The past Sunday marked the end of ArteFiera, the longest-running commercial event dedicated to contemporary and modern art in Italy. This year was the first with artistic director Davide Ferri, who had already curated the Pittura XXI section in previous years with Simone Menegoi at the helm.
Enea Righi, a great collector and manager, has been ensuring quality at ArteFiera as the chief operating officer for three years. Thanks to his support, important galleries like Galleria Continua, Massimo e Francesca Minini, Tornabuoni have returned.
Lia Rumma was not present because she could not resist the call of the new fair Basel Quatar. However, the Milanese gallery Kauffman Repetto joined this year.
The section of Modern Art and design: SpazioGiallo
We started from the Pavilion dedicated to modern art, the 24th. In the Multiples section curated by Lorenzo Gigotti, SpazioGiallo, a hybrid place between art and design in the heart of Rome, presents the exhibition The Rise of Fragile Things. 50% of the exhibition has been sold.
An oneiric house that is built through the related stories of seven artists: Lola Montes, Guglielmo Maggini, family lexicon, Giulio Rigoni, Lorenzo Castore, Pia Glassworks, and Delfina Scarpa with Paraná Studio.
The works Artichokes by Lola Montes are mirrors whose frames are created with artichoke stems made in ceramic (€19,500 each) while the coffee table by the same artist is offered at €24,400 including VAT.
The resin balls By Gaetano by Guglielmo Maggini – an artist also found in the contemporary section at Z2O, Sara Zanin – are a tribute to Gaetano Pesce. Guglielmo was indeed his assistant. The price is €1680 for the larger sphere (45 cm), €1365 for the smaller sphere. Family lexicon presents leftover, a dress over 3 meters long made from old doilies. Pia Glasswork, an Argentine designer, offers glasses that seem to melt, while Giulio Rigoni creates Utopian Cities in ceramic.
Some works by historicized artists in the stands
Torbandena, gallery in Trieste impresses with a Screen by Giacomo Balla. From Maggiore a reserved Morandi certainly valued at no less than a million or 1.5, with Manzoni tar and oils on masonite belonging to the first exhibition on nuclear painting. Ceroli with gigantic butterflies from Tornabuoni, more imposing tapestries from 1926 by Fortunato Depero from Verolino.
EDDART and Montrasio in the modern pavilion of ArteFiera
EDDART immediately records a very lively atmosphere thanks to the 5% VAT: at the stand, a beautiful Mimmo Rotella Desiderio di colore (1966), a Schermo by Fabio Mauri, highly sought after, at 130,000 euros. Interest also for Giacinto Cerone 21,000 – 23,000 and for one of the first interiors from 1961, Interno n.71, by Tano Festa.
At Montrasio, the talent of Leonardo Cremonini is highlighted, the protagonist of an exhibition that will open in May in Versailles. An excellent painting by Carlo Bucci with the subject of the barber then attracts attention. A retrospective will also be dedicated to him at the MART in Rovereto.
Zucchelli Foundation and Bevilacqua La Masa Stand
Notable this year are also the stands of academies and foundations. First among all is the stand of Bevilacqua La Masa which, together with Emeroteca dell’arte, offers for an entire year to 28 artists selected through a call for applications an atelier where they can create in Venice.
Fondazione Zucchelli was established by testamentary bequest in 1952. It has a booth curated by the Collettivo Parsec: all women among curator, installers, and other professions in the sector.
The modern section, Galleria Niccoli with Marca-Relli
Galleria Niccoli attracts with the sharp work of Mauro Staccioli – to which the entire stand of the excellent gallery Il Ponte is dedicated. Additionally, the stand features major works by Conrad Marca-Relli (1913-2000), an American of Italian origin from the Abstract Expressionism movement. He was a close friend of Jackson Pollock and his neighbor in East Hampton. His compositions are collages of various canvas fragments. The proposed works are striking, especially the gray-denim one. The prices for works from the eighties range from 240,000 to 180,000 euros.
