As announced in February, Clarence Bicknell’s work is featured in Le Venezie Watercolor Exhibition between 17 October and 1 November in the historical medieval City Palace Palazzo dei Trecento in Treviso near Venice, Italy. The exhibition features some 50 art works by Clarence Bicknell such as a dozen original landscape watercolours never before seen in public; original sketchbooks and diaries recording his travels; prints of water-colours of Alpine flowers from the celebrated Casa Fontanalba Visitors’ Book; symmetrical images and pages of Victorian whimsy from the albums in the Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge; and other artifacts from Bicknell’s life. The list of Clarence Bicknell items, in Italian, can be seen here.
The Festival-Concorso Internazionale dell’Acquerello per le Venezie, to give it its title in Italian, is also a major art competition. The finalists, a wealth of watercolours entered by artists from all over the world, are displayed for the two weeks and the prizes awarded. This global watercolor art event was launched in 2023 by Treviso City Hall, the Associazione Culturale per gli Scambi Artistici (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 including the USA. 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.
Marcus Bicknell reports: Festival Directors Giandomenico Padovan (Associazione Culturale per gli Scambi Artistici) and Mr. Zhang Hongbin (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.” I can tell you that the short-listed artworks have already been sent to me electronically and I am in the process of judging them.
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.
Our photo shows Giandomenico Padovan
and Zhang Hongbin at the 2025 event
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. Read our feature on him at https://clarencebicknell.com/giandomenico-padovan-le-venezie-watercolor-festival/.