"Art Under 35: The Foreign Challenge"

The study by the Osservatorio Arte Contemporanea, supported by Intesa Sanpaolo, analyzed the new generation of Italian artists born in 1990 or later, who are represented by the 176 Italian and international galleries present at Artissima 2025.

The investigation identified 408 under-35 artists represented by Artissima galleries, of whom 83 (20%) are Italian or trained in Italy. The working group analyzed this panel's visibility and representation abroad.

The analysis considered various parameters—international training, residencies, awards, exhibitions, presence in foreign galleries and museum collections, participation in biennials and programs like the Italian Council—to provide a precise picture of their positioning in the art world. Most artists belong to the 30-35 age group, born in the first half of the Nineties—a generation that is consolidating its presence in the international system. The younger artists, born after 2000, are very dynamic nationally and are taking their first steps on the international scene.

Significant data emerges: gender parity (44 men and 39 women) marks a change compared to previous generations, suggesting an increasingly equitable system in terms of representation.

Training abroad plays an important role, chosen by 35% of the sample, as does participation in residencies and awards to promote an international career (22.9% and 25% respectively), while applications for the Italian Council programs are scant (3.6%).

The mapping of Italian galleries reveals a varied landscape, where the presence of artists born after 1990 varies significantly from case to case. Only a small group of galleries invests systematically in the new generations, to which they often belong themselves, building veritable "stables" of under-35 artists, while the majority maintains a more selective approach, representing just one young artist.

On the international front, an increasingly dynamic network is emerging. Many young authors have already presented their work abroad in independent spaces, galleries, or institutions across Switzerland, Germany (in Kunsthalle and Kunsthaus venues), the United Kingdom, France (Frac), China, and the United States—the main hubs for contemporary art.

Behind the numbers, precise trajectories can be discerned. 27% of Italian under-35 artists have already held more than one solo show abroad, 12% have had more than three, and 10% exceed five. In total, 48% have had solo shows abroad.
For group shows, international participation is even more widespread (70%): 5% have taken part in more than twenty shows, 10% in more than ten, 16% in more than five, while 30% have not yet had the opportunity to exhibit abroad.

International representation remains an open challenge. 83% of artists do not yet have a foreign gallery, but signs of change are evident: 6% are already represented by multiple galleries in different countries, a sign of growing circulation and a system beginning to operate through network logic. In total, 16.8% of the sample have international gallery representation, similarly to participation in international art fairs (27.7%).

Direct relationships with international galleries—especially in London, Berlin, and Paris—depict a generation that does not wait to be "discovered" but moves autonomously, weaving relationships, collaborations, and visibility. It is an independent mobility, free of rigid hierarchies, where the geography of art expands beyond national borders.

Today, exhibiting abroad is no longer just an individual achievement but an indicator of systemic transformation: internationalization becomes an integral part of growth strategies, a device for legitimization and, simultaneously, for freedom. Dual or triple representation allows artists to diversify their audiences and markets, building more multifaceted and resilient identities.

Finally, presence in Biennals and museum collections is still for the few: respectively for 10.8% and 9.6% of the artists examined.

In summary, our analysis for Artissima 2025 shows that the generation of Italian artists born after 1990 is becoming relevant in the national landscape but is also helping to redefine the relationships between the Italian scene and international contexts. Individual trajectories, gallery strategies, and the density of solo shows abroad signal a structural change: mobility and internationalization are no longer optional tools but intrinsic conditions of a contemporary artistic career, and the new Italian generation is emerging as a protagonist in an increasingly interconnected, flexible, and globally competitive system.

The study was presented on November 1, 2025, at Artissima.
Speakers:

   Michele Coppola, Executive Director Art, Culture and Heritage Intesa Sanpaolo, Director General Gallerie d'Italia;

   Luigi Fassi, Director of Artissima;

   Marilena Pirrelli, Journalist, Professor, and Analyst of the Art Economy and Market, Osservatorio Arte Contemporanea;

   Sara Parodi, Wealth Advisor, Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking, Wealth Management – Wealth Planning – Art Advisory.

Moderator: 
Antonella Crippa, Art Advisory & Fair Value Coordinator Intesa Sanpaolo Art, Culture and Heritage – Group Chief Sustainability Officer Area