Description

Contemporary Art in Venice You will meet your Captain at ship dock or at tender mooring; he will wait for you handling the Onirikos arrival board and he will introduce you to your Guide. A comfortable, safe and reliable boat will escort you to Punta della Dogana. In 2006 - 2009 the big halls of the Dogana, the ancient Custom’s House where Venetian merchants used to store their goods, were converted by the Japanese architect Tadao Ando into a museum space. As for Palazzo Grassi, restored by the same architect in 2005, here subtlety and frugality reign again, although the meeting of old and new is more palpable here. In the vast, bright, airy brick rooms you find works of Fischli and Weiss, Cy Twombly, the Chapman Brothers, Takashi Murakami, Maurizio Cattelan, Mike Kelley, Cady Noland, Rachel Whiteread, Charles Rey, David Hammons, Richard Prince, and many others. The owner of this impressive collection, French billionaire Francois Pinault, is considered the number one private art collector in the world today and he has been selected as "the most influential figure in contemporary art" in 2006 and in 2007. Palazzo Grassi is of interest to connoisseurs of contemporary architectural styles as well, who praise their harmony. Triangular shaped Punta della Dogana separates the Grand Canal and the Giudecca Canal. As a center for contemporary art, the former customs house of the city presents a permanent exhibition of works from the François Pinault Collection, the institution who wanted and sponsored the transition of this masterpiece of architecture, so emblematic to the city, from its eminently commercial function to port of contemporary art and ideal venue to share it with the world. After the visit your Captain will escort you back to the Port.