Jackie Sleper participates at OPEN 2007 International Exhibition

Jackie Sleper’s work, Modestia, a large scale horse on a bed of roses, will be on view in the park of the Hotel Des Bains, on the Venice Lido, during the 10th edition of OPEN. OPEN was created by Paolo De Grandis and in this year’s edition he has involved important curators such as Achille Bonito Oliva, Alanna Heiss, Chang Tsong-zung and Vincenzo Sanfo.

The open-air exhibition spaces on the Venice Lido become territories to explore, focal points for exchange and confrontation, internationally renowned locations assume new meanings, such as the Westin Excelsior, Hotel Des

Bains and the historic boulevard of the Cinema Festival and the gardens on the Lido. The Hotel Des Bains, where Luchino Visconti directed Dirk Bogarde in Death in Venice based on the Thomas Mann novel, will host Jackie Sleper’s artwork Modestia. Later this year Jackie Sleper has been invited to participate in the Florence Biennale and at the beginning of 2008, she has several solo exhibitions at museums in Mexico, Venezuela and Chile, to be curated by Matty Roca. For these Central and South American exhibitions, she will realise a series of works inspired by and dedicated to Frida Kahlo.

Art historian Andrea Basedow has said about Jackie Sleper: ‘She is naturally adept at a wide variety of artistic skills. By applying different techniques within a single piece, she creates fields of tension that capture our attention. At the same time, she is not afraid to celebrate beauty, affluence, joy of life and a sense of playfulness and elegance in her work, much like the artists at the courts during the Italian Renaissance.’

Jackie Sleper was born in Amsterdam and studied at the Utrecht Academy for Visual Arts. Between 1988 and 1995 she spent time in Ireland, Spain and Prague for further study. In The Netherlands, her works have been exhibited in various cities, including Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht, and worldwide in Antwerp (Art-Event), Stockholm (Art Fair), Marbella (Marb Art – Feria Internacional de Arte Contemporáneo), Geneva (Europ’Art), Klagenfurt (Biennale Austria), Salzburg (Mozart Festival), Florence (Museo Diocesano and Biennale Internazionale dell’Arte Contemporanea), Milan (Studio D’Ars), New York (Carrozzini Von Buhler Gallery and CVB Space), and in Mexico (Museo de la Cultura Maya de Chetumal, Quintana Roo).

Open to the public, 31 August – 14 October 2007, Location, Open-air spaces at Venice Lido: Piazzale and Gran Viale S. Maria Elisabetta, Tempio Votivo, Via Lepanto, Lungomare G. Marconi, Park of Hotel Des Bains, Blue Moon, Terrace & Hall of Hotel The Westin Excelsior, Organization, Arte Communications, Venice , Tel: (39) 041. 526 4546, pressoffice@artecommunications.com, Joint Organization, Venice City Council, Department of Cultural Production. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON JACKIE SLEPER, Studio Abba - Corso Italia, 6 - 50123 Florence, Italy, info@studioabba.com