May 21 to October 9, 2022
www.draiflessen.com | www.reneevanbavel.com

In her work, the Berlin-based Dutch artist Renee van Bavel deals with the themes of peace, humanity, freedom and democracy. By using various art forms, she initiates ways to approach and experience these topics at a personal level, as is emphatically shown in her space-encompassing work of art THE MIRROR OF PEACE.  The viewers see themselves reflected in full size and read a text saying: “This is what people living in peace look like.” It becomes instantly clear that a life lived in peace cannot be taken for granted, and that we must act consciously—every day—to preserve this peace.

The presentation of Renee van Bavel and THE MIRROR OF PEACE on the occasion of the 59th Biennale Arte in Venice is a project of the Draiflessen Collection in collaboration with Abbazia di San Giorgio Maggiore - Benedicti Claustra Onlus.

THE MIRROR OF PEACE will be on display beginning on 21 May on the grounds of the monestary Abbazia San Giorgio Maggiore at the island San Giorgio Maggiore.

The artist
“Through my work for various memorial sites and foundations in Germany and the Netherlands, I have met many people for whom the words war and peace have a vivid meaning. These encounters have made me very aware that I live in peace and that this should not be taken for granted. This process has ignited a fire in me to share this “peace consciousness” with the public. Not by explaining it, but by creating a form that enables people to experience it for themselves. That is THE MIRROR OF PEACE.

"It is my intention to place more versions of THE MIRROR OF PEACE in different countries around the world in order to create awareness: Peace cannot be taken for granted.”

 - Renee van Bavel

About the work
THE MIRROR OF PEACE sheds light on a difficult subject in an accessible way. It connects the society in all its diversity, regardless of borders, gender, origin, religion, social backgrounds and age. In addition it is a communicative work of art: people who face each other in front of the mirror, can get into dialogue with each other, whether they know each other or not.

A Project of the Draiflessen Collection
The presentation of THE MIRROR OF PEACE is the result of close collaboration between the Draiflessen Collection, the artist Renee van Bavel and Abbazia di San Giorgio Maggiore – Benedicti Claustra Onlus.

The privately founded Draiflessen Collection, which is open to the public, focuses on subjects that have current relevance for many different people, and operates within liminal zones such as those between tradition and the future, faith and doubt, borders and freedom, reality and fiction.
The Benedicti Claustra Onlus was born of the desire of the Benedictine monks to promote and support, through collaborative activities, projects for the development of art and artistic research, which have always been privileged channels for evangelization and the growth of an authentic humanism.

Renee van Bavel and the Draiflessen Collection are delighted to present the artwork THE MIRROR OF PEACE to visitors in the monastery garden as part of the cultural activities of Benedicti Claustra Onlus on occasion of the 59th Biennale Arte in Venice.

Credits: Renee van Bavel - The Mirror of Peace | © Renee van Bavel, photo: Sabine Streckhardt | © Draiflessen Collection, photo: Julian Heitkamp | photo: Marta Buso