Ahead of the chaos that is Salone del Mobile and Milan’s design week—as evidenced by the many construction sites across the city—Miara opened with its own bid, competing for a place on the Italian art scene. The fair, which took place from April 17 to 19, inaugurated its 30th edition inside a new location at the Allianz MiCo conference hall in the northwest district of Milan. It featured works from the early twentieth century—a lot Lucio Fontana, Gino Severini AND Alighiero Boetti to go around – as well as a wide range of contemporary practices. This inclusion of modern art clearly distinguishes the fair from Very artisticTurin-based autumn fair dedicated exclusively to contemporary work.
Allianz MiCo’s distinctive architecture overlooks the impersonal CityLife mall and several skyscrapers; One Miart attendee said this background “brings a little Dubai to Milan”. The fair, which had 60 percent Italian representation and 40 percent international representation, was divided into three sections layered over three floors. This was the first time the fair had been configured as such, and the change was considered disruptive; galleries were worried that their collectors might not find them. However, right director of Miart Nicola Ricciardi I felt the pause between floors would be “refreshing” to watch: “It helps the collector pay more attention. They need to be fixed.” He added, “We needed to offer people something different. These are not cut-and-paste times, always doing the same thing.” Some felt the top floor (with the most prominent galleries) was neglected due to poor signage, while others found it easier to distinguish between the layers of art offerings because they weren’t all crammed into the same amorphous space.
A Milanese journalist noted several absences from the fair, including gallerists ArtNoble, UNA galleria and Galleria Raffaella Cortese, a signal, perhaps, that the fair was not a one-sided attraction event despite its breadth.
Ricciardi noted that “Milan will never be Paris… we will never have one Tour Eiffel.” But Milan’s contemporary art scene has “improved dramatically” over the past decade, Ricciardi said. To imposing a 5 percent VAT tax Last year – up from 22 percent, and now on par with France and Germany – has led, for Ricciardi, to a 20 percent increase in sales within the Italian art market.
miart’s Emergent section, comprising 29 galleries, functioned as a de facto starting point, placing these booths in the path of visitors making their way to the larger Established section below. The first work on view at Emergent was a quilted textile piece at Ferda Art Platform, an Istanbul gallery presenting a monographic show by Gunes Terkolwith all the works under €10,000. Next, that of Milan Mattia the gallery was deliberately showing inconsistency Theresa Buechner images that repurposed stills from German films of the 1980s (€1,500-€6,000). Gaa Gallery, from New York and Cologne, showed bright figurative paintings plus ceramics from Los Angeles, based in London Katja Farin (€1500-€16000). Four galleries that have appeared in Emergent in previous years-Contemporary EasternGinny on Frederick, Rose Easton and zaza’—graduated in the Established section.
Downstairs, the Established section housed an intense concentration of 111 galleries. The walls of the conference center here were painted black, giving the space a cave-like quality. One attendee jokingly described going down the escalator to the established section as “descent into hell”.
Francesca Kaufmann of kaufmann repetto spoke candidly about the legacy of the fair. “Miart has been a bad fair – a very bad fair,” she noted, recalling how everyone would travel to Turin’s Artissima for a barometer on contemporary art. According to Kaufmann, Miart’s turnaround began roughly a decade ago when Emanuela Forlin assumed her role as exhibition manager. She met with various Milanese galleries, including Kaufmann Repetto, and helped renegotiate the fair’s position with its owners, who also oversee larger commercial events for unrelated sectors such as eyewear and bridal wear. The appointment of Vincenzo de Bellis— now Director of Fairs and Exhibition Platforms at Art Basel — also brought new energy and direction. Today, Kauffman sees Miart as: “part of the project of our city.” She was previously on the fair committee and is still an engaging voice. The gallery experienced strong sales success, with Italian and foreign clients taking works from Vivian Suter, Pae Bardhe, Bruno Munari, Katherine Bradford AND Lily van der Stocker. Works on the stand ranged from €2,000 to €80,000.
Ludovica Barbieria partner at MASSIMODECARLO, founded in Milan in 1987, described the stand “as a solo presentation with a little more”. A monographic selection of works born in California, based in New York Nicole Wittenberg discovered landscapes from pastel studies created in plein air and then developed on canvas, selling for €12,000 each; six works sold within hours of viewing day. A special corner was dedicated to all female artists, incl The second Ursuta, Paloma Varga Weisz AND Giulia Censi; a bronze sculpture by Alice Kwade and an oil on linen from Austin Weiner from this section were sold. “We’re a big Milanese gallery, so for us it’s supporting the city,” Barbieri said of the gallery’s participation. Beyond the confines of the fair itself, Barbieri expressed enthusiasm for the growing number of private foundations and institutions taking root in Milan, noting that in the city, “the climate is good.”
London’s Soft Opening featured six artists, including a fun set of text paintings by Dean Sameshima (one read “Anonymous Straight Guy”) as well as works by Gina Fischli, Olivia Erlanger AND Substitute giftthe latter made its debut at the Italian exhibition. All works were priced under €50,000. Gallery director Antonia Marsh had never participated in Miart before, but had been invited to the month-long program of visits to the Fine Conceptual Art gallery in the city. She also reasoned that “Italy has a really long history of collecting.”
Tucked away in a back corner, Milanese gallery Secci presented a unique, site-specific installation with a mirrored floor and Plexiglas domes from Alfredo Pirri. Secci Senior Director Sarah Cirillo was stifled by the fair’s new three-level setup because “people don’t know the road they’re on.” Pirri’s framed watercolors (€32,000 each) were part of the gallery’s private collection and were offered for sale for the first time. However, the Plexiglas domes did not have a fixed price because Pirri wanted to speak directly to collectors “to understand” their desires. Although there had been interest, most collectors were not inclined to negotiate in this way. Despite this complicated position of selling booth work, Cirillo described the wider Milanese art scene as “really really,” or undeniable.
Upstairs, the established Anthology section brought together 20 international players, including Ben Brown Fine Arts, The gallery continuesPeter Kilchmann, Lelong GalleryGalleria Lia Rumma, Richard Saltoun and Tornabuoni Arte. Here, the walls of the conference center were painted white and the space was much more airy. Cardi Gallery Manager Chiara Adducchio felt that Miart’s upstairs position made it easier – relative to the setup from previous editions – to talk to collectors. Cardi’s booth drew from the full breadth of her Italian roster, including historical figures like Jannis Kunellis, Enrico Castellani, Agostino Bonalumiplus living artists at various stages of their careers. The highest priced work on the stand was €490,000; the most affordable was €30,000. Gianpietro CarlessoHis sculpture was the only sale on the previous day.
Although the fair provided a flurry of activity to its credit, between the presentation of Paris Internationale Milan across the city and the Salone del Mobile on the immediate horizon, Adducchio noted, “everyone was worried about FOMO.” It’s not art week without it.
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