The new church causing a sensation in Venice

VeniceCoinciding with the inauguration of the 61st Venice Art Biennale, collector Patrizia Sandretto has opened a new venue for her collection, the third, which has become the sensation of these days. The artistic center is located on the island of San Giacomo, and for now can only be visited by invitation and by private boat. Guests received a message with a QR code and, later, another with the location of the departure point for the boat. It is planned that a vaporetto will arrive in the future, but it will probably be in 2027. Patrizia Sandretto and her husband, businessman Agostino Re Rebaudengo, have restored some old military facilities that were in ruins and, as one of the crown jewels of the place, they commissioned the North American artist Hugh Hayden, which culminated in a chapel with an exceptional bell tower, because it is tilted about 40°, also on the inside.

"I think that any artist's work is autobiographical to a certain extent –explains Hugh Hayden to l’ARA–. My work can be read through the prism of the American Dream, but in reality it is simply any person's connection with society. You integrate yourself, you want to succeed, you want to achieve it... And this is something that people in Italy, in Spain, in Japan, and all over the world want: to have a pleasant and successful life, something worth striving for."

The origin of the work dates back to a study visit in which Re Rebaudengo became interested in a previous work by Hayden: an inclined version of Henry David Thoreau's mythical cabin. From here, Hayden began to think about the Venetian place, culture, and history, until he decided he would make a small church, which is actually the private chapel of Sandretto, Re Rebaudengo, and their two children, with a capacity for about ten people. The chapel is titled Huff and a puff, an expression that comes from the tale ofThe Three Little Pigs, in which each pig builds its house with straw, wood, or bricks, and the wolf knocks down the straw and wood ones by blowing, but not the brick one. "The chapel is made with bricks that withstand the forces of nature," the artist emphasizes.

While with the tilted version of Thoreau's cabin Hayden wanted to talk about young people's difficulties in accessing housing, in Venice the references and interpretations multiply. The most evident are the leaning towers of Burano and Pisa. From here, Hayden, who is trained as an architect, does not close himself off to the public's interpretations: "Some people may see the tilted seats and think of roller coasters, and others may see them as relaxing reclining chairs. It depends a lot on each person. In part, as an architect, there is no single way to experience a building, nor a single way to approach a work of art –he says–. This is a church, so some may say that this church expresses itself because religion makes things go wrong, but others may say that what we need right now is more faith, more spirituality, and more kindness".

Hayden points out that, to achieve the desired effect, everything is custom-made, except for the lights –two hidden LED strips–, the switch, and the hinges. Sixteen different types of bricks were created. "I worked with a rather archetypal church design, with a bell tower in front, to be able to create a collage of Venetian architecture elements with a more archetypal and iconic idea of a church. We have tried to integrate ourselves into the place, being aware of the context and materials," he explains. Hayden also likes to talk about how he has used AI and technology as a tool: "It is very difficult to scan the chapel in 3D; a camera has difficulty photographing it, especially the interior. This piece is best experienced in person: it is something that cannot be fully reproduced; technology cannot overcome the experience of being a person in the world.

The other iconic element of the chapel is the crucifix above the altar, which only lacks a few ribs and arm bones for a skeleton to become a cross. "Normally, a crucifix has this emaciated body of Christ, with injuries and cuts, and I wanted my image to have no race, no gender, no religion, no sexual orientation: it could be anyone," says Hayden.

A great rehabilitation work

From the boat, the island of San Giacomo was distinguished on the horizon by a cluster of stars flying over it, from Matt Copson's work Fanfare / Lament, the largest of which is a monstrous black creature. Among other landmarks is a macro-installation by Goshka Macuga titled Gonogo, consisting of a replica of a space rocket, and another outdoor work by Claire Fontaine: a neon sign that reads Patriarchy = CO₂. The inauguration also includes an exhibition from the foundation's collection titled Don't have hope, be hope! Incidentally, the family's private residence on the island was designed by filmmaker Luca Guadagnino.

The Foundation bought the island in 2018 and, two years later, began to rebuild the existing ruins, which were powder magazines and weapons depots resulting from the transformation of a Franciscan friary during the Napoleonic era. During the works, 30,000 bricks were cleaned to be reused. San Giacomo is not connected to the electricity, gas, and water grids, and currently, 100% of the energy is produced in situ using photovoltaic panels. There is an emergency generator that runs on biofuel, and a well has been restored that draws water from an aquifer located beneath the island.