As the frenzy that is the Salone del Mobile and Milan design week approaches—as evidenced by the many construction sites across the city—miart it was opened with its contribution, fighting for a place in the Italian art scene. The show, which ran from April 17 to 19, launched its 30th edition in a new location at the Allianz MiCo conference hall in the northwest district of Milan. It featured early twentieth-century works—with Lucio Fontana, Gino Severini and Alighiero Boetti to go—as well as many modern trends. This installation of modern art stands in stark contrast to Artissima, the Turin-based autumn exhibition dedicated exclusively to contemporary work.
The unusual buildings of Allianz MiCo overlook the impersonal CityLife shopping mall and several buildings; one attendee noted that the backdrop “brings a little Dubai to Milan.” This exhibition, which had 60 percent representing Italy and 40 percent representing international countries, was divided into three sections placed on three floors. This was the first time the game had been modified in such a way, and the change was considered disruptive; galleries were worried that their collectors might not find them. However, honest miart director Nicola Ricciardi felt that standing between the floors would be “refreshing” to watch: “It helps collectors pay more attention. They have to fix it.” He added, “We needed to give people something different. These are not cut and paste times, we always do the same thing.” Some felt that the upper floor (with the most prominent galleries) was neglected due to poor signage, while others found it easier to distinguish between the categories of artistic offerings because they were not all pressed into the same amorphous space.
Another journalist from Milan noted the absence of something in this exhibition, including the galleries ArtNoble, UNA galleria and Galleria Raffaella Cortese, which is a sign, perhaps, that this show was not an unpleasant event despite its scope.
Ricciardi noted that “Milan will never be Paris… we never will Visit the Eiffel.” But contemporary art in Milan has “improved a lot” in the last decade, Ricciardi said. The introduction of a 5 percent VAT tax last year—down from 22 percent, and now compared to France and Germany—according to Ricciardi, led to a 20 percent increase in sales in the Italian art market.
Miart’s Emergent section, which includes 29 galleries, serves as a starting point, placing these booths on the path of visitors down to the main Stage. The first work seen in Emergent was a textile at Ferda Art Platform, an Istanbul gallery presenting a monographic exhibition of Güneş Terkol, with all works priced under €10,000. In addition, Milan’s MATTA gallery was showing Theresa Büchner’s deliberately inappropriate photographs that reused German 1980s film stills (€1500-€6000). Gaa Gallery, based in New York and Cologne, exhibited bold figurative paintings and ceramics by Los Angeles-born, London-born Katja Farin (€1500-€16,000). Four shows that had been featured in Emergent over the years—Eastcontemporary, Ginny on Frederick, Rose Easton, and zaza’—graduated from the Established category.
Downstairs, the Established section has placed the main focus of 111 galleries. The walls of the conference center here were painted black, lending the space a cave-like quality. One attendee jokingly described going down the escalator to the Stop as “descending into hell.”
Francesca Kaufmann of kaufmann repetto spoke candidly about the show’s legacy. “Miart used to be a bad show—a very bad show,” he noted, recalling how everyone would go to Turin’s Artissima for a barometer of modern art. According to Kaufmann, miart’s transformation began about ten years ago when Emanuela Forlin took on her role as Exhibition Manager. He met with various Milanese fairs—including kaufmann repetto—and helped negotiate the fair’s position with its owners, who also direct major trade events for unrelated sectors such as eyewear and bridal. The appointment of Vincenzo de Bellis—now Director of Exhibitions and Exhibition Centers at Art Basel—also brought new energy and direction. Today, Kauffman sees miart as: “part of the project of our city.” He has been on the exhibition committee and is still an active voice. The gallery had a strong success in terms of sales, with Italian and foreign clients picking up works by Vivian Suter, Pae White, Bruno Munari, Katherine Bradford and Lily van der Stokker. Works on the stand ranged from €2000 to €80,000.
Ludovica Barbieri, partner at MASSIMODECARLO, founded in Milan in 1987, described the booth as “one presentation with a little extra.” A selection of works by California-born, New York-based Nicole Wittenberg reveals landscapes from pastel studies made en plein air and developed on canvas, selling for 12,000 euros each; six works sold within hours of the preview day. A separate corner was dedicated to all female artists, including Andra Ursuta, Paloma Varga Weisz and Giulia Censi; A bronze sculpture by Alicja Kwade and an oil on canvas by Austyn Weiner from this section are for sale. “We are a big Milanese gallery, so for us it supports the city,” Barbieri said about the gallery’s participation. Beyond the border itself, Barbieri expressed interest in the growing number of private institutions and centers centered in Milan, noting that, in the city, “the vibe is good.”
Soft Opening from London presented six artists, including a humorous set of textual paintings by Dean Sameshima (one reading “Anonymous Straight Guy”) and works by Gina Fischli, Olivia Erlanger and Ebun Sodipo, the latter making his Italian debut. All jobs are valued at less than €50,000. Gallery director Antonia Marsh had never been to miart before, but had been a guest on a month-long Conceptual Fine Arts gallery tour program in the city. He also thought that “Italy has a long history of collecting.”
Tucked away in a back corner, Milanese gallery Secci presented a unique, site-specific installation with a mirrored floor and plexiglass houses by Alfredo Pirri. The Executive Director of Secci, Sara Cirillo, is saddened by the new three-level system of the exhibition because “people do not know the path they are following.” Pirri’s framed watercolors (€32,000 each) were part of the gallery’s private collection and were sold for the first time. However, the plexiglass domes did not have a firm price because Pirri wanted to talk to collectors directly to “understand” their wishes. Although there was interest, most collectors did not want to negotiate in this way. Despite this tricky position of selling work in a booth, Cirillo described the wider Milanese art scene as “propre vero,” or undeniable.
On the top floor, the Established Anthology section brought together 20 international players, including Ben Brown Fine Arts, Galleria Continua, Peter Kilchmann, Galerie Lelong, Galleria Lia Rumma, Richard Saltoun and Tornabuoni Arte. Here, the walls of the convention center were painted white and the space was very airy. Cardi Gallery Manager Chiara Adducchio felt miart’s state-of-the-art space made it easier—relative to the setup from previous shows—to talk to collectors. Cardi’s booth covered the full range of Italian programming, including historical figures such as Jannis Kounellis, Enrico Castellani, Agostino Bonalumi, and living artists at various stages of their careers. The highest priced work on the booth was €490,000; the most attainable was €30,000. Gianpietro Carlesso’s painting was the only auction on the day of the preview.
Although the show provided a fair amount of activity, between the launch of the Paris Internationale Milan across the city and the Salone del Mobile soon after, Adducchio noted: “everyone was freaking out about FOMO.” It’s not art week without it.
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