Being picked to curate the Venice Biennale ’s main exhibition is a bit like winning the American presidency. You have to be a generational talent, but you also need luck. Charisma helps, as does a zest for back-room intrigue and a stomach for media scrutiny. Granted immense power, you immediately face formidable challenges. Since 1993, there have been five U.S. presidents and 17 Biennale curators, 16 of whom are interviewed in High Waters: An Oral History of the Venice Biennale (JRP Editions), a thrilling new book that illuminates what it’s like to hold the job. It was edited by Massimiliano Gioni , the New Museum artistic director behind the 2013 Biennale, who spoke with some curators before their shows opened and others over the past few years. (The Italian impresario Germano Celant , who organized 1997, is the lone absence; he died in 2020, before Gioni met with him.) A toothsome volume.…