Punta della Dogana: Mapping the Studio. With its triangular shape, Punta della Dogana or the maritime custom warehouses splits the Grand Canal from the Giudecca Canal. As the new center for contemporary art, the former monumental port of the city presents a permanent exhibition, of works from the François Pinault Collection. From 6 June 2009, Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana present the exhibition Mapping the Studio which brings together a selection of works from the collection of François Pinault and rebuilts the course of each, from conception to the inner world of the artist, up to the integration with the private collection.
Punta della Dogana: Mapping the Studio. Charles Ray’s controversial sculpture Boy with Frog, 2009 stands outside at the tip of Punta della Dogana.
Seen at Punta della Dogana: Mapping the Studio. Francois Pinault whizzes through Punta della Dogana, saying hello to guests on the first day of a week long of private openings.
Punta della Dogana: Mapping the Studio. Maybe the most talked about installation at Punta della Dogana, Jake and Dinos Chapman’s Fucking Hell.
Punta della Dogana: Mapping the Studio. A detail of Jake and Dinos Chapman’s Fucking Hell, Fiberglass, plastic and mixed media, 9 parts, 2008.
Contessanally tip: Click on the photo to enlarge it.
Seen at Punta della Dogana: Mapping the Studio. Socialites, Glorianda Cipolla, Mita de Benedetti and Roberta Drouler gather around The Venice International Foundation’s president, Franca Coin.
Punta della Dogana: Mapping the Studio. The first big room when you walk into Punta della Dogana houses works by Hammons, Gonzales-Torres, Prince, Cattelan, Whiteread, Tuymans and Brown.
Photograph courtesy Palazzo Grassi Spa
Seen at Punta della Dogana: Mapping the Studio. Mathew Marks and Peter Fischli discuss the Fischli and Weiss, Rat and Bear mobile.
Punta della Dogana: Mapping the Studio. Paul McCarthy’s Train, Pig Island, foam, mixed media, 2007.
Seen at Punta della Dogana: Mapping the Studio. Co-curator with Alison M. Gingeras, Francesco Bonami is being interviewed. The curators have borrowed the show’s title from a seminal video work by Bruce Nauman in which the artist recorded footage of his studio at night. Mapping the Studio allows us a glimpse into this highly charged space where the creative process develops. The curators have proposed an analogy between the creativity and intimacy of the artist’s studio and the collector’s deeply individual and passionate vision of art. Mapping the Studio takes this parallel as its starting point as it puts into dialogue the work of established artists with a younger generation in order to capture the energy and creative tension that animates many different approaches to art making.
Punta della Dogana: Mapping the Studio. “Following the renovation of Palazzo Grassi, I was fortunately commissioned for another important project in Venice, the renovation of the Punta della Dogana.” architect, Tadao Ando explains his project. “The Punta della Dogana building or Maritime customs warehouses has a simple and rational structure. The volume forms a triangle that directly corresponds to the shape of the tip of Dorsoduro Island, whereas its interior space is dividend into long rectangles by a series of parallel walls. With great respect for this emblematic building, all partitions that had been added during previous renovations were thoroughly removed in order to recover its original form, at the very beginning of its construction.”
Ando continues, “Through exposing the brick walls and wooden roof trusses, the space retrieved its energy and the memories of the former sea customs were revived. In the center of the building, a square space spans over two rows as a result of an earlier renovation. As an exception, we kept this structure as it is and inserted a “concrete box” that dramatically transformed the space. Through a dialogue between old and new elements generated in the core of the structure, the building got the power to link its past history to the present and the future.”
Punta della Dogana: Mapping the Studio. Rudolf Stingel’s Untitled (Alpino), 2006.
Punta della Dogana: Mapping the Studio. A detail of Jake and Dinos Chapman’s Fucking Hell, Fiberglass, plastic and mixed media, 9 parts, 2008.
Contessanally tip: Click on the photo to enlarge it.
Seen at Punta della Dogana: Mapping the Studio. Socialites, Glorianda Cipolla, Mita de Benedetti and Roberta Drouler gather around The Venice International Foundation’s president, Franca Coin.
Punta della Dogana: Mapping the Studio. Charles Ray’s untitled (Glass Chair), wooden chair and glass, 1976.
Seen at Punta della Dogana: Mapping the Studio. Artist, Charles Ray.
