Tuesday, 6 November 2012

ARTISSIMA 19 > TURIN 8-9-10-11 November 2012



Artissima 19, the International Fair of Contemporary Art in Torino, will be held from Friday 9 to Sunday 11 November 2012 under the artistic direction of Sarah Cosulich Canarutto, who was appointed last February.
 
The forthcoming edition of the fair features new initiatives that build on the unique identity that Artissima has established over the years – an identity that has placed it in a prominent position on the international calendar.
 
This year, the fair has employed a dual strategy of inviting influential galleries, from Italy and abroad, whose programmes echo the fair’s experimental ambitions, and of attracting new galleries that offer an exciting mix of original projects, curated booths and stimulating works.
 
Given the recent proliferation of new art fairs around the world, and in emerging countries in particular, Artissima 19 aims at consolidating its position as an exceptional, cutting-edge showcase of visual art research. Top-quality, innovative proposals and dynamic booth presentations are the foundations on which Artissima continues to build its unique character and role amidst the crowded international scene. This year’s fair promises to be a unique event, not only thanks to the outstanding selection of galleries, but also owing to the new ways in which it is extending the fair’s sphere of activities from the Oval out into the city and its environs.
 
At the same time, given the current challenges faced by the art market, Artissima makes it a priority to encourage acquisitions, thereby allowing galleries both to maintain their high quality of exhibition and continue to take risks. To achieve this, the fair has worked intensely to develop new ways to attract a growing audience of important collectors and international visitors.
 
For Artissima, 19 Sarah Cosulich Canarutto has created a curatorial programme that is complementary to the fair and which takes place in different locations around the city. To realise this programme, Artissima has forged a synergetic collaboration with Torino’s leading contemporary art institutions, creating a new and ambitious projects aimed at boosting the fair’s visibility while highlighting the city’s museums and foundations, and their fundamental role in the city.
 
For the third consecutive year, Artissima is held at the Oval, an architecturally innovative pavilion in the Lingotto exhibition centre, built for the 2006 Winter Olympics, whose 20,000 m² of naturally lit space is an extraordinary setting for the fair.
 
 
THE FAIR
 
SECTIONS
Artissima 19 will be presenting 172 galleries (53 from Italy and 119 from abroad), divided into four sections:
·         Main Section, which brings together the most representative galleries from the international art scene, chosen by the Selection Committee. The section includes 96 galleries from Italy, the US, South America, Asia and the Middle East among the best-established names worldwide.
·         New Entries, devoted to the most interesting young galleries – active from less than five years – that are being presented for the first time at Artissima. This year the Selection Committee has admitted 32 galleries from 17 countries. During the fair, an international jury will assign the Guido Carbone prize, established in 2006, to the young gallery whose programme and booth presentation reveals the strongest commitment to experimentation and the promotion of young artists.
·         Present Future, which for twelve years now has served as important showcase for the latest artistic approaches and talents. Focusing on 20 emerging artists invited by a team of young international curators and presented by their galleries, this section has been created in partnership with illycaffè. The illy Present Future prize will be awarded by a special jury consisting of important museum directors and curators, who will choose the most noteworthy artist of the section. As from this year the prize will offer the winning artist the opportunity to exhibit his/her works at Castello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art on the occasion of Artissima 2013.
·         Back to the Future, a section dedicated to artists active in the ’60s and ’70s who are not well-known to the general public and yet have played a significant role in the history of art. The artists have been proposed and selected by four directors of relevant international institutions. Back to the Future, that since its first year has aroused great interest among galleries, collectors and the press, will be presenting museum-quality solo projects 19 artists from 17 galleries.
·         Art Editions, a new section for 2012, presents five spaces dedicated to art editions in a special area of the fair: GDM, Paris; ICA, London; OTHER CRITERIA, London; WHITE COLUMNS, New York; WHITECHAPEL, London.
 
COMMITTEES
In 2012 gallerist Peter Kilchmann from Zurich has joined as new member the Artissima Selection Committee. Moreover the Back to the Future Curatorial Committee members have been involved not only in selecting the artists for the section but as well in proposing new artists and projects. This year’s Committee include illustrious personalities like Jan Hoet, visionary curators like Vicente Todolì, prominent figures on the international scene like Joanna Mytkowska, Director of the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, and Vasif Kortun, Director of SALT and Founding Director of the Platform Garanti Contemporary Art Center in Istanbul.
The Committee for the Present Future section is composed by young curators from very different countries such as the US, Switzerland, Colombia, Egypt and of course Italy: Erica Cooke, Fredi Fischli, Inti Guerrero, Sarah Rifky and Luigi Fassi (Coordinator). The goal of this section is to offer new, constantly changing viewpoints on cutting-edge contemporary art all over the world and consolidate Artissima as the place where collectors and the general public can discover artists who are expected to have a leading role on the international art scene.
 
