In what was probably the most mellow collateral exhibition during the 54th Venice Bienniale, which officially opened to the public this past weekend, "Venice in Venice" curated by Tim Nye and Jacqueline Miro featured a selection of revolutionary artists from the 1960s hailing from Venice, California including Vija Clemens, Ed Ruscha, Bruce Connor, James Turrell and others. Located along a narrow canal in what seemed to be the only slice of quiet during a bustling week of art openings, parties and performances, the show took over a renovated palace providing a Renaissance backdrop for the artist's slick, contemporary aesthetic, and also featured painted "psychedelic gondolas" -- a very Los Angeles version of the otherwise lavish tourist gondolas seen throughout the city.

Further extending the West Coast vibe around town, the curators took the party to Campo San Polo on Saturday night, for "Works in Motion", where skate legends Steve Olson and son Alex installed two quarter pipes in an otherwise tame square. As the sun went down on a humid night, the duo created a spectacle that the Bienniale, and no doubt the Venetian city hadn't ever seen, with the soundtrack provided by the Santi Balor Band with Ty LeBlanc. The event could be a hint as to what audiences will see at the Olson's upcoming collaborative exhibition opening July 1 at Nyehaus Gallery in New York. Then again, they could present something entirely different: when asked what they will create for the show both replied nonchalantly, "I don't know." If it's anything like what we saw over the weekend however, surely New York will embrace their California calm in the same way Venice did.