"Shortly after unveiling his collection at Venice's Palazzo Grassi last spring, French billionaire and collector François Pinault expressed an interest in opening up a second exhibition space inside the Dogana, an old customs post at the tip of the Grand Canal. But as Le Monde's Jean-Jacques Bozonnet reports, Pinault is facing some tough new competition from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. On July 24, Pinault officially submitted his project, which includes a €20 to €30 million ($25.6 to $38.4 million) investment and a design by the Japanese architect Tadao Ando, to the Venetian municipality. By September 20, the Guggenheim Foundation—already present in Venice via the Peggy Guggenheim Collection—made a surprise bid for the location, naming Zaha Hadid as the architect. A committee headed by Achille Bonito Oliva plans to reach a verdict in a few weeks.
"How to choose between the Pinault and Guggenheim collections?" asks Bozonnet. The "battle of the Dogana" is not only about the quality of each collection; it also pits two rival architects against each other: the "minimalist" Ando and the "exuberant" Hadid. Local politics also plays a vital role. While Massimo Cacciari, the left-wing mayor of the city of Venice, supports Pinault's project, Giancarlo Galan, the right-wing president of the region of Venice, is said to back the Guggenheim Foundation. According to Bozonnet, Galan persuaded the Guggenheim to collaborate on the finances with Alberto Rigotti, the founder of the bank ABM Network and a patron of the Munus society, which specializes in the promotion of cultural events. Bozonnet adds that the Guggenheim attempted to open a new space there in 1999 with a design by the Italian architect Vittorio Gregotti, but that this project was never realized.
For some, the competition would be more interesting with a few more rivals. "A cultural system for contemporary art in Venice must be instituted, and only the Biennale could pilot it," said Marco de Michelis, rector of the IUAV university of Venice. "Pinault and Guggenheim are already there—they won't add anything else." " ( text by Jennifer Allen)
At the end of January, the result came out : Pinault will have to share the place with the Guggenheim. But through the voice of his director Jean Jacques Aillagon, the Palazzo Grassi will communicate later on the modalities of this participation with the Guggenheim Foundation.
More about the Guggenheim Foundation :
www.guggenheim.org
www.guggenheim-venice.it
More about the Pinault's Foundation :
www.palazzograssi.it
Palazzo Grassi - Pinault's Foundation
"How to choose between the Pinault and Guggenheim collections?" asks Bozonnet. The "battle of the Dogana" is not only about the quality of each collection; it also pits two rival architects against each other: the "minimalist" Ando and the "exuberant" Hadid. Local politics also plays a vital role. While Massimo Cacciari, the left-wing mayor of the city of Venice, supports Pinault's project, Giancarlo Galan, the right-wing president of the region of Venice, is said to back the Guggenheim Foundation. According to Bozonnet, Galan persuaded the Guggenheim to collaborate on the finances with Alberto Rigotti, the founder of the bank ABM Network and a patron of the Munus society, which specializes in the promotion of cultural events. Bozonnet adds that the Guggenheim attempted to open a new space there in 1999 with a design by the Italian architect Vittorio Gregotti, but that this project was never realized.
Guggenheim Museum
For some, the competition would be more interesting with a few more rivals. "A cultural system for contemporary art in Venice must be instituted, and only the Biennale could pilot it," said Marco de Michelis, rector of the IUAV university of Venice. "Pinault and Guggenheim are already there—they won't add anything else." " ( text by Jennifer Allen)
At the end of January, the result came out : Pinault will have to share the place with the Guggenheim. But through the voice of his director Jean Jacques Aillagon, the Palazzo Grassi will communicate later on the modalities of this participation with the Guggenheim Foundation.
More about the Guggenheim Foundation :
www.guggenheim.org
www.guggenheim-venice.it
More about the Pinault's Foundation :
www.palazzograssi.it
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