MILAN.- A place of discovery, research and dialogue between different generations, a unique opportunity to explore the history of art of the last one hundred and twenty years along with works by national and international artists.
The twenty-fifth edition of
miart confirms an identity built on a constant exchange between past and present, between modern and contemporary, between tradition and experimentation, in the belief that our time can be read more clearly through the lens of history. The two main sections of the fair, Established Masters and Established Contemporary comprising 107 galleries, further underline the significance of this Milanese event, showcasing the broadest chronological display among Italian fairs.
Among the highlights of the Established Masters section, the Gomiero gallery (Milan) presents a series of precious arazzi (tapestry) created by Herta Ottolenghi Wedekind (1885-1953), one of the most prominent avant-garde female personalities of the early twentieth century (and also, along with her husband Arturo Ottolenghi, philanthropist and a patron of artistic activities). While many of the artist's creations can be found at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Louvre in Paris, and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, her tapestries, created through a process integrating the artisanal and the industrial, have never been presented to the public. The exhibition is completed by a volume that traces the key moments of the artist’s life, through unpublished autobiographical documents and writings.
Montrasio Arte (Milan - Monza) features a solo show dedicated to artist Dennis Oppenheim (Electric City, 1938 - New York, 2011), known for his activity in the field of performance art, Land Art and video art. The gallery will exhibit a rich selection of sculptures from his New York studio, which offer a portrait of the artist's creativity throughout his production. Among these, the imposing Western Piece (1999), an extraordinary composition of intertwined bodies of prairie-green color horses of different sizes.
The artist Mirko Basaldella (Udine, 1910 - Cambridge, 1969) is instead the protagonist of the stand by Copetti Antiquari (Udine), which presents a selection of paintings and sculptures. Among the main works, there are four wooden doors carved with still-life pieces, made in 1954 for the theater of Milan’s Triennale. The project, which was never completed, included twenty panels along the walls of the grand staircase in the Palazzo dell'Arte of the 10th Triennale, illuminated by a ceiling of colored blown glass discs designed by Giuseppe Capogrossi (while a mat designed by Giuseppe Ajmone adorned the floor).
If the Masters section stands out for its numerous monographic stands, Established Contemporary features instead numerous duets — that is, a combinations between two artists represented by individual galleries such as, for example, the ideal conversation proposed by ZERO... (Milan) between two Italian talents belonging to consecutive generations: Massimo Grimaldi (Taranto, 1974) and Riccardo Benassi (Cremona, 1982). There are also fascinating dialogues by artists of the same age, but coming from apparently distant contexts and experiences such as the dialogue between Nathlie Provosty (Cincinnati, 1981) and Ibrahim Mahama (Tamale, Ghana, 1987), proposed by APALAZZOGALLERY (Brescia), or the dialogue between Svenja Deininger (Vienna, 1974,) and Andrea Sala (Como, 1976) in the stand of SCHIAVO ZOPPELLI GALLERY (Milan).
The choice of many galleries to rely on external curators for their exhibition project is also worthy of mention. The stand of Lange + Pult (Zurich - Auvernier), for example, will be curated by Mathieu Mercier (Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, France, 1970), an artist who, starting from his interest in Modernism and artistic avant-gardes, will juxtapose his own works to those of Alfredo Aceto (Turin, 1991), Justin Adian (Fort Worth, USA, 1976), Sylvie Fleury (Geneva, 1961), and Olivier Mosset (Bern, 1944), among others. Or Galleria Fumagalli (Milan), which on the occasion of Annamaria Maggi's 30-year career, at the helm of the gallery since 1991, invited the Hungarian critic Lóránd Hegyi to imagine a correspondence between the works of Maurizio Nannucci (Florence, 1939) and of Thorsten Brinkmann (Herne, Germany, 1971).
Finally, design — featured in all sections of the fair — also plays a leading role in Established Contemporary, thanks to numerous important revivals, new interpreters, and historical galleries. Such as, for example, Galleria Rossella Colombari (Milan), which to pay tribute to the gallery owner 40 years of activity will recreate a "room of wonders", bringing together two Italian artists of different generations: Bruno Gambone (1936) and Antonio Marras (1961). Or Officine Saffi (Milan), which presents the works of five Danish ceramists: Marie Herwald Hermann, Pernille Pontoppidan Pedersen, Turi Heisselberg Pedersen, Aya Simone Bækhøj Schmidt and LoneSkov Madsen, focusing on the role of women in contemporary experimentation with ceramics as well as on Denmark, one of the lesser-known centers of excellence for ceramics.
