It takes some skill to imagine an empty Giardini in Venice, especially if you’ve visited over the last few months like we did for the ongoing Venice Biennale – Il Palazzo Enciclopedico. With tourists everywhere and just as many people as artworks within the various pavilions, it made us wonder what it would be like to have the place all to ourselves.
But we didn’t have to wonder too long as Gabriele Basilico’s images did come in handy.
An acclaimed photographer with a background in architecture, Basilico (who passed away in February this year), devoted his career to photographing landscapes and space, with a special series on the Biennale pavilions in Venice. And these aptly accompany a brilliant anthology of essays titled Common Pavilions that debuted at the 2012 Architecture Biennale in Venice.
While the essays make for an excellent read (click on each image below), we can’t help but marvel at the stillness and grandeur of Basilico’s images. Sometimes it is the space that makes the art.















All images courtesy Bauwelt