When one door closes, another opens

Even though I'm working in an art gallery for over 40hrs a week at the moment, I was recently feeling a bit guilty about not getting out and seeing what other art the city has to offer. I settled on the double whammy of Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana, which are both said to house staggering collections of modern art belonging to French billionaire, François Pinault. Arriving promptly at the doors of Palazzo Grassi, I was expectant and eager. However it appeared it was shut until the afternoon as they were holding a funeral for a professor that had recently passed away. Although irritated, it turned out to be the best thing that happened that day.

Determined to get my art fix, I plumped for the nearby pavillions. What I found was a real treat. The first show I came across was by two artists Daniel Glaser and Magdalena Kunz who live and work in Zurich and Turin. You enter the ground floor of the palazzo to find in a dingy side room which feels somewhat like a prison, two figures dressed like homeless people, sitting in the corner and speaking to the viewer. Only thing is, they're not real. They're just dummies and onto their faces is projected video footage of actors reciting poetry. They're strikingly realistic yet you're aware that they're just mimicking reality and it's this constant tension that makes them so fascinating.

Upstairs I found the Iranian pavillion featuring some strong photographic work and a memorial dedicated to those who lost their lives during the Iraq/Iran war. I was in a funny mood and had tears in my eyes as the guard of the gallery was just sitting in one corner playing Iranian music on a sitar. I approached him and said something about how it was similar to the ukulele because it only has four strings. Watch this space: Lady GaGa on the sitar coming up.

This was my pre-dinner warm up: a cicheto (sort of like a Venetian equivalent to tapas) and the ever-necessary spritz.

And here's a picture of the crazily huge cruise ships that pass by the island, totally dwarfing the buildings.