François Pinault with the architect Tadao Ando on the Grand Canal. Photo: Graziano Arici

At the entrance to the city of Venice, parting the waters between the Giudecca and the Grand Canal like a ship’s prow, is the Dogana di Mare, the Sea Custom House from 1677. The Dogana was the port of entry policing the lucrative trade from the Silk Road of exotic cargo from the Orient and a beacon of medieval power, like the Lighthouse of ancient Alexandria. Long neglected, this crumbling decaying watchtower reclaimed attention when it was sought by the Guggenheim Foundation,which with Zaha Hadid as architect, coveted its premises to host its own collection. But in the end, Venice favoured François Pinault’s plans, who, having dropped the Île Seguin project on the Seine, was looking for a second home for his private collections, already installed in the Palazzo Grassi across the canal.

Pinault chose Tadao Ando to construct a modern museum out of the ruins of the Dogana. Guidelines for historical preservation restricted modifications to the façade, and so to create a contemporary space, Mr. Ando created an inner wall, parallel and separate from the historical foundations matching the triangular tip of Dorsoduro Island. To keep the art dry, one of the difficult phases of renovation was to waterproof the shell of the building to protect against water damage from Venice’s notorious annual flooding during the Alta Aqua.

Punta Della Dogana, Charles Ray's Boy with Frog, 2009, and aerial view of tip.

Felix Gonzalez-Torres Untitled (Blood), 1992 and Maurizio Cattelan Untitled, 2007, Taxidermied horse

The triumphant awakening of the Punta Della Dogana from its hundred years of dormancy—coinciding with its first exhibition of artwork from Pinault’s own collection curated by Francesco Bonami and Alison M. Gingeras—called Mapping the Studio, which addresses the art’s trajectory from the private studio of the artist —via the collector—to the public domain of the viewer. Ms. Gingeras has also curated Pop Life at the Tate Modern recently, and Francesco Bonami is slated to be co-curator for the 2010 Whitney Biennial.

Stepping into the Dogana for the first time, I was struck by the minimalist grandeur of the interior, which is a melding of medieval brickwork with Ando’s austere vision. I passed through Felix Gonzalez-Torres’ scarlet-beaded curtain, hanging like drops of blood, into an entombed and autonomous world, futuristic and separate from the bustle of ancient Venice outside. Displayed on multiple levels, the collection is a tribute to Pinault’s exquisite taste and curatorial decisions, which play with architectural light and space. Jeff Koons’ Bourgeois Bust is silhouetted by the semi-circular windows, which frame the Venetian gondoliers below, serenading their love-boat passengers. Although the collection has scattered elements of whimsy—Maurzio Catellan’s taxidermied horse absurdly stuck on the wall (a reversal of a trophy head) and Cy Twombly’s colourful and calming frescos—there are works that demand darker contemplation, such as the Chapmen brothers, Fucking Hell and Paul McCarthy’s Train, Pig Island. The curators wed established artists with newer ones, along with works by the same artist spanning a passage of time that diverge in emotion. Alison Gingeras says of Pinault as a collector, “What is interesting is his choice to follow twenty artists. Not only is he loyal to them, but he also discerns what is new in their work. He tends to choose artists that evolve, who do not continually express the same message or produce the same works over and over.”

Jeff Koons, Bourgeois Bust – Jeff and Ilona, 1991, marble.

Outside at the prow of the building is Charles Ray’s Boy with Frog, commissioned by Pinault for the Punta della Dogana. It is a take on Donatello’s David (c1440), and instead of the head of Goliath he holds in his fists a frog, and captures in his wondrous gaze a sense of astonishment at his own creative prowess.

“Mapping the Studio: Artists from the François Pinault Collection,” Venice, Italy.  All installation Views and Photos Courtesy Punta della Dogana & © Palazzo Grassi SpA. Foto: ORCH, orsenigo_chemollo