The artwork, by US sculptor Charles Ray, will be replaced by a lamp-post at the tip of the Punta della Dogana.

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Pinault is also hoping to win the bidding on a larger venue, the 34, 000-square-foot Punta della Dogana, site of the 17th-century Venice customs house.

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So the following year, with a tip of the hat to his past life sparring over corporate assets, Pinault prevailed in a vicious battle with the Guggenheim Foundation to take over the nearly 40, 000-square-foot Punta della Dogana.

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