Artissima, the International Fair of Contemporary Art in Turin, closed on November 3 with 55,000 visitors. Directed for the third consecutive year by Ilaria Bonacossa—re-appointed for the next two editions, the fair confirmed its leading role amongst influential contemporary art events with international visibility, providing a platform for emerging talents and innovative galleries.
The theme of Artissima’s 26th edition, the duality of desire/censorship, has stimulated timely and varied reflections on contemporary ambitions and utopias, on the impulses that shape our times, and the perspectives and narratives that cross them, on the relationship between images and their control.
At the conclusion of the event, director Ilaria Bonacossa commented:
“Artissima, at its 26th iteration, reasserts its role as an event of high quality and research, the only fair in Italy that concentrates exclusively on contemporary art. I am particularly pleased with the outstanding level of the work on view, and because we have brought to Torino galleries I hold in high esteem. The positive comments of collectors and sector professionals confirm this: the fair has generated unprecedented creative energy, with a particular focus on experimental practices. Many say it has been the best edition of recent years!
We have worked in two directions, combining market offerings on a high level with cultural initiatives capable of investigating new and different ways of approaching art, with the desire to exchange ideas and experiences in an open, receptive context. Without ever overlooking the solidity of the research and the quality of the exhibitors in the fair pavilion, in tune with our partners we have presented cross-disciplinary projects to inform, amaze and amuse, all at the same time. More than ever before, this year Artissima is truly ‘issima’, superlative in every sense of the term!”
Artissima 2019 in numbers
43 Countries represented by 208 galleries (79 Italian galleries, 129 foreign galleries), 49 first time exhibitors, 7 sections (3 of which curated by committees of international curators), 2,500 exhibited works.
More than 400 international curators and museum directors (68% foreign, 32% Italian), and more than 171 professionals involved in the fair (committees, juries, talks, Walkie Talkies, etc.) besides over 5,500 collectors from 36 Countries (6 more than last year) of which 19 non-European, mainly from the Middle-Eastern area and South America. Remarkable attendance on the part of collectors, mostly from abroad, visiting Artissima for the first time, demonstrating the success of the fair’s program of expansion.
International museums
Artissima welcomed 20 groups of patrons of prestigious museums, including New Museum (USA), AMAMCO (Switzerland), Parasol unit foundation for contemporary art (England), Les Amis du Palais de Tokyo - Tokyo Art Club (France), Camden Arts Center (England), Stichting CoCa Collectors of Contemporary Art (The Netherlands) and Amici della Triennale (Italy).
Prizes and acquisitions
Six awards were presented during the fair, reflecting Artissima’s commitment to the support of creative research.
illy Present Future Prize awarded to aaajiao, presented by House of Egorn (Berlin).
Sardi per l’Arte Back to the Future Prize awarded to Kimiyo Mishima, presented by Sokyo (Kyoto).
Ettore e Ines Fico Prize awarded to Guglielmo Castelli, presented by Francesca Antonini gallery, (Rome) and Rolando Anselmi gallery (Berlin and Rome).
OGR Award awarded to Yuri Ancarani with the work Lapidi (2018) presented by Isabella Bortolozzi gallery (Berlin).
Refresh Irinox Prize awarded to Sheroanawe Hakihiiwe, presented by ABRA gallery (Caracas).
Campari Art Prize awarded to Julian Irlinger, presented by Thomas Schulte gallery (Berlin).
Furthermore, this year Fondazione per l’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea CRT acquired 4 works for Castello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art and GAM – Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea Torino, within an overall budget of more than 250,000 euros.
The vitality of Artissima and its innovative force spread across the region, thanks to active collaboration with many public and private institutions, museums, foundations and galleries.
Abstract Sex: We don’t have any clothes, only equipment, the innovative project focused on the theme of desire, conceived by Ilaria Bonacossa and curated by Lucrezia Calabrò Visconti and Guido Costa, attracted 3,700 visitors in 4 days.
Artissima Telephone, conceived by Ilaria Bonacossa and curated by Vittoria Martini with and for the spaces of the OGR – Officine Grandi Riparazioni, intrigued 5,056 visitors in 4 days by proposing an investigation on the telephone as an artistic medium.
In the months to come Artissima will continue its digital initiatives with #ArtissimaRewind, highlighting the most important moments of the 2019 edition, and looking back at the experience of the fair in dialogue with a wider audience of art enthusiasts.
Thanks to all our exhibitors and partners.
Save the date for 2020: November 6–8 (preview November 5)!
Main Partner: UniCredit
