All Italian art lovers know that autumn in Italy turns pink with Artissima Art Fair. There’s no excuse for anybody working in the art field, the appointment with Artissima must be respected if we want to know what’s going on in the art world.
Ready to celebrate its 25th anniversary, Artissima is directed this year by Ilaria Bonacossa. The fair opens on Thursday 1 November, and welcomes over 50,000 visitors from Friday 2 to Sunday 4 November at the OVAL in Torino. If you want to know all the latest news about other contemporary art fairs don't miss our article about The 45th edition of FIAC!
Internationally renowned for its focus on experimental practices, and as a launching pad for up-and-coming artists and galleries, Artissima is a unique event that attracts a large audience of collectors, sector professionals and art lovers every year. As the only fair in Italy to concentrate exclusively on contemporary art, it is the preferred event of curators, directors of art institutions and foundations, as well as patrons of museums from all over the world who are involved in various ways in the projects of Artissima. Take a glance at the emergent artists working on Kooness...
But how do they want to celebrate this important anniversary? Ilaria Bonacossa said:
In 2018 Artissima celebrates an important anniversary: 25 years of a fair that has gained a reputation for its focus on experimentation and the pursuit of new approaches, for the coexistence of multiple and often contrasting approaches, for the critical vision of gallerists who are writing the future history of art, and for the courage of the curators ready to wager on talent and not on the marketable appeal of artists. I love Artissima because every year it provides a global overview of the contemporary scene, welcoming art lovers into an unexpected space/time, suspended outside the everyday dimension, in which works of art can transform our perspective on the world.
The fil rouge of the 25th edition will be “time” (Time is on our side), seen not as a static freeze-frame of memory and celebration, but as a dynamic flow capable of setting the pace of change while capturing the emotional suspension of time activated by works of art. The “time” of Artissima thus contains dual value: that of an eloquent past, and that of a future open to creative explorations. The fair begins, in fact, from its own history and identity – a consistent path of constant renewal and experimentation, but always capable of conserving its own recognizable character – in order to take part in the construction of the future history of art.
Discover more information on Kooness about the galleries --> Rodriguez, Antonio Colombo, Podbielski Contemporary, Angeles Banos.
A fair that has always anticipated and cemented the new trends and sensibilities of the art world, this year Artissima will host a new section titled “Sound” dedicated to the latest contemporary sonic research. As an integral part of the fair, “Sound” will be set up outside the institutional spaces of Artissima, at the OGR – Officine Grandi Riparazioni of Torino, to present 16 individual projects focusing on sound selected by an international duo of curators: Yann Chateigné Tytelman, curator and art critic in Berlin, associate professor of art history and theory at HEAD Geneva, and Nicola Ricciardi, artistic director of OGR – Officine Grandi Riparazioni, Torino.
Courtesy the artist and Massimodeluca Gallery, Mestre-Venezia Photo: Murat Germen
Standing out from the many novelties of year, is the new collaboration between Artissima and Treccani to produce the project "Alfabeto Treccani" curated by Ilaria Bonacossathis : a series of 21 original limited editions created by 21 Italian artists. The first series of works will be presented as an exclusive at the Oval at a special booth. "Alfabeto Treccani" is part of a project that stems from the encounter between two Italian cultural forces and reflects the engagement of Artissima with artistic experimentation, as well as the aim of cultural diffusion of Treccani.
These orientations converge in the shared objective of promoting the universal spread of art, nurturing a younger generation of collectors while at the same time addressing established ones: the reproducibility of the works, in fact, permits wider circulation of the original pieces, establishing a dialogue with the rest of the output of the artists. The 21 letters of the alphabet are not just graphic signs, but also an opportunity to provide an unprecedented overview of Italian contemporary art, through the creation of a new encyclopedic universe that corresponds to the primary mission of the Encyclopedia Italiana Treccani. Indeed, Treccani is the first institute to set the objective of surveying and classifying the consolidated experiences of artists, historians, critics, curators, gallerists and dealers on an international level. With this encyclopedia on the art of our time, Treccani intends to provide a vision that embraces different perspectives, also extending the overview beyond the geographical areas of the western world. To get through the content we spoke directly with the manager Iacopo Ceni:
The Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia founded by Giovanni Treccani renews its engagement in the research and dissemination of contemporary culture with Treccani Arte, the Institute’s new department entirely dedicated to contemporary art. Treccani Arte aims to promote a universal dissemination of knowledge in the realm of the visual arts by discovering the major expressions of contemporary creativity." Alfabeto Treccani, a series of twenty-one new limited edition prints proposing an overview of Italian contemporary art, is born from the collaboration between Treccani Arte and Artissima. Taking the Italian alphabet as a starting point, each of the twenty-one letters will be represented by one artist whose last name begins with the same letter. The Italian alphabet thus provides the occasion for a survey of Italian contemporary art through three generations of artists experimenting the endless possibilities offered by artistic reproduction techniques
Finally, one crucial aspect of the fair deserves an honourable mention, the numerous presence of activities aimed at promoting who is involved in the experimental art research. In this regard, on top of the six established prizes this year they have added “The edit Dinner prize” focused on the relationship between food and art and created thanks to the cooperation between Artissima and EDIT, the innovative food centre in Torino.
That’s not all… Along with the prizes, Artissima 2018 presents the first edition of the "New Entries Fair Fund" powered by Professional Trust Company, a new three-year fund created to support candidate galleries in the New Entries section. Every year three galleries will be chosen for the quality of their research and talent scouting, leading to a grant to finance their participation at the fair.
*Foto Oval: Artissima 2017 di Perottino – Alfero – Bottallo – Formica | Foto box: Visual identity, Hall of Fame, Artissima 2018, by FIONDA