Exhibition Henri Cartier-Bresson: Le Grand Jeu

14 September 20

Palazzo Grassi, Venice

11/07/20 – 10/01/2021

Only Venice, one of the most photographed cities of the world, could host this particular Project, conceived and coordinated by Matthieu Humery. From the original “Master Collection”, featuring 385 images by Cartier-Bresson selected personally by the photographer, friends and estimators of the photographer, such as Annie Leibovitz (photographer), Wim Wenders (film director), Javier Cercas (writer), Sylvie Aubenas (Director of the Prints and Photography Department of the Bibliothèque National de France) and Francois Pinault (collector) have made each one their own selection.

A real must-see.

Back to the Future

14 September 20

When innovation comes from the past.

One of the many consequences of this planetary emergency, triggered by the Covid-19 Pandemic, is the rediscovery/need as well as the quality of the short supply chain.

This applies both to the industrial manufacturing field, where the paradigms of the Supply Chains have changed, and, above all, to the consumption of the agri-food supply chain.

But are we really seeing something new?

Sant’Erasmo (Sanrasmo) is the second largest island after Venice, by size, of Venice Lagoon: over 4 km long and from 500 to 1000 metres wide. Known as the vegetable garden and the beach (Bacàn) of Venice, this island used to overlook the sea, before the construction of the North dam of the Lido port, which created the strip of land of Treporti. Scarcely inhabited (almost 750 residents) and with few services, it offers unique angles in good weather conditions, through its vegetable gardens, inner canals and pathways across the fields.

In addition to agriculture, which supplies the city of Venice and produces much appreciated specialities (including the celebrated purple artichoke), which are sold every day to the Venetians, they also make an excellent wine, at Orto di Venezia, a farm that can be visited to taste this white wine, that is a real treat.

When people say that the farmers’ market model has been imported from the United States, they forget this extraordinary example of “short supply chain” already known and practiced more than 5 centuries ago.

From an economic perspective, the features of seasonality and territoriality which distinguish direct sales allow for savings in terms of production costs. The possibility of following the natural cycle of seasons allows for a limited use of the necessary energy. With the sale of products on a local scale it is then possible to avoid long-distance transport, thus saving costs of storage, packaging and fuel.

Think locally, Act globally

01 June 20

WE DON’T INHERIT THE EARTH FROM OUR ANCESTORS, WE BORROW IT FROM OUR CHILDREN (Saying of the Native Americans)

“THINK LOCALLY, ACT GLOBALLY”

The human being only represents 0.01% of life on Earth, practically nothing given the vastity of the universe and everything that exists. Yet 83% of the species has disappeared because of the direct or indirect action of human beings. We’re the only species that has modified the environment according to its “needs” and now does anything to destroy it. We took possession of everything, distorting, destroying, redesigning what surrounded us, without questioning the possible consequences. We’re a really small part of the entire Earth system, yet our impact is devastating, immeasurable, disproportionate, unfortunately also destructive. Only if we start from the small things - “think locally” - those that concern us, habits and customs, will we be able to hope for a worldwide spontaneous movement “act globally”: our only safety.

2020 Acronyms VS Short Forms

01 June 20

THE ACRONYM THAT HAS CHANGED THE WORLD - 2020 ACRONYMS vs SHORT FORMS -

We live in the age of Acronyms, of Short Forms.
We see them everywhere, every headline, article, text is crammed with them, they’re part of our lives. Then, starting from the 1980’s, with the boom of Advanced Marketing, we moved from short forms to Acronyms. Today an Acronym is battling all the world short forms, behind which strong tried and tested Healthcare, Economic and Social Organizations exist, but which risk teetering under the weight of this (not too) new world threat. An Acronym makes the world and the securities (which weren’t so) on which this social and economic model was built teeter. Which future?

Food Journey: “Tell me what you eat and I’ll tell you where you are”

01 June 20

Food Journey

“Tell me what you eat and I’ll tell you where you are”

Knowing the territory and the history of the populations through the flavours of food. This is the basic principle of the “food philosophy” which proposes to read any dish as a cross of food, history, culture and tradition of a territory and its population. Risi e bisi were the dish of the Doge, eaten on 25 April to honour Saint Mark’s day, patron saint of Venice. The rice was rigorously that of the Verona area, while the peas were those of Lumignano, in the province of Vicenza. If the you still prefer the Verona rice, consider the peas of Colognola ai Colli (VR) and those of Baone in the Padua area. The recipe is apparently simple (and patented: the patent was filed in 2013 by the municipality of Scorzè with the Chamber of Commerce of Venice), but insidious in the final texture. A mix between a creamy risotto and a soup, risi e bisi is a creamy balance which requires many tests before being successful. To help you, we tell that you can add the pods to the peas, after blending them, cooking them in the broth and sifting them to remove their most fibrous parts.

Venice Beauty and Fluidity

01 June 20

VENICE BEAUTY AND FLUIDITY

If it’s true that beauty will save the world, it’s also true that we, as the whole humanity, have the moral and social obligation to save the Beauty which was entrusted to us, which we’ve built during the thousand-year-old history of humanity.

This is the case of Venice, city of unique beauty, “fluid” city, trove of treasures which are world heritage, result of centuries of explorations, cultural and social blends, enlightened patronage.

A magical city, where the senses we’re used to are totally overwhelmed, continuously changing where the concept of up and down mixes in an almost surreal continuum.