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Barry X Ball Connects the Secular and Sacred in “The Shape of Time”

At Venice’s Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore, the American sculptor presents a career-spanning exhibition inspired by Renaissance masters and their holy patrons.

Long before the age of museum commissions and mega-galleries, the Catholic Church was at the epicenter of the European art world. Renaissance-era patrons, eager to curry favor with a powerful papacy and to flaunt their wealth, poured their money into lavish paintings and sculptures given as gifts to the Church, and artists made their livings depicting biblical scenes and figures. A version of this system can be seen today in Venice, in Italy’s San Giorgio Maggiore, a divine basilica designed by architect Andrea Palladio and built between 1566 and 1610. During the 61st Venice Biennale, San Giorgio Maggiore is opening its doors to audiences to see two collections of artworks: newly restored paintings by Renaissance master Tintoretto and “The Shape of Time,” a career-spanning exhibition by American sculptor Barry X Ball inspired by the role of religion in art and classical art history as viewed in a contemporary context.

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After a brief vaporetto ride across the Venetian lagoon, one arrives on the front steps of the storied basilica, which, in addition to housing a functioning Benedictine monastery that predates Palladio’s building, invites artists to showcase their work in the grand abbey; past collaborators include Luc Tuymans, Ai Weiwei and Michelangelo-pistoletto/" title="Michelangelo Pistoletto" class="company-link">Michelangelo Pistoletto. Curated by Bob Nickas, “The Shape of Time” matches the basilica’s grandeur with........

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