All eyes on Venice as 56th Biennale Arte opens this week

If you are by chance travelling to Venice this week before the Biennale opens then there’s so much to see of contemporary art that you won’t be disappointed.  The Francois Pinault Foundation- Punta Della Dogana is great place to start.

Artist Dahn Vo has been invited to collaborate with the foundation – not only as an artist but also as a curator. It is the first time the foundation has invited an artist as curator.

Vietnamese born Danish conceptual artist Dahn Vo’s works, impressive large sculptures using resins and plastic techniques felt flesh like yet pinned with metal and other rigid materials. He curates them cleverly with historical venetian art works such as illuminated scripts and miniature paintings with his bold and he curates the exhibition as well mixed media sculptures.

Each of the objects and works of art (around 120) from a collection of 35 artists presented in the exhibition “Slip of the Tongue” seem to partake in this idea that the activity of the artist is aimed at the preservation and afterlife of objects rather than of their interpretation.

For me it was the amazing architecture of the foundation that is worth a visit in itself – and serves a as a spectacular backdrop to the works on display. Architect Tadao Ando – who is also responsible for many of the Armani buildings in Milan and the new Armani Silos the 24,000 square meter museum that has just opened, has re-structured and re-created the ultimate loft art space from the historic warehouse buildings. There is no attempt to disguise these new additions within the old body of the structure and the great bolts and metal work seen and brick maintain the rawness of the original warehouse space and nod to its maritime setting.

Then of course if you can continue to the other building to see the Martial Raysse exhibition . On display is an incredible body of work from the artist covering years 1958 to 2015.  It’s almost forgivable to mistake this as a mixed exhibition as the body of work is so varied. My favorites were the collage and neon mixed media works.

Travelling also to the island San Giorgio the Stanza del Vetro space and outside have two exhibitions one shows over 300 works from the Bischofberger Collection celebrate the beauty of artistic glass in an exhibition featuring masterpieces by the most important Finnish designers of the 20th century. The other to note is the “Glass Tea House Mondrian ”by Hiroshi Sugimoto is a new initiative from those organized by Le Stanze del Vetro, is now looking to follow the example of the “Pavilion Series” of the Serpentine Gallery in London and use the outdoor space as a show space for collaborations with internationally renowned artists. If you can get to the top of the bell tower you can get a great view of it from there.

Don’t miss the church its self where a particularly impressive sculpture of an infants head created from mesh and standing 30 feet high by Jaume Plensa situated in the nave of the church – the scale and impressive setting reminded me of Beijing 789 art district.

I also made a point to visit the wonderful installation W.E.T by artist Margot Bowman set in a tiny back street in Spazio Ridotto. I met her recently in London at the screening of the new short film called The Plastic Age  – made in collaboration with Italian denim brand G- Star RAW and I.D,  highlighting the impact of plastic in our everyday lives. Margot is also very passionate about these and other environmental issues and within this exhibit explores the effect of climate change from a digital perspective, creating an imaginary world where water replaces the earth as a human habitat. Intriguing and thought provoking.

All good signs that the Biennale Arte curated by Okwui Enwezor this year will not disappoint. Opens May 9th 2015