If the artistic past is any predictor of future behavior, the heads of the Venice Biennale did themselves a solid, naming the New Museum's Massimiliano Gioni the chief director of the 55th Venice Biennale. Even though he oversaw my own 2011 museum nadir -- the recently closed Carsten Höller slideshow -- Gioni has overseen, curated, thunk-up and been behind so many interesting efforts, wedge ideas and optimistic energy that there's every reason to believe his Venice effort will be arousing.
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