A System That Needs Refreshing

Which contemporary Italian artists born after 1960 have achieved greater visibility abroad, and thanks to which factors?
Maurizio Cattelan, Binta Diaw, Silvia Rosi, and Paolo Cirio. Their visibility is the result of their talent and the political responsibility of their work.

Which artists, on the other hand, have not yet achieved adequate visibility and why?
Many. Often, inadequate visibility stems from the fact that the Italian system frequently supports impeccable formalism that is politically unnecessary and unable to keep pace with philosophical and ethical thinking that even universities and academies do not support. The system is old and obsolete. Private collectors, small and scattered, base many career fortunes on their patrimonial choices. They do not always bet wisely.

Which emerging Italian artists (born since 1990) currently have the potential for adequate visibility abroad and thanks to which factors?
Rebecca Moccia, for example. Adji Dieye, too. Many young artists have understood that the Italian system is old, obsolete, bloated, and tired. They study abroad and remain there. At the moment, this seems to me the only winning strategy.

Where, in your opinion, is the Italian system lacking in supporting Italian contemporary art on the international art scene?
The shortcomings start from the Ministry, pass through “the cancer of its professors,” nepotism, and the privatization of culture, which currently seems to be one of the few active engines allowing artists to sustain themselves. Such a backward system does not even have an adequate language to hold international conversations. The nationalist strategy of using cultural institutes abroad to export itself, I believe, is emblematic of a major systemic problem.

What interventions are necessary to promote better support?
Many. Starting from the Venice Biennale: without funds—apart from private ones from galleries and sponsors—balanced growth of young talents cannot be guaranteed. Its “division by nations” system has been an embarrassment for over three decades. Publishing houses and magazines must return to conducting research. Many authors are not even translated (Amazon saves us, which says a lot). Interventions are needed across the board.