Carlos Betancourt, Cabinet of Wonders: Ornament and Obsession: solo exhibit, curated by Mariangela Cappuzzo, Venice Projects, Venice, Italy ( also in collaboration with Glasstress, Fondazione Berengo, Murano, Italy)

During the 13th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, Venice Projects will host the first solo exhibition in Italy of the artist Carlos Betancourt.
The exhibition, entitled Cabinet of Wonders: Ornament and Obsession offers the public a group of recent sculptural and photographic works that, although presenting narrative elements typical of this artist’s always very autobiographical language, that this time demonstrate a more mature and sophisticated aesthetic.

Venice Projects will host three series of works, El Portal, Re-collections, and some sculptures, created from a collection of recycled objects that are an allegorical representation of the artist's life.
Thanks to these works, bursting with detail and rich colors, the observer is caught by and catapulted into a very opulent and kitsch Miami, the city that this Puerto Rican artist has chosen as his home.

The gallery becomes a sort of Wunderkammer – a Renaissance chamber of wonders - through which the artist portrays himself.

Carlos Betancourt was born in Puerto Rico in 1966. Since 1981, he has lived in Miami Beach, Florida, where he works. His works are found in some of the most important American public collections, including those of the Metropolitan Museum, the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, and the Miami Art Museum. Carlos Betancourt is also one of the founders of 801 Projects, an arts center that provides studios for artists living in Miami.

Venice Projects: Venice Projects promotes internationally recognized and young emerging artists, united by a common interest in experimenting with materials and their innovative use in unfamiliar contexts. It takes particular interest in those artists who, occasionally or regularly, use glass as a medium of contemporary expression. Venice Projects partners with public and private institutions to develop important international cultural projects. Through its cultural programs and site-specific projects, it seeks to create interesting opportunities for discussion and experimentation related to the use of glass in contemporary art. The gallery was officially founded in Switzerland in 2007, but moved permanently to Venice in 2010.

GENERAL INFORMATION
Exhibition: Cabinet of Wonders: Ornament and Obsession / Artist: Carlos Betancourt Place: Venice Projects, Dorsoduro 868, 30123 Venice
Duration: 29 August-30 September 2012
Opening: 29 August 6 p.m./Hours: daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.