In the run-up to the chaos that was Salone del Mobile and Milan Design Week – as many construction sites around the city attest –miart It opened with its own show, vying for a place in the Italian art scene. The fair, which ran from April 17 to 19, opened its 30th edition in a new location in the Allianz MiCo conference hall in the northwest area of Milan. It showed works from the early twentieth century – with plenty of work by Lucio Fontana, Gino Severini and Allighero Boetti – as well as a wide range of contemporary practices. This inclusion of modern art particularly distinguishes the exhibition from Artesma, Turin’s fall fair dedicated exclusively to contemporary works.
Allianz MiCo’s distinctive architecture overlooks the CityLife Mall and numerous skyscrapers. This backdrop “brings a bit of Dubai to Milan,” noted one Myart attendee. The exhibition, which had 60 percent Italian representation and 40 percent international representation, was divided into three sections spread over three floors. This was the first time the exhibition had been organized in this way, and the change was considered subversive; Galleries were concerned that collectors might not find them. However, Nicola Ricciardi, director of the Myart Gallery, felt that the downtime between floors would be “refreshing” for viewers: “It helps collectors pay more attention. They have to readapt.” He added: “We needed to offer people something different. This is not the time to cut and paste, but to always do the same thing.” Some felt that the upper floor (which houses the most prominent galleries) had been neglected due to poor signage, while others found it easier to differentiate between the layers of art displays because they were not all compressed into the same amorphous space.
One Milan journalist noted some absences at the fair, including gallerists ArtNoble, UNA Galleria and Galleria Raffaella Cortese, a sign perhaps that the fair was not a one-sided, attractive event despite its breadth.
“Milan will never become Paris… and we will never have it,” Ricciardi noted Eiffel towerBut Ricciardi said Milan’s contemporary art scene has “improved dramatically” over the past decade. The introduction of a 5% value-added tax last year – down from 22%, which is now on par with France and Germany – has led to a 20% increase in sales within the Italian art market, according to Ricciardi.
Myart’s emerging section, comprising 29 galleries, served as a virtual stepping stone, placing these stalls on the path of visitors heading down to the larger established section below. Emergent’s first visual work was a quilted textile piece at Ferda Art Platform, an Istanbul gallery presenting a solo show by Güneş Türkul, where all works are priced under €10,000. Furthermore, the MATTA gallery in Milan was showing intentionally mismatched photographs by Theresa Büchner that re-appropriated stills from 1980s German films (€1,500-€6,000). Gaa Gallery, from New York and Cologne, showcased bright figurative paintings as well as ceramic works by Los Angeles-born, London-based Katja Varenne (€1,500-€16,000). Four galleries that had shown at Emergent in previous years—Eastcontemporary, Ginny on Frederick, Rose Easton, and zaza’—graduated to the established department.
In the basement, the founding section houses a large number of 111 galleries. The walls of the conference center here are painted black, giving the space a cave-like quality. One of the attendees jokingly described the escalator ride down to the founding section as “a descent into hell.”
Francesca Kaufmann of Kaufmann Repetto spoke candidly about the show’s legacy. “The Myart gallery was bad, a very bad gallery,” she said, recalling how everyone would travel instead to the Artesma gallery in Turin to get a measure of contemporary art. According to Kaufman, the transformation at Myart began about a decade ago when Emanuela Furlin assumed her role as gallery director. She met with several galleries in Milan, including Kaufman Repetto, and helped renegotiate the gallery’s status with its owners, who also oversee larger trade events for unrelated sectors such as eyewear and weddings. The appointment of Vincenzo Di Bellis – now Director of Exhibitions and Catwalks at Art Basel – also brought new energy and direction. Today, Kaufman sees Myart as: “part of our city project.” She was previously a member of the exhibition committee and remains a participating voice. The gallery was a strong success in terms of sales, with both Italian and foreign clients choosing works by Vivienne Sutter, By White, Bruno Munari, Catherine Bradford and Lily van der Stocker. The works in the pavilion ranged from 2,000 to 80,000 euros.
Ludovica Barbieri, partner at MASSIMODECARLO, founded in Milan in 1987, described the pavilion as “a single presentation with little extra.” A selection of California-born, New York-based Nicole Wittenberg’s works revealed landscapes from pastel studies created en plein air and then developed on canvas, selling for €12,000 apiece; Six works sold within hours of the preview day. A separate corner is dedicated to all the female artists, including Andra Ursota, Paloma Varga Wise, and Giulia Sensi; A bronze by Alicja Kwade and an oil on linen by Austyn Weiner were sold from this section. “We are a big gallery in Milan, so it supports the city for us,” Barbieri said of the gallery’s participation. Beyond the confines of the fair itself, Barbieri expressed excitement about the growing number of private foundations and institutions setting down roots in Milan, noting that “the atmosphere is good” in the city.
The soft opening from London presented six artists, including an entertaining collection of text paintings by Dean Sameshima (one of which reads “Anonymous Straight Guy”) as well as works by Gina Fischli, Olivia Erlanger and Ibon Sodebo, the latter her first exhibition in Italy. All works are priced at less than €50,000. Gallery director Antonia March had never attended a Myart gallery before, but was a guest through the Conceptual Fine Arts gallery’s one-month visiting program in the city. She also said that “Italy has a very long history of collecting artifacts.”
In the back corner, Milan Gallery Secci presented a single, site-specific installation with a mirrored floor and glass domes designed by Alfredo Peri. Sarah Cirillo, Secci’s senior director, was flummoxed by the gallery’s new three-level setup because “people don’t know what path to follow.” Berry’s framed watercolors (€32,000 each) were part of the gallery’s private collection and are offered for sale for the first time. However, the glass domes did not have a fixed price because Perry wanted to speak to collectors directly to “understand” their desires. Although there was interest, most collectors were not keen to negotiate in this way. Despite this difficult situation of selling art on the stand, Cirillo described the wider art scene in Milan as ““True, true.” Or it cannot be denied.
Upstairs, the established anthology department brought together 20 international players, including Ben Brown Fine Art, Galeria Continua, Peter Kelchman, Galerie Lelong, Galeria Lia Roma, Richard Salton and Tornabuoni Arte. Here, the walls of the conference center were painted white and the space was more airy. Cardi Gallery Director Chiara Aduccio felt that miart’s upstairs location made it easier – compared to the setup from previous editions – to talk to collectors. Cardi’s suite drew from the full range of its Italian roster, including historical figures such as Janis Kounellis, Enrico Castellani, and Agostino Bonalomi, as well as living artists at various stages of their careers. The highest priced work in the booth was €490,000. The most that could be reached was 30 thousand euros. Gianpietro Carliso’s sculpture was the only sale on preview day.
Although the show provided a flurry of activity in itself, between the introduction of the Paris Internationale Milan across the city and the Salone del Mobile on the immediate horizon, “everyone was terrified of FOMO,” Aduccio noted. It’s not Art Week without him.
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