Punta della Dogana: Mapping the Studio. The first big room when you walk into Punta della Dogana houses works by Hammons, Gonzales-Torres, Prince, Cattelan, Whiteread, Tuymans and Brown.
Photograph courtesy Palazzo Grassi Spa
Punta della Dogana: Mapping the Studio. Fischli and Weiss, Rat and Bear mobile, 2 rag dolls with metal skeleton structure, painted steel, 2008-2009.
Seen at Punta della Dogana: Mapping the Studio. Mathew Marks and Peter Fischli discuss the Fischli and Weiss, Rat and Bear mobile.
Punta della Dogana: Mapping the Studio. Paul McCarthy’s Train, Pig Island, foam, mixed media, 2007.
Seen at Punta della Dogana: Mapping the Studio. Co-curator with Alison M. Gingeras, Francesco Bonami is being interviewed. The curators have borrowed the show’s title from a seminal video work by Bruce Nauman in which the artist recorded footage of his studio at night. Mapping the Studio allows us a glimpse into this highly charged space where the creative process develops. The curators have proposed an analogy between the creativity and intimacy of the artist’s studio and the collector’s deeply individual and passionate vision of art. Mapping the Studio takes this parallel as its starting point as it puts into dialogue the work of established artists with a younger generation in order to capture the energy and creative tension that animates many different approaches to art making. 
Punta della Dogana: Mapping the Studio. “Following the renovation of Palazzo Grassi, I was fortunately commissioned for another important project in Venice, the renovation of the Punta della Dogana.” architect, Tadao Ando explains his project. “The Punta della Dogana building or Maritime customs warehouses has a simple and rational structure. The volume forms a triangle that directly corresponds to the shape of the tip of Dorsoduro Island, whereas its interior space is dividend into long rectangles by a series of parallel walls. With great respect for this emblematic building, all partitions that had been added during previous renovations were thoroughly removed in order to recover its original form, at the very beginning of its construction.”
Ando continues, “Through exposing the brick walls and wooden roof trusses, the space retrieved its energy and the memories of the former sea customs were revived. In the center of the building, a square space spans over two rows as a result of an earlier renovation. As an exception, we kept this structure as it is and inserted a “concrete box” that dramatically transformed the space. Through a dialogue between old and new elements generated in the core of the structure, the building got the power to link its past history to the present and the future.”
Punta della Dogana: Mapping the Studio. Rudolf Stingel’s Untitled (Alpino), 2006.
Punta della Dogana and Palazzo Grassi: Mapping the Studio. Francois Pinault canal hops between Punta della Dogana and Palazzo Grassi with curator, Alison Gingeras and Monique Veaute, director of Palazzo Grassi.
Palazzo Grassi: Mapping the Studio. A corner of Piotr Uklanski’s untitled (Dancing Nazis), 220 inkjet prints on paper, Plexiglas panels, colored light bulbs, raised floor structure, audio equipment and computer-controlled sound-system, 2008.
Palazzo Grassi: Mapping the Studio. Little, Rio Ho Jonot plays on the dance floor of Piotr Uklanski’s untitled oeuvre, (dancing Nazis), 2008.
Palazzo Grassi: Mapping the Studio. Martial Raysse’s gigantic Le Carnaval a Perigueux, tempera on canvas, 1992.
Palazzo Grassi: Mapping the Studio. Artist, Martial Raysse has such an interesting face. I loved the pink linen shirt and the neoclassical lady on his “tie” pin.
Punta della Dogana: Mapping the Studio. Rudolf Stingel’s untitled (Alpino), 2006.
Palazzo Grassi: Mapping the Studio. Rob Pruitt’s 101 Art Ideas You can Do Yourself, mixed media (ideas 1-101), 1999.
Palazzo Grassi: Mapping the Studio. Art Idea # 26, Turn Your TV Upside Down, hangs in the bar from Rob Pruitt’s 101 Art Ideas You can Do Yourself, mixed media (ideas 1-101), 1999.
Palazzo Grassi: Mapping the Studio. Art Idea # 50, Make Mud. 2 parts dirt, 1 part water. Use as paint or clay, graces the staircase of Palazzo Grassi from Rob Pruitt’s 101 Art Ideas You can Do Yourself, mixed media (ideas 1-101), 1999.
Palazzo Grassi: Mapping the Studio. Works by Adel Abdessemed called Pluie Noire, 2006 and Michelangelo Pistoletto’s La Gabbia, 1962-74.