<p>Contemporary art has found its footing in the home of Salone del Mobile</p>

Ivan Carvalho

Why Milan is more than just fashion and design 

<p></p>
<p>When
contemporary art and Milan come up in conversation, many observers point to one
seminal event that put the city on the art world’s radar: Expo 2015. Before the
world’s fair, Milan’s two leading creative industries – fashion and design –
routinely dominated the cultural discussion. But, with more than 21 million
global visitors, the six-month Expo served as an important catalyst to bring in
well-cultured travelers eager to explore not just Milan’s elegant couture and
furniture, but also the goings on of its artists, collectors, and curators. </p>
<p></p>

<p></p>
<p>One
firm believer in the significant role Expo 2015 played in raising the image of
Milan among art connoisseurs is <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1104/MassimoDeCarlo">Massimo De Carlo</a>. ‘Before Expo, Milan was an
outsider. Today, it is a destination,’ explains De Carlo, who founded his
gallery in 1987. ‘There have been plenty of artists present here since the
1960s, but there has been a rediscovery of sorts going on thanks to the Expo,
which put a spotlight on the city.’ In 2019, De Carlo, who has several venues
abroad in key art cities such as Paris and Hong Kong, uprooted his former
Milanese headquarters and settled into the stunning Casa Corbellini-Wassermann.
Completed in 1936, the grand palazzo is the work of renowned Italian architect
Piero Portaluppi.</p>
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<p></p>
<p>In the run-up to the all-important Salone del Mobile furniture fair opening on April 18,  MassimoDeCarlo shows ‘Room Service’, a collaborative exhibition between Scandinavian duo <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/7137/Elmgreen-Dragset">Elmgreen & Dragset</a> and Swiss artist <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/57702/John-Armleder">John Armleder</a>. The artists have cleverly installed readymades and minimalist artworks into the historic palazzo’s lavish marble and wood interiors. Somewhat off the beaten track, De Carlo’s gallery is emblematic of the Milanese contemporary art scene. Even his previous location, inside the monumental Palazzo Belgioioso near La Scala opera house, combined elegance with understatement.</p>
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<p>The
city’s discreet charm wasn’t lost on gallerist Javier Peres of <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1247/Peres-Projects">Peres Projects</a>,
who in 2022 moved into the Belgioioso space vacated by De Carlo. ‘For sure,
Milan is understated,’ explains Peres, who for the 20th anniversary of his
gallery (which began in Los Angeles and gained traction in Berlin, the latter
still its primary location) decided to inaugurate a new venue and chose Milan.
Peres’s recent move feels natural, given the Lombard capital is Italy’s most
cosmopolitan city. ‘We see so many people from all over Italy, in fact all over
the world, who come here to conduct business and enjoy everything the city has
to offer culturally and culinarily,’ he explains. </p>
<p></p>

<p>Peres
claims that fewer artists live and work here than in Berlin, but that the
quality of life and Milan’s proximity to the mountains and seaside are big
draws. So is fashion – and one of the country’s most prominent brands in the
industry plays a crucial role in supporting art. Fondazione Prada inaugurated
its second space in Milan in spring 2015 as the world’s fair was beginning to
welcome guests to the city. Its impressive, 19,000 m<sup>2</sup> complex –
designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Rem Koolhaas on the site of a
former distillery – is a popular destination to catch one of its ambitious
thematic exhibitions or view works from the permanent collection that designer
Miuccia Prada and her husband, Patrizio Bertelli, have assembled over the
years.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Fondazione Prada is a prime example of the private sector’s influence in
promoting contemporary art in the city: the only dedicated public institution
for contemporary art is the PAC (Padiglione d'Arte Contemporanea), although
exhibitions are sometimes also on view at the design-driven Triennale Milano
museum and at the Museo delle Culture di Milano. </p>

<p>Another
privately supported venue is the Pirelli HangarBicocca, located on the opposite
side of town and backed by tire manufacturer Pirelli since 2004. Like the
Fondazione Prada, HangarBicocca is housed on a former industrial site, where
locomotives were once assembled. ‘It’s a unique setting and we look to develop
very special exhibits for the site,’ says chief curator Roberta Tenconi.
‘Although it is quite a monumental space, with ceilings up to 20 m high, we are
not searching for one massive piece to show off but, rather, to put together
monographic exhibits dedicated to a single artist.’ On view in April is ‘Grand
Bal’, a retrospective of Belgian artist <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/6769/Ann-Veronica-Janssens">Ann Veronica Janssens</a> spanning more
than 40 years of her ethereal, dramatic work in light and color. </p>

