The sixth edition of the The European Cultural Centre, Italy Venice Biennial contemporary art exhibition represented almost 200 participants from all corners of the world who convened to express their views on the main theme of the exhibition: the concept of Personal Structures ~ Reflections.

Following the 2019 Manchester Art Fair, I was invited by the ECC-Italy to show my work along side other prestigious artists in Venice from April to November 2022. Thanks to the generosity of my family, friends, sponsors and purchasers of my work helped make it possible for me to exhibit in Venice as part of my own Reflections. You can read more about the ECC event here.

'Studio 54', the 3.2 x 1.8m abstracted map of Venice was created during a one month residency there. It was made from salvaged materials and found objects within the six districts of the city, fused with materials brought from home representing emotional experiences and past artistic expressions to provide a personal resonance throughout the artwork.

I also returned in October 2022 to run a found object and collage workshop for Venetian and other visiting artists.

ECC-Italy published this on their newsletter: 'Daniel Ibbotson, who for years has been collecting scraps of wood, wallpaper and other objects to give life to his works, this time chooses to repurpose them for what he has called his 'personal reflections'. The result, Studio 54 exhibited at Palazzo Mora, is a work that seems to reflect the gentle decadence of Venice. Over three metres wide and almost two metres high, it was created in the space of just over three weeks in the insides of a small flat near the Rialto Bridge. The use of recovered materials, amalgamated with emotive recollections of Ibbotson’s immersion in the landscape, provides him with unlimited opportunities to create textural layers in his art which in turn reflect the artist’s gathering and collecting inspiring elements of his own life experiences while living in the Venetian city.'

ECC-Italy published this on their newsletter: 'Daniel Ibbotson, who for years has been collecting scraps of wood, wallpaper and other objects to give life to his works, this time chooses to repurpose them for what he has called his 'personal reflections'. The result, Studio 54 exhibited at Palazzo Mora, is a work that seems to reflect the gentle decadence of Venice. Over three metres wide and almost two metres high, it was created in the space of just over three weeks in the insides of a small flat near the Rialto Bridge. The use of recovered materials, amalgamated with emotive recollections of Ibbotson’s immersion in the landscape, provides him with unlimited opportunities to create textural layers in his art which in turn reflect the artist’s gathering and collecting inspiring elements of his own life experiences while living in the Venetian city.'

My good friend and fellow Cumbrian artists, Troy Slater, kindly made this video during his visit.