8th November 2018 Vienna, Austria
Edmund de Waal unveils his new work at the British Embassy in Vienna (Video)
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Famous British writer and artist Edmund de Waal visited Vienna this week.
It was a privilege to meet him and to hold in my hand the Hare with Amber Eyes, about which he wrote in his famous best-seller of that name.
In addition to presenting a collection of Japanese netsuke and the Ephrussi family archive to the Jewish Museum in Vienna, Edmund has also lent one of his art works to the British Residence on a long loan. Its name is “Metamorphosen l”.
It is a beautiful thing.
The story of how the “Metamorphosen l” came to be in the residence is set out in my last blog, including how I came to meet Edmund de Waal himself.
During his latest visit to Vienna, Edmund gave a talk about “Metamorphosen l”. A short version is below. It is an invaluable record of how an artist works, creates, and interprets his work.
Please do take a look at the video.
What an interesting video; as with so much of contemporary art, it adds so much to one’s appreciation to be given a description given by the artist(s) as to their intentions and meaning, or even simply by a curator. How lovely that it is available for visitors to see in the Vienna embassy.
Thanks. I rather agree that context really helps – with all art.