Feasting on art at the Venice Biennale

Venice

THE Venice Biennale, still the world's most distinguished exhibition of international contemporary art, opened to the public on Saturday, after a prosecco-drenched "professional" preview that has grown larger and less professional than ever. Not just curators, dealers and critics, but also oversize crowds of collectors and the regulars of Europe's partying class, swarmed the lagoon last week to see the 57th edition of the Biennale - and to make merry until long after the last scheduled vaporetto.

The Biennale comprises a central exhibition, organised this year by Christine Macel, chief curator of the Pompidou Center in Paris; and 85 national pavilions, which feature solo or thematic presentations. Prizes are awarded to the best pavilion - this year it's Germany, which hosts a harrowing performance work by young artist Anne Imhof - and to participants in the main show. The whole thing adds up to a kind of art-world Olympics. And museum exhibitions, pop-up shows, public sculptures and the occasional guerrilla performance make Venice the epicentre of contemporary art this spring.