The contemporary section, pavilion 25 of ArteFiera
In the contemporary art section, there is a general improvement in the offerings of the stands. Of course, many complain
From Alfonso Artiaco, works by David Tremlett and the papier-mâché sculpture Teddy by Perino & Vele. La Veronica presents, among others, photographs by Moira Ricci. They depict houses whose windows and doors have been erased.
From Thomas Brambilla, a work from the Rainbow series by John Giorno – on display at MAMbo. The artist, who passed away in 2019, is receiving a lot of attention. The work I want to cum in you heart is offered at 66,000 euros. In addition to John Giorno, the enormous photographs of lips by Sam Samore and the paintings on concrete by Gabriele Napoli attract attention.
The contemporary section: Lunetta11 with Ismaele Nones
In the section dedicated to painting curated by Ilaria Gianni, the paintings of Leonardo De Vito (Florence 1997, lives in Turin) are noticed, which go sold out in the booth of the gallery Acapella. The range goes from 10,000 to 20,000 for the larger canvases. From Lunetta11 Ismaele Nones, from 3,000 to 13,000, plays with sacred and profane iconography. A cultured artist who does not forget the history of art. In the pair All’attacco the figures falling from the horse refer to Saint Paul. There are inputs from the universal judgments and the work of Hans Memling. In Grand Comfort Saint Sebastian, pierced by arrows, writhes on a Le Corbusier sofa. In the background, the architectures of Lorenzetti and Giotto with the cycle of works on the life of Saint Francis in Assisi. His painting is glossy, the construction seems simple but fascinates.
Fuocherello’stand in the contemporary section of ArteFiera
At the Fuocherello stand at Arte Fiera, Andrea Di Lorenzo conducts an investigation into materials and landscape through sculptural-photographic work and modular works, capable of articulating space like visual punctuation. Davide Rivalta presents the new series of bronze sculptures inspired by the work of Emanuele Becheri – Errante and Orfeo ed Euridice –, a steel lamb and two paintings with sculptural characteristics, Limoni and Pomodori, in dialogue between nature and urbanity; Bekhbaatar Enkhtur models crampons in beeswax, revealing the intrinsic change of the material and referring to the oriental and nomadic culture that characterizes his work, while Mònica Planes presents two Rodeo, straw sculptures to investigate the body in motion and sculptural history.
The stand of Romero Paprocki
Romero Paprocki, a Parisian gallery, will open a new location in Milan on March 12. It will be inaugurated with the exhibition of Matisse Mesnil, an artist we had already encountered at Artissima. The roster is a valid selection of Italians living in Paris. Among them is Luca Rubegni, who stands out (both here and with Francesca Antonini) for his clean and polished painting. His subjects, the play with materials and dimensions, evoke the suspended atmospheres of Magic Realism. Also, Luca Resta (1982, Bergamo) carries on an interesting work. He starts from what he defines as “fanta-archeology.” Resta is fascinated by the volumes of bottles and containers for cold cuts and food products, like a tray for mortadella. He translates the patterns into sculptures of alabaster and marble, playing on the ambiguity between the elegance of the forms and the origin of the inspiration, in fact, disposable plastic packaging.
One of the most successful stands: Ciaccia Levi and Martina Simeti together
At Ciaccia Levi we notice the two artists Zoe Williams and Romane de Watteville. The price ranges of the works go from 4 to 9 thousand euros. The work of the Swiss Romane de Watteville (from Lausanne), I could claim the dreamers from the dreams, 2025, won the Marval Acquisition Award. Her canvases at 9000 euros are selling like hotcakes and some are left empty-handed…at least for the moment.
From Martina Simeti the sugary compositions (in the true sense of the word) by Alek O. (1982), an Argentine from Buenos Aires. The prices are around 6000-8000. The luminous Yo-yo is created from dismantled and reassembled ceiling lights with dual warm and cool intensity.
Umberto di Marino
Excellent performance by the Galleria Umberto Di Marino. Thus Enzo Di Marino tells us about the first day of the fair: The quality of the audience here in Bologna seems to improve year by year, and the workload is always significant. We received an acquisition from the fair’s fund. Diego Perrone won the Ducati Prize. This first edition by Davide Ferri seems to reflect the positive growth trajectory initiated by Simone Menegoi with Enea Righi.
