Paris, France — His voyages have captured the imagination of the world for over seven centuries now. Merchant, explorer, adventurer, cartographer, writer, Marco Polo traveled the world, most famously journeying from his native Venice all the way to faraway China with the story being told in The Travels of Marco Polo by Rustichello da Pisa who was his cell mate in Genoa. Marco Polo would call China Cathay and there he met with the grandson of Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan. 

He died 700 years ago on January 8th, 1324. The Galerie Orenda is paying tribute to him on this 700th anniversary (fortunately because no-one else appears to be doing so). The Parisian gallery is hosting an exhibition of colorful eye-catching contemporary works echoing the dreams of other lands and the visions that his travels incited. 

Like Polo’s travels, the artists are international in scope hailing from France, Serbia, China and Italy. Working in myriad mediums their real or imaginary works or «maps » are juxtaposed with the Silk Road and portraits of the Venetian adventurer. Marco Polo, with his father and uncle, would travel through Constantinople, Samarkand, and Kashgar, among other great cities along the way. He would see wonders of the world, the silk roads, curious caravans, endless deserts. ©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette. The exhibition is running until May 25th. Galerie Orenda is located in a lovely neighborhood and close to the Musée d’Orsay. 54 Rue de Verneuil, 75007, Paris, France, + 33 (0)1 49 26 90 09. https://www.orenda-art.com/