This week Mr. Cai has taken on a new challenge. He is the curator of the Biennale’s first official Chinese pavilion, sponsored in large part by the Chinese government. It is one of some 30 national pavilions in the Biennale, which opens to the public on June 12 and runs through Nov. 6. That the first thing visitors see is a call for enlightenment – the work of the Chinese artist Xu Zhen – is deliberately symbolic. “This is our exploration,” Mr. Cai said of the installation, “Virgin Garden: Emersion.” “It’s a work in progress.”
For more on “Virgin Garden: Emersion,” see Cai Guo-Qiang’s site.