Il talento è dappertutto, ma pochi i curatori italiani all'estero

In your experience, which contemporary Italian artists (still living) have gained the most visibility abroad, and thanks to which factors (e.g., galleries, biennials, exhibitions, curators, etc.)?
The most famous is certainly Giuseppe Penone, who is considered the most important living sculptor in the world. Others who are very well known include all the still-living artists from Arte Povera, such as Pistoletto, Anselmo, Calzolari, Zorio, and Paolini. Also, the artists of the Transavanguardia, among whom the best known is Francesco Clemente, followed by Enzo Cucchi and Mimmo Paladino; Sandro Chia and Nicola De Maria are somewhat known.

If we look at the next generation, the most well known is Maurizio Cattelan and Francesco Vezzoli, but also Roberto Cuoghi has international recognition. Cesare Pietroiusti has established himself in an alternative circuit tied to performance art, far from the market.

Others internationally known include Piero Golia, Enrico David, Yuri Ancarani, Patrizio Di Massimo, Alex Cecchetti. Also Rossella Biscotti and Marinella Senatore. Renato Leotta and Elena Mazzi are beginning to make their way, as well as the young Francis Offman (born in Butare, Rwanda, in 1987, lives and works in Bologna).

The reasons are complex. The Arte Povera artists are very good and have always had an internationalist vision, emerging alongside Conceptual Art, Post-Minimal Art, and Land Art. It was an entire generation of friends; they didn’t define themselves as Italian, but rather as an international community. Now, paradoxically, in the digital age, artists are more withdrawn into their local contexts instead of becoming more international. Bubbles have formed, where artists are known only in their own countries. Just as in politics, there is much more provincialism and localism in art, too.

Then there are reasons tied to the work of curators. Personally, every time I’ve curated international exhibitions, I’ve always included Italian artists. At documenta, there were many Italians—for example, Rossella Biscotti, who had already contributed to her own international fame by studying at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam. If Italian curators are not entrusted with the curation of major exhibitions, there will never be many Italian artists in international events. Since I am half Italian and have spent most of my life here, I know the national context well, so it's natural that when I curate an international show, I include Italian artists. But there are few Italian curators abroad.

It is also important that artists themselves travel and study or work abroad. If they live in London, Berlin, Amsterdam, they have more chances to connect with the international community. From a market point of view, I see a stronger focus on the past. Aside from Roberto Cuoghi, who is represented by Hauser & Wirth, the attention of international galleries is focused on Arte Povera (Gagosian, Marian Goodman, White Cube).

In your opinion, which contemporary Italian artists have not yet achieved adequate visibility despite their artistic value, and what are the causes of this lack of recognition?
There are many, I imagine, but I can’t name names. If I knew them, they would already have the visibility they deserve—because I would give it to them. Among the artists I currently support are the performer Silvia Calderoni with her partner Ilenia Caleo, who comes from theater and performance, and also gained visibility thanks to Gucci, as she is Alessandro Michele’s muse. Irene Dionisio, Alice Visentin, Guglielmo Castelli, whom I discovered at the Quadriennale in 2021 and acquired for the Castello di Rivoli. The latter will soon begin working with Andrew Kreps Gallery in New York. Supporting the new generation isn’t difficult. It certainly becomes complicated if the curator doesn’t speak English and doesn’t engage with the international scene. In Italy, there is still a very local circle of curators who don’t go abroad.

I believe talent is everywhere—it’s not found in one country more than another. It’s more a matter of geopolitics and economics: artistic talent emerges where international geopolitical and economic attention is focused, as is now happening with contemporary African artists, who are in vogue because international attention in the 21st century has shifted to Africa and its resources, including the oxygen produced by its forests. Even in 1480, there were good artists outside Tuscany, but that was where the Medici "dynasty" was emerging, so Renaissance art flourished there. Art is born where there are patrons—where the artist is given the conditions to create. The same applies to the rise of China, and therefore Chinese contemporary art, when local talents were given the means to produce. One should not forget, to cite another example, Fiat when analyzing the birth of Arte Povera in Turin. The current crisis in Italian art, like in other sectors, is due to the fact that the nerve centers of power are elsewhere. However, Italy is a country rich in resources that always manages to be reborn, and surely new Italian artists will succeed in establishing themselves.

In your experience, what are the key stages and elements that support the international career of a contemporary Italian artist? And where is the Italian system lacking in supporting contemporary Italian art on the international stage?
It’s becoming less lacking thanks to everything Franceschini did as Minister of Culture, primarily with the Italian Council. It’s very important for a curator to have the opportunity to participate in a government grant to request funds to produce a work for an exhibition. More grant calls should be created, but this is a start. Right now, this is the main tool to support Italian artists.

Furthermore, funds should be established to allow Italian artists to attend residencies abroad. From a tax perspective, I don’t see major issues—our heritage is well protected, and at the same time, there are no obstacles to exporting more contemporary art. Perhaps the issue of tax deduction for art donations could be improved—making the value of the artwork deductible at the moment of donation, not at the moment of purchase. This would be an incentive that could increase the presence of art in museums and, as a result, the international visibility of Italian art. Because right now, when foreigners come to visit Italy, they don’t find contemporary Italian art in the museums. Unfortunately, in Italy, there are many localist curators who do not promote the internationalization of Italian art, because they support a type of Italian art characterized by a very conservative taste. They support “old” artists. Contemporary art, instead, is not traditionalist. There’s a contradiction at the root of the problem. A kind of psychoanalytic knot to be resolved.