Looking for Depth in Venice

"Venice does something to the body immediately. Fresh off a bumpy plane ride, entering the city on a boat plowing through choppy waters, I felt my system become unsteady. Waves lapped against the ancient buildings, creating a floating sensation that persisted as I dragged my suitcase over the cobblestones. It might have been the jetlag or the exhaustion or my having just come from the desert plains of West Texas, but mostly I think it was the fact that the city is always sinking."

"We sifted through our spreadsheet of private viewings and dinners and cocktail receptions; in many cases, it took some Googling to figure out whether the names of the hosts belonged to galleries, restaurants, museums, or people. Sometimes I went in blind, choosing the event for what seemed like the most beautiful palazzo, then figuring out once I was there what the event was for. Sometimes I never figured it out. One day I found myself enjoying the free champagne and charging my phone at a reception for a different Goodman gallery than the one I thought I was feting."

"At the first stop, a palazzo exhibition of paintings by the late Canadian artist Matthew Wong, a debonair press liaison pointed out the Sheikha of Qatar, who was disembarking her water taxi wearing a red vinyl jacket. Very Don't Look Now (1973). In search of some food and wine, I went to Palazzo Da Mula Morosini on the grand canal, where Oslo's Astrup Fearnley museum was hosting a gathering in a Carlo Scarpa-designed apartment in which people actually live: a Rosemarie Trockel above the living room couch, an Isa Genzken on the office desk, and all that MCM furniture I had to assume was the real thing."

"The hosts, Aud and Paolo Cuniberti, were proud to show me a shrine to their dead dog, Brutus, whose ashes sat in a small wooden box next to a sculpture of a figure splayed"

Arrival in Venice after a bumpy flight and boat ride produces an unsteady, floating bodily feeling that persists while moving over cobblestones. The itinerary centers on private viewings, dinners, and cocktail receptions, often requiring online searching to identify hosts and venues. Some events are attended without knowing their purpose until arriving, and confusion can lead to mixing up galleries. Early stops include a palazzo exhibition featuring paintings by Matthew Wong, with notable guests arriving by water taxi. Food and wine lead to a Carlo Scarpa-designed apartment on the grand canal, where contemporary artists’ works and real MCM furniture appear in lived-in settings. Hosts show personal memorial objects, including a shrine to a dead dog.

Read at Artforum