Martin Gayford is a writer and art critic. His books include Michelangelo: His Epic Life (Penguin) as well as multiple publications on art and artists for Thames & Hudson, including books co- authored with David Hockney, Antony Gormley and David Dawson. He has visited Venice countless times since the 1970s, covered every Biennale since 1990, and even had portraits of himself exhibited there on several occasions.