Artissima 2013. Photo: Igor Bevilacqua.
Artissima
International fair of contemporary art
Torino
www.artissima.it
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Artissima 2013
The recent edition of Artissima closed on 10 November with unprecedented results. This year Artissima grew further and has consolidated its identity as one of the most experimental fairs of the contemporary art world. Its unique character in particular has captivated both the general public and art lovers and professionals. Numerous Italian collectors, as well as a record number of foreign collectors—many of whom were visiting Torino for the first time—and 45 invited curators from around the world have praised the extraordinary quality, breadth and energy of the fair.
The 2013 edition of Artissima offered challenging booth presentations, an astonishing selection of works, remarkable cutting-edge monographic proposals in the Present Future section and the extraordinary art-historical sweep of Back to the Future, which was curated by Caroline Bourgeois, Patrick Charpenel, Hou Hanru and Kasper König.
Most of the participating galleries reported remarkable sales to new collectors, a very engaging and lively atmosphere and exceptional opportunities for new contacts with curators and other professionals, all of whom proclaimed that Artissima has exceeded their expectations.
Furthermore, this year Artissima featured a selection of 190 galleries from 38 countries. Special attention has been paid to emerging areas in the contemporary art world, such as South America—especially Brazil—and Asia, in order to introduce diverse new voices and bolster the fair’s identity as a place in which to discover avant-garde positions in the international art scene.
Artissima is the place to be for young galleries worldwide. The fair grants a unique opportunity for visibility and exchange for emerging artists, great contacts with sophisticated and curious collectors and a market particularly attentive to work by young artists.
The fair hosted over 200 new collectors, from Brazil and Latin America, Southeast Asia, Europe and the US. Additionally, its special hospitality programme is an exceptional experience for collectors. It is acclaimed as one of the best worldwide for its personalised attention and stimulating collateral calendar of events, exhibitions and visits, as well as for Torino’s intimate charm as a city of culture, wine and haute cuisine.
Particular consideration was given to the acquisitions budgets of the museums of the Piedmont region, and to the prizes assigned to artists and galleries. The Fondazione per l’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea CRT bought artworks for the collections of the Castello di Rivoli and GAM Torino museums for an approximate value of 600,000 euros. Further, the Museo Ettore Fico acquired five important works at the fair for its soon-to-open new venue in Torino and assigned a Prize of 15,000 euros to the artist Petrit Halilaj, represented by Chert gallery, Berlin.
The illy Present Future Prize, which is dedicated to supporting young international emerging talent, was assigned by Defne Ayas, Matthew Higgs, Beatrice Merz and Katherine Stout to artists Caroline Achaintre represented by Arcade gallery, London, and Fatma Bucak represented by Alberto Peola gallery, Torino. Since 2012, the illy award has granted the winning artists the unique opportunity of exhibiting his or her work at the Castello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art at the following edition of Artissima.
The Antoine Levi gallery, from Paris, was awarded the Guido Carbone Prize of 5,000 euros for the best young exhibitor in the New Entries section by Emre Baykal, Suzanne Cotter, Laura Viale and Jochen Volz. The jury members, who were impressed by the remarkable quality in this section of the fair, praised the Antoine Levi gallery for the freshness and energy of the works presented and for the way in which the booth engaged with the context of the art fair and with the notion of display.
One of the newest and much cherished initiatives this year was the Walkie Talkies, a programme of walking conversations involving pairs of curators. Followed by a fascinated audience, they toured the fair’s booths discussing different works, themes or approaches in an informal and engaging way.
The selection of outstanding curators and museum directors who contributed to committees, juries and other initiatives at Artissima also included Stefano Collicelli Cagol, Guillaume Désanges, Anne Dressen, Eva Fabbris, Luigi Fassi, Katerina Gregos, Krist Gruijthuijsen, Robert Leckie, Qinyi Lim, Andrea Lissoni, Christine Macel, Simone Menegoi, Alice Motard, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Chiara Parisi, Davide Quadrio, Letizia Ragaglia, Filipa Ramos, Cristiano Raimondi, Alberto Salvadori, Alia Swastika, Sam Thorne and Andrea Viliani.
Finally, a very special feature of Artissima this year was the launch of ONE TORINO, a new major annual exhibition, developed and produced by the fair in collaboration with the city’s main contemporary art institutions.
The project, which aims to become one of Torino’s most important future events, included five different shows curated by seven international curators. ONE TORINO was inaugurated on 6 November at Palazzo Cavour, the magnificent Baroque palace that hosts Repertory, curated by Gary Carrion-Murayari, the starting point of the exhibition project which includes the illy Present Future Award Exhibition by Andrew Berardini, Gregor Muir and Beatrix Ruf at Castello di Rivoli; Ideal Standard Forms by Anna Colin at GAM Torino; Ways of working: the incidental object by Julieta González at Fondazione Merz; and VEERLE by Chris Fitzpatrick at Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo.
Thanks to ONE TORINO and its works, artists, curators and public, the city has been particularly vibrant. Patrons and boards from international museums connected to the shows have visited all the venues and brought new energy to Artissima.
ONE TORINO #1 will be open to the public till 12 January 2014.
In 2014 Artissima and ONE TORINO will welcome galleries, collectors, curators, critics and the art public with new stunning projects. The next edition of the fair will take place in Torino from 7 to 9 November 2014.
Artissima, a brand owned by Regione Piemonte, Provincia di Torino and Città di Torino, is managed by Fondazione Torino Musei.
With the support of: Fondazione per l’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea CRT, Camera di commercio di Torino and Compagnia di San Paolo.
Main partner: UniCredit
Partners: Aon, Fiat, illycaffè, Lauretana, Nikon
Official carrier: Gondrand
Media partners: La Stampa, Vogue Italia, L’Uomo Vogue
Media coverage: Sky Arte HD
In-kind sponsors: CarloAngela, Ferrero Rocher, K-Way, Tisettanta with Format Progetti Abitativi
ONE TORINO
With the generous support of: Compagnia di San Paolo, Fondazione per l’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea CRT, Camera di commercio di Torino
Partners: illycaffè, Lonmart Insurance, Alliance Française, British Council
Official carrier: Gondrand
Media partner: La Stampa
Media coverage: Sky Arte HD