CON/TEXT
This year Artissima will be presenting con/TEXT, a totally new platform aimed at enriching the visitor’s experience: a large space dedicated to publishers, magazines and art editions which, together with the bookshop and book corner, will introduce the public to a unique way of inhabiting the fair, reading, interacting and sharing ideas. The Art Editions will include renowned names such as White Columns from New York, taking part for the first time in an Italian art fair.
 
ART WALKS/ART QUESTIONS
Artissima will propose Art Walks, an exclusive programme of tours by international curators and collectors who will accompany visitors through the fair around gallery booths following different themes, tendencies, artists or works of art, or commenting on the works in terms of their own personal passion for contemporary art.
A significant number of museum directors, curators and critics will attend Artissima in 2012, being involved in a rich calendar of talks and presentations. These will include Art Questions, a cycle of discussions aimed at tackling fundamental institutional and generational issues of contemporary art.
 


CURATORIAL PROJECTS
 
In 2012, the curatorial projects will take place in the city.
It’s Not the End of the World has forged a partnership between Artissima and Torino’s leading contemporary art institutions, who have come together to build a common exhibition path.
LIDO features five experimental exhibition projects that winds through museums and unconventional spaces of the Quadrilatero Romano district.
 
IT’S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD 
This year, Artissima 19 is presenting an exclusive new programme of curatorial events in collaboration with Torino’s leading contemporary art institutions: Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, GAM Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Fondazione Merz, and Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo.
The programme, aimed at improving the local network for contemporary art, will offer Italian and international collectors (who will be attending the Fair a vast, innovative and stimulating calendar of exhibitions, installations, video and performances by five well-known international artists.
It’s Not the End of the World includes five different exhibition projects, one at each of the participating institutions, connected by a common background: the desire to tackle, albeit in very different ways, the current artistic, historic and socio-political context. The title, which is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the Maya prophecy for December 2012, is also a way to emphasize an optimistic and pro-active attitude towards the difficult existing economic situation and how this is affecting the cultural world.
Artissima’s project for It’s Not the End of the World, that will be hosted in the extraordinary venue of Palazzo Madama, as well as the other projects, will extend beyond the fair duration thus expanding the fair’s role within the city. The programme, commissioned by Artissima, will include exhibitions, video installations and performances by five well-known international artists: “Ruin – Politics”  by Dan Perjovschi at Palazzo Madama for Artissima; “Tulkus 1880 to 2018”  by Paola Pivi at Castello di Rivoli; “Homeless Paradise”  by Valery Koshlyakov at GAM; “Beirut, I Love You – A Work in Progress”by Zena el Khalil at Fondazione Merz; “The End – Venice 2009”by Ragnar Kjartansson at Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo.
 
ARTISSIMA LIDO
The second curatorial initiative is a special project featuring a series of exhibitions specially conceived for the distinctive setting of the Quadrilatero Romano district by five alternative art spaces from around the world: 98 Weeks (Beirut), Auto Italia South East (London), Irmavep Club (Paris), Public Fiction (Los Angeles), and SOMA (Mexico City). The non-profit spaces have been invited to propose experimental shows in dialogue with five peculiar museums and institutions in the neighbourhood: the Archivio di Stato (National Archives), MAO Museo d’Arte Orientale (Museum of Asian Art), Museo Diffuso della Resistenza, della Deportazione, della Guerra, dei Diritti e della Libertà (Museum of Resistance, Deportation, War, Human Rights and Freedom), Museo della Sindone (Museum of the Holy Shroud), and Museo di Antichità (Antiquities Museum). The site-specific shows, installations, videos and performances, will complement the fair while further enriching its programme with surprising and unexpected proposals. The initiative is also meant to foster cultural exchange as each of the alternative spaces will later host a project by an Italian artist in their respective countries.
Exhibitions open from 9 to 11 November from 10 am to 10 pm. Official Opening Friday 9 November from 6 pm to 10 pm.

No comments:

Post a Comment