We went to Mira, a few kilometres from Venice, to discover Ca’ Riviera: the new independent cultural space founded by Leonardo Tiezzi and Riccardo Corò, which opened last May 9th, concurrent with the 61st Venice Biennale.

Two historic 16th-century villas overlooking the Riviera del Brenta set the stage for a project that aims to go beyond the Venetian art calendar, establishing itself as a permanent cultural destination bringing together art, design, and contemporary aesthetic languages.

The inaugural exhibition, developed in collaboration with Cassina Projects, is titled The Shape of the Self / La forma del Sé and brings together five artists with very different practices: Leonor Fini, Cecilia Granara, Yves Scherer, Chiara Capellini, and Sedef Gali. The common thread is identity — how it is built, transformed, and staged — tracing a path from 20th-century Surrealism to the most contemporary tensions around the spectacularisation of the self.

What strikes you upon entering the space is the coexistence between the materiality of the villas and the lightness of certain works — such as Sedef Gali’s paintings on floating organza, almost suspended in the air, or Chiara Capellini’s site-specific installations, which inhabit the rooms as latent presences rather than objects. Both artists will be on permanent display, becoming an integral part of the identity of the place.

Ca’ Riviera does not end with this first exhibition: the launch of an artist residency program is planned for summer, with the ambition of becoming an international hub rooted in the Veneto region yet open to the world.