VILLA MARLENE
A PROJECT BY FRANCESCO VEZZOLI

Until 11 September 2016
Nouveau Musée National de Monaco | Villa Sauber

With Villa Marlene, Francesco Vezzoli takes possession of the Villa Sauber, one of the last Belle Epoque villas in Monaco, in a project devoted to the mythical figure of Marlene Dietrich.

Retracing over 15 year’s of work by Vezzoli devoted to the diva, Villa Marlene presents portraits made by copyists in the styles of Modigliani, Matisse, De Chirico, Magritte and De Lempicka, creating a fantasy and narcissistic mise en scène-like presentation of the diva’s life.

Using embroidery as the "signature praxis" of his work, Vezzoli expresses a world of emotions, crises, obsessions and depressions via iconic themes drawn from contemporary popular culture. From his famous embroideries of abstract masterpieces and portraits of divas to interventions carried out on ancient statues, Vezzoli has always woven a powerful and irreverent dialogue with art history, film, the media, and power.