Bruce Nauman Retrospective Opens at Punta della Dogana in Venice

Palazzo Grassi – Punta della Dogana, part of the Pinault Collection, has opened a major retrospective of Bruce Nauman (born 1941 in Fort Wayne), curated by Carlos Basualdo and Caroline Bourgeois. The exhibition, set in spaces redesigned by Tadao Ando, centers on the concept of contrapposto, linking Nauman's early works like 'Walk with Contrapposto' (1968) and 'Bouncing in the Corner, No. 1' (1968) to recent pieces such as 'Contrapposto Studies, I through VII' (2015–16) and 'Walks In Walks Out' (2015), which were jointly acquired by the Pinault Collection and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The show explores Nauman's deconstruction of movement, sound, and language, featuring works like 'Lip Sync' (1969), 'For Beginners (all the combinations of thumb and fingers)', 'Violins+Silence=Violence' (1981), and 'Diagonal Sound Wall (Acoustic Wall)' (1970). Basualdo describes the exhibition as "physical, experiential, and endowed with temporality." Despite the pandemic, the institution chose to proceed, offering a comprehensive view of Nauman's practice.