Palazzo Grassi & Punta della Dogana François Pinault Foundation

Venice is world famous for its artistic heritage. At the end of the 19th century the Biennale of Venice introduced the city into the world of contemporary art, enriched later by the great contribution of Peggy Guggenheim.
Today Venice has opened its doors to the postmodernism: a private museum presents major exhibitions with a focus on contemporary arts which are based on the personal collection of François Pinault. From June 2009 Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana present a two-part exhibition entitled Mapping the Studio. This exhibition shows an accurate selection of works: 200 works by 60 artists such as Maurizio Cattelan, Piotr Uklanski, Takashi Murakami, Cindy Sherman, Lo Savio, Richard Prince, Cy Twombly, Dake & Dinos Chapman and Charles Ray. The show was curated by Alison Gingeras and Francesco Bonami.
Punta della Dogana, the former 17th century Custom House of Venice, stands in a double key position: at the beginning of the Grand Canal and overlooking the Saint Mark basin. It was restored to a very high standard by the world famous and refined Japanese architect Tadao Ando. The interior is impressively beautiful and the large windows of the mezzanine space allows the viewer to enjoy the cityscape in a continuous dialogue between the inside and the outside spaces.
The second location is Palazzo Grassi acquired in 2005 by the French entrepreneur François Pinault. In the last of the great palaces built along the Gran Canal, visitor can enjoy great views of the water way and a very interesting exhibit as well.
This tour lasts 3 hours and starts from the special setting of Punta della Dogana. Your guide then takes you for a short walk through the Dorsoduro district, passing by the Guggenheim Collection, to Palazzo Grassi.

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