Martin Gayford

The jewel-bright, mesmerisingly detailed pictures by Raqib Shaw are a revelation

A good way to sample the Venice Biennale and its off-shoots is just to follow your fancy: step through an ancient doorway and find out what is on the other side

‘Agony in the Garden (after Tintoretto) II’, 2020-21, by Raqib Shaw. Credit: White Cube (Ollie Hammick) 
issue 21 May 2022

Describing the Venice Biennale, like pinning down the city itself, is a practical impossibility. There is just too much of it, tucked away, scattered throughout the maze of alleyways and canals. And the art is no longer confined to the Biennale’s national pavilions in the gardens. It has spread, via dozens of tagalong shows cashing in on the presence of the global art world, to a motley array of disused palaces, warehouses, churches, at least one shop and a hidden garden loggia.

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