It’s time to unveil the first new developments for the 28th edition of Artissima – the only Italian fair with an exclusive focus on contemporary art – held at the Oval in Torino from 5 to 7 November.
Directed by Ilaria Bonacossa for the fifth consecutive year, Artissima 2021 continues with its avant-garde, experimental approach, through a hybrid physical-digital formula, in a wide-ranging reflection on the theme of Countertime.
“Art – Ilaria Bonacossa explains – has always operated in an ‘emotional and formal countertime’ thanks to intuitions that foreshadow the future, altering the trajectories of our view of reality, disrupting paradigms and opening to unpredictable yet unavoidable interpretations and perspectives. Seen in this light, the history of art is composed of a polyphony of parts, tempo and counter-tempo, fused in a unique, surprising symphony. A symphony to which Artissima wants to continue to contribute in its writing.”
In line with this year’s theme, the new coordinated image of the fair – created by the Torino-based studio FIONDA – narrates the plurality of perspectives and leanings, revealing new realities through the symbol of the mirror and the fragmentation of images. “Pluralities, polyrhythms. Just as a strong accent grants greater impulse to a weak tempo, mirrors reveal mysteries and pay tribute to new truths. Not a magic spell to reassemble the world, not a certain final image. Simply new perspectives, new gazes. Controtempo”.
The 2021 edition is a mixture of recurring initiatives and new entries:
Artissima XYZ, the digital platform launched in 2020, is back to host the three curated sections of the fair – Present Future, Back to the Future e Disegni – and it will be visible online from 4 to 9 November 2021, alongside the physical presence of three exhibitions set up in the fair pavilion.
Following the success of the partnership project conducted in 2020, the collaboration with Intesa Sanpaolo has been extended, this year as the Main Partner of Artissima. Intesa Sanpaolo and the fair share the idea that art is a fundamental driver to reactivate virtuous mechanisms of social dynamism and cultural enrichment.
The curatorial and selection committees welcome three new members.
- Philippe Charpentier of the gallery Mor Charpentier in Paris joins the selection committee for the galleries taking part in Main Section, New Entries, Dialogue/ Monologue e Art Spaces & Editions, composed of: Isabella Bortolozzi (Berlin), Paola Capata (Monitor Gallery, Roma/Lisbon/Pereto), Raffaella Cortese (Milano), Nikolaus Oberhuber (KOW Gallery, Berlin) and Alessandro Pasotti (Galleria P420, Bologna).
- Caterina Avataneo, an independent curator based in London and Torino, will be the new curatorial consultant for the New Entries section, set aside for young galleries open for less than five years that are taking part in Artissima for the first time.
- Lilou Vidal, an independent curator and editor based in Brussels and Torino, joins Bettina Steinbrügge, director of the Kunstverein of Hamburg and managing director of Kunstmeile Hamburg, on the curatorial committee of Disegni. The fair confirms the presence of the members of the committees of Present Future (Ilaria Gianni and Fernanda Brenner, independent curators and writers) and of Back to the Future (Lorenzo Giusti, Director of the GAMeC, Bergamo and Mouna Mekouar, independent art critic and curator).
