Massimiliano Gioni has a reputation for shifting perceptions of what an exhibition can be in the 21st century, an approach he plans to continue with the Venice Biennale. “Lately, people think that contemporary art is something to pass the time of the wealthy, or because everybody else is doing it  or because openings are cool or fashionable,” he says. Gioni sees art not as the exclusive domain of the hip and the well-to-do, but as a kind of mental playground for the masses. “We need to remind ourselves that contemporary art is first of all a form of mental gymnastics in which we learn to co-exist with what we don't understand.”  Read more…