All photos by Caroline Claisse for Art Observed.

“In Praise of Doubt” is the second half of two exhibitions currently staged by the Francois Pinault Foundation. It housed in the Punta della Dogana just a stone’s throw from Palazzo Grassi, where part one, “The World Belongs to You” can be found. The two exhibitions share a curator, Caroline Bourgeois, and both run in parallel with the Venice Biennale 2011.

The exhibition presents both historical pieces and new works, several of which are site-specific projects. The theme, as hinted by its title, is uncertainty, the questioning of identity, and revisiting intimate space in relation to the space of the artwork. The artists included are art world regulars Adel Abdesemed, Marcel Broodthaers, Maurizio Cattelan, Subodh Gupta, David Hammons, Roni Horn, Thomas Houseago, Donald Judd, Edward Keinholz, Jeff Koons, Paul McCarthy, Julie Mehretu, Bruce Nauman, Sigmar Polke, Thomas Schutte, Sturtevant, Tatiana Trouve, and Chen Zhen. Out of these twenty, a surprising half have never been exhibited before in an exhibition by the Francois Pinault Foundation.

More text and images after the jump…

Paul McCarthy, She Man (2004)

According to François Pinault, “these two exhibitions develop two distinct yet complementary views of art as a visionary force.” The selected works “demonstrate artists’ extraordinary capacity to explore how we relate to our own uncertainties, and our relationship to others.”

Thomas Schutte, Efficiency Men (2005)

Thomas Houseago

Suboth Gupta, Spooning (2009)

Maurizio Cattelan, Untitled (2007)

Felix Gonzales-Torres, america america (2004)

Roni Horn, well and truly (2009-2010)

Paul McCarthy, The wedge (2004-11)

Paul McCarthy, She Man (2004)

Paul McCarthy, Captain Dick Hat (2009)

Paul McCarthy, Plaster Clay (2004)

Works by Marcel Broodthaers

A work by Jeff Koons

A work by Jeff Koons

Edward Kienholz, Roxys (1960-61)

Chen Zhen

– J. Lindblad

Related Links:

Exhibition Site [Punta della Dogana]
François Pinault Serves Up a Lose-Lose Pair of Art Experiences in Venice [Artinfo]
Beyond the City Limits [Financial Times]
François Pinault’s Ultimate Luxury [Vanity Fair]
Pinault goes global [The Art Newspaper]
François Pinault Foundation Announces Two New Exhibitions in Venice [FAD]

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