<p></p>
<p>Transcending
fixed-location patronage is Trussardi, a fashion house that began as a glove
manufacturer more than a century ago. Nicola Trussardi launched his eponymous
art foundation in 1996 with a mission to bring contemporary art into public
space; daughter Beatrice Trussardi – with curator Massimiliano Gioni as art
director – took the helm in 2003 and, in 2021, launched her own Beatrice
Trussardi Foundation. A look at the list of Trussardi’s public-art projects in
Milan reads like a who’s who of the contemporary scene. Ghanaian rising star
<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/30374/Ibrahim-Mahama">Ibrahim Mahama</a>, for instance, installed huge jute sacks over Milan’s Porta
Venezia for <em>A Friend</em> (2019), while in previous years interventions by
artists including <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/6776/Anri-Sala">Anri Sala</a> and <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/19524/Maurizio-Cattelan">Maurizio Cattelan</a> have dotted the Milanese
cityscape.</p>
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<p></p>
<p>‘People
usually see Italy as a place of ancient art, food, and landscapes. But Milan is
a modernist city, the city of Gio Ponti, of the great designers, and reflects
this same attitude in art. It’s the city of contemporaneity,’ explains
Francesca Kaufmann, who co-founded <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1170/kaufmann-repetto">kaufmann repetto</a> gallery with Chiara Repetto
in 2000. Set back from the street in a courtyard, the gallery has an ambitious
exhibition program featuring artists such as <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/7779/Latifa-Echakhch">Latifa Echakhch</a>, <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/23219/Simone-Fattal">Simone Fattal</a>,&nbsp;and Corita Kent. Their work will be on view in a trifecta of exhibitions
opening shortly before Salone and the 27th edition of the miart art fair,
running April 14–16. Younger galleries have made headway, too: founded in 2011,
Galleria Federico Vavassori focusses on developing and showcasing Italian talent,
with a few international artists in the mix. Currently, Vavassori is dedicating
its space to veteran Turin artist <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/8313/Gianni-Piacentino">Gianni Piacentino</a>, who is displaying his
‘Trans-Chrome’ sculptural series (2017–ongoing).</p>
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<p></p>
<p>While Milan has
long embodied a confluence of understated style and business savvy, a new
generation of artists is now embracing, and enhancing, the city’s flourishing
contemporary art scene. Milan-born, Senegalese-Italian artist Binta Diaw –
whose photographic series <em>Paysage Corporels</em> (<em>Body Landscapes</em>,
2019–ongoing) incorporates closeups of her body as a means of reclaiming Black
female representation – notes that the design and fashion industries are making
more room for contemporary art. The artist tells me that another event on the
horizon – the 2026 Winter Olympics – will bring even more attention to what
this increasingly diverse city offers. ‘Milan is becoming more open to the
world, which is important for artists,’ says Diaw, who is represented by
<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/2284/Prometeogallery-di-Ida-Pisani">Prometeo Gallery</a> and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/20820/Galerie-C%C3%A9cile-Fakhoury">Galerie Cécile Fakhoury</a>. ‘We have lots of diasporic communities here looking to
express their identities. This is the perfect place in Italy in which to work.’</p>
<p></p>

<p>Since 2007, Ivan
Carvalho has been the Milan correspondent for <em>Monocle </em>magazine. The
California native also writes for&nbsp;<em>Konfekt</em> magazine and is a contributor
to<em>&nbsp;NetJets</em> magazine and&nbsp;wine and food&nbsp;publications <em>Revista
de Vinhos</em> and <em>Revista Gula.</em></p>
<p>Julius Hirtzberger's photographic work deals with desire-arousing places and has appeared in publications such as <em>Monocle</em>, <em>FT</em>, <em>DIE ZEIT</em>, and <em>House&Garden</em> (UK). He lives and works between Como and Vienna.<br></p>
<p>Captions for full-bleed images, from to bottom: 1. Piazza del Duomo.&nbsp;2. A panorama of Milan. 3. The city reflected in the vitrine of a pastry store.&nbsp;All images and video by Julius Hirtzberger for Art Basel.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Published on April 12, 2023.</p>

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