Le Venezie Watercolor Festival 17 October-1 November 2026, at the historical medieval City Palace Palazzo dei Trecento in Treviso, will feature a display exhibition of water-colours of Alpine flowers by Clarence Bicknell accompanied by one or two original vellum-bound albums, artefacts and text information panels.
Festival Directors Giandomenico Padovan and the Festival’s partner Mr. Zhang Hongbin of Sheng Xinyu Art also announced to me, firstly “Since our competition includes a specific category for Flowers and Plants we would be honored if you, Marcus Bicknell, would serve as the Special Juror for this award.” Secondly, “To further celebrate Bicknell’s legacy, we are establishing a Clarence Bicknell Special Award for which we would like you to select 3 winners specifically from the Flora submissions, based on your own standards and aesthetic preferences. This initiative will include a dedicated introduction to his life and art in our printed materials and across various Chinese media platforms. Given that our participating artists come from all over the world, we believe this collaboration will be a standout highlight of the exhibition.”
We have also agreed the support of the Clarence Bicknell Association and the Bicknell family as title sponsors for Le Venezie Watercolor Festival and have provided logo artwork and flower images. Susie and I plan to be in Treviso and Venice for the start of the exhibition in October. This will be the first time Clarence Bicknell’s botanical art has been seen in Italy in public since Clarence Bicknell – La passione pe
r i fiori diventa arte (Clarence Bicknell’s Passion for Flowers revealed in his Art) at the Anglicana in Bordighera, his home town, in October 2017.
The Venice International Watercolor Festival is a global watercolor art event launched in 2023 by Treviso City Hall, the Italian Cultural and Art Exchange Association and Sheng Xinyu Art of China. Sheng Xinyu Art, founded in 2002, is a cross-cultural international art exchange and art promotion platform promoting the communication, connection and cooperation between Chinese artists, art institutions around the world. It runs international art exhibitions and publishes articles on global art information, art competitions, exhibitions and events with an average of more than 1.5 million viewers every year including exhibition visitors , on their social media and on their website https://shengxinyuart.com and on China’s public website https://art.china.cn.
Zhang Hongbin has been at the forefront of the world’s art field for more than 20 years, promoting cross-regional and cross-cultural dialogue between the East and the West. As the founder of “Sheng Xinyu Art” established in 2002, Zhang Hongbin has won wide acclaim in the field of international figurative art. He currently serves as a member of the international jury of the “Almenara Art Prize” (Spain) and the “Tartget Painting Prize” (Spain), as well as the chief editor of the overseas center of Collection Magazine. In addition, he has also served as International Committee Member of the Florence Biennale (Italy) and Chinese Ambassador of the Laguna Art Prize (Italy). He organized and planned global art competitions such as the “Titian International Portrait Painting and Sculpture Competition”, “Velazquez Painting and Sculpture Competition”, “Venice International Watercolor Festival”, and “International Youth Art Competition”. In addition, he has written and commented for well-known magazines such as Collection, Art Business, Art News, Gallery, Harper’s Bazaar, Chinese Watercolor and Art Focus.
Giandomenico Padovan is Secretary-General of the Cultural Association for Art Exchanges, has a Master’s degree Magna Cum Laude in Intercultural Development of Tourism from the Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia (2013) and worked in art in Beijing for seven years.