wider body of research done by Caterina Tognon investigating the connections between contemporary art and traditional Venetian art practices involving glass, and is organized with the support of COTISSE. (Chiara Nuzzi)

Francisco Tropa’s solo show “Terra Platonica” will run through October 5.