In Milan there is a new contemporary art fair this year: (un)fair. A ‘fair-not-fair', a 360 experience for a new generation of collectors.
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A pioneering art fair opened its doors in the cultural center of Superstudio Maxi in Milan at the beginning of April. Describing themselves as the ‘fair-not-fair’ they propose a different kind of art fair. Running from the 8th to the 10th of April, this 360 contemporary art experience is shaping the modern for a new generation of collectors. A platform for galleries and artists, this is a concentrated space for the people who are writing contemporary art history today.
The artists are emerging and affirmed, and they tell stories of our daily life, revealing new ways of understanding the world, and how close art is to us.
However, (un)fair is also breaking the standards expected in an art fair, providing “(un)discovered art in an (un)expected fair.”
Among the galleries, we find Looking for Art – based in Milan. Promoting young emerging artists, they offer fresh, innovative perspectives on the contemporary art world, and during the show, they proved so. The roster of they exhibited artists was formed by four first-class young artists.
After attending the Liceo Artistico di Brera, and obtaining a diploma in Scenography in 2016, Alice Capelli (b.1997) graduated in Painting at the homonymous Academy of Fine Arts in 2020. Her work is created with watery, transparent brushstrokes which suggest a fluidity, that of sexual orientations and identities. It is an exploration of femininity and eroticism.
Riccardo Ricca (b.1996) completed the Accademy of Fine Arts in Brera. He cuts into wooden panels, marking them by following the traces left behind by the material’s previous life, allowing for the narrative, of colors and lines, to unfold as the piece develops.
We Are Aren (b. 1991) graduated in Graphic Design and Art Director at NABA, in Milan. He proposes subjects that become the absolute protagonists of the canvases: bright colors and well-defined lines become the spokesmen of everyday situations and experienced emotions.
SVCCY (b.1997) is a self-taught 3D artist. Hidden faces shift the focus to the individual’s role in society. Classical statues wear headsets and digital devices which remove their identities. It symbolizes their animosity in face of consumerism.
On top of this remarkable selection, they organized two events: a stimulating conversation about photography and architecture with the photographers Sofia Mangini e Francesca Masocco and a participatory performance with the conceptual artist TETI.
Unfair is a step away from the original concept behind art fairs – as the direct ‘negative’, the opposite – taken during the pandemic. Breaking barriers, it is a “young and courageous contemporary art fair” setting the standards of a new beginning.
The creators of this innovative proposal say that this idea is born out of the necessity of finding a space for connections and social life, encouraging people to start collecting, while also creating space for the central themes of contemporary art.
Taking place in Superstudio Maxi, this art fair puts sustainability in the foreground. This event location is the first to be LEED certified in Europe, using 100% renewable energy.
At (un)fair we find performances, music, conferences, unconventional tours, and activities for children.
Proposing new ways of living contemporary art, the aim is to create new relationships between the public and art.
What should we (un)expect from (un)fair next year?