We notice the drawings of the Algerian: they represent the South of the world in a constant state of terror. From Naples to Algiers, the constant feeling of “living on the slopes of a volcano”… the logics of violence and criminal attitudes. For this reason, the artist takes images from the newspapers and transforms them into dystopian visions.
Furthermore, for the first edition, the Arte Fiera Fund, financed by BolognaFiere and Cosmoprof, acquired the work of Francesco Jodice.
Atipografia and UNA Gallery
Atipografia sees the return of works by Diego Soldà. The poetry and softness of the wax by Gregorio Botta do not leave one indifferent. A work takes inspiration from the tomb of the poet Keats in Rome. On the tomb stands the inscription “here lies a poet whose name is written in water”.
UNA, gallery founded in 2018 in Piacenza by Marta Barbieri and Paola Bonino, claims to have already closed some sales in preview. The fair itself is, however, a bit slow. “Perhaps the positioning in the Pittura XXI section did not help the work of Micaela Piñero. She is an Argentine artist who is already represented by a gallery in Buenos Aires and is strong for collecting in South America”. UNA is working with the European market and is achieving success at a curatorial level.
Francesca Antonini and Galleria Michela Rizzo
In the booth of Galleria Michela Rizzo, “Nature” is shouted! We notice the works of Matthew Attard, protagonist of the Malta pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2024.
At the center is an installation by the very young duo Enzo e Barbara. Behind them are Greta Fabrizio (Padua, 2000) and Riccardo Lodi (Padua, 1998). Veleno Veneto is a cry of alarm against the environmental poisoning of the territory. Through ceramic plant elements, the viewer is alarmed about the reality of water contamination by PFAS, persistent and non-biodegradable chemical substances. The cost of the entire installation is €40,000 VAT included.
The Roman Francesca Antonini is satisfied with the sales: new and old collectors. The range in the stand goes from 1,500 to 10,000. The artists are figurative, Luca Rubegni and Francesco Casati but also abstract, Sabrina Casadei, or between the two trends, Rudy Cremonini.
The Perspective Section at ArteFiera
The section curated by Michele d’Aurizio stands out. The “Prospettiva” section is distinguished, in fact, by the choice to emphasize a single artist per stand. From the Milanese ArtNoble of Milan (directed by Matthew Noble) the wall installation with 200 drawings by Giulia Mangoni, an Italian-Brazilian artist. The project is dedicated to the artisans of Isola del Liri and is offered in its entirety for 40,000 euros. Also Milanese is the gallery MATTA, also awarded by Flash Art, directed by a trio of friends. The choice falls on Andrew Norman Wilson, who brings a series of photographs with the same subject: turkeys. During the mating season, the males display their colors and shades to seduce the females. In addition, each photograph refers to a film and its aesthetics. They are offered at €3,800 each.
From Alice Amati, a very young person who opened her gallery in London, stands out the work of Ilaria Vinci. Her drawings take us back to the world of childhood among Polly Pocket houses, in trend also on Instagram, and fairy tales. A watercolor and colored pencil depicts the stack of mattresses on which the princess sleeps.
Once again, the Roman ERMES ERMES presents a stand completely covered by the large drawings of Yuchu Gao. Bearing Capacity (Capacità Portante) reflects on the supporting columns and the caryatid. It is an allegory that emphasizes female submission in a society that is still male-dominated and patriarchal.
The photography, Petra Feriancova at Gilda Lavia
The section dedicated to photography at ArteFiera is curated by Marta Papini, who has been awarded the Flashart Prize for curatorship. We notice the work of Petra Feriancova, the protagonist of the stand of the Roman gallery Gilda Lavia. The collages, offered at 3,000 euros each, have the ability to capture the silent beauty of objects. Not only that, they tell moments of joy experienced firsthand, fragments of shared experience. They leave a smile on the lips after much wandering among booths that sometimes forget how important personality and warmth are.
She has collaborated for many years with art magazines such as Artribune, XIBT Contemporary, ArtApp, Insideart and Espoarte, preferring contemporary art in its many facets and media drifts.
