Punta della Dogana, from 6 June, 2009
Alongside the Venice Biennale, the other most significant art event of the year is definitely the unveiling of Punta della Dogana, a converted customs warehouse owned by the famous French collector, owner of the Christie's Auction House François Pinault in Venice. The new exhibition hall, like Palazzo Grassi, Pinault's other property, houses a contemporary art show titled Mapping the Studio. The curators of the show, Francesco Bonami and Alison Gingeras, have selected the exhibits from Pinault's private extensive art collection. The overhauled visual image of the building, once again designed by Tadao Ando, the famous Japanese architect responsible for the renovated Palazzo Grassi, was greeted with delight and admiration, flooding the media with superlatives. By completely transforming the interior of the building, respectfully preserving all of the essential details and the spirit of Venice at the same time, Tadao Ando has made it a gem of the 21st-century architecture. Typically, the Japanese architect used grey concrete to create elegant two-storey rooms with windows offering magnificent views of the Lagoon; they are centred around an impressive room that has been labelled „an altar of contemporary art" by the press. The ceiling retains its authentic beams, restored to perfection.
The curators of the show are likewise demonstrating respect for the presence of Venice, maintaining a kind of dialogue between contemporary art and the ancient city behind the museum windows. Thus, the installation by the Chapman Brothers brings to mind Bosch's works housed at the Galleria dell' Accademia - or perhaps the Lepanto battle scenes by Veronese at Palazzo Ducale. The seven pink large-scale paintings by Sigmar Polke, exhibited at the previous Venice Biennale two years ago, reminds of the unique Venetian Lagoon light; Jeff Koons's marble Jeff and Ilona and Maurizio Cattelan's All speak to Palladio's church facades.
2 Dorsoduro
www.palazzograssi.it
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