In Praise of Doubt opens at Pinault's Punta della Dogana gallery

In Praise of Doubt has opened at Francois Pinault's Punta della Dogana gallery, a former Venetian Republic Custom House located at the centre of the lagoon on the Grand Canal. Assembled to explore "the questioning of certainty of identity" and "the relationship between intimate and personal dimension", the exhibition features works by Maurizio Cattelan, Dan Flavin, Roni Horn, Felix Gonzales-Torres, Subodh Gupta, Donald Judd, Jeff Koons, Paul McCarthy, Sigmar Polke and others.

This link takes you to a conversation between Jackie Wullschlager and  Francois Pinault published in the Financial Times. You can also see our recent post, Francois Pinault hones his Ventian project, here.

Images: Venice's Punta della Dogana and Felix Gonzales-Torres' Sturtevant in the exhibition In Praise of Doubt

Francois Pinault hones his Venetian art project

This year Francois Pinault is using the Palzzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana to stage exhibitions that reflect his vision for the future use of the spaces. Caroline Bourgeois will curate two exhibitions: The World Belongs to You, which will present work including commissions and site-specific installations by international artists who reflect a globalised world "now characterised by proliferation, multiplicity, movement and nomadism", and In Praise of Doubt which will present "another reassessment of the traditional limits of geography of art, and how we relate to others and the world."

Timed to coincide with the Venice Biennale and drawn from Pinault's collection, the exhibitions foreshadow a new phase in the French billionaire's Venetian art project. Under the direction of Martin Bethenod, hired last year to manage both spaces, the Palazzo will become a kunsthalle-like space for changing exhibitions while the Punta della Dogana will become a permanent home for Pinault's collection that will operate more like a traditional collection-based museum.

Images: Venice's Palazzo Grassi and the Punta della Dogana