Artissima
International Fair of Contemporary Art
Torino
Artissima welcomed 50,000 visitors and enjoyed unprecedented sales and acquisitions.
Artissima 2012 closed on November 11th with results that exceeded all expectations and consolidated its role as the most important contemporary art fair in Italy.
With 50,000 visitors and a record number of Italian and international collectors present this year in Torino, Artissima registered unprecedented sales while simultaneously confirming its extraordinary and yet unique mission.
Known internationally for its commitment to research and experimentation, Artissima continued to develop its very specific identity, presenting a selection of 172 galleries featuring exceptional works, curated booths and exciting proposals by young artists.
In this edition, directed by Sarah Cosulich Canarutto, the fair focused on expanding geographically, with a strong presence of new cutting-edge galleries, as well as a great number of important international collectors present in Torino for the first time.
This year Artissima welcomed 180 new collectors, from Turkey, Brazil, Eastern Europe, Switzerland, the US and France, to name but a few. Guests benefited from a unique hospitality programme and a calendar of events, exhibitions and initiatives in Torino, a city able to involve and indulge visitors like no other.
Especially relevant in 2012 was the important acquisition budget of the Foundation CRT for Modern and Contemporary Art, which at Artissima acquired works for the collections of the museums Castello di Rivoli and GAM for a total value of about 600.000 euros. Additionally, the Museo Fico—a soon-to-open new venue in Torino—bought important works at the fair.
At Artissima, particular attention turned to the illy Present Future Prize, dedicated to young emerging artists, which this year for the first time awarded the winner of this section the production of an exhibition project at Castello di Rivoli, to be presented next autumn. The jury—comprising Andrew Berardini, Beatrice Merz, Gregor Muir and Beatrix Ruf—positively impressed by the high level of work on display, awarded the prize to three artists whose practices ‘build a very strong common image,’ and have the potential to create a fascinating joint exhibition: Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa (Guatemala; represented by Proyectos Ultravioleta, Guatemala City), Vanessa Safavi (Switzerland; represented by Chert, Berlin) and Santo Tolone (Italy; represented by Limoncello, London).
Back to the Future remained this year a distinctive and greatly appreciated section of Artissima, with a selection of international galleries making solo presentations of important—yet not always well-known—artists active in the 1960s and ’70s.
Artissima’s constant feature is its ability to engage relevant artists, curators and museum directors in juries, prizes and other initiatives organised by the fair. This year’s programme was animated by the presence of figures such as Julieta Aranda, Andrew Berardini, Erica Cooke, Luigi Fassi, Fredi Fischli, Douglas Fogle, Fanny Gonnella, Inti Guerrero, Vasif Kortun, Beatrice Merz, Joanna Mytkowska, Rodrigo Moura, Gregor Muir, Paola Pivi, Filipa Ramos, Sarah Rifky, Beatrix Ruf, Ana Texeira Pinto, Vicente Todolì, Anton Vidokle, and Hamza Walker, among others.
Alongside the fair, the city was particularly lively and stimulating thanks to two main projects aimed at bolstering the city’s unique art network. It’s Not the End of the World, a major collateral endeavour produced by Artissima and curated in collaboration with Torino’s eminent contemporary art institutions—Castello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art, GAM Gallery for Modern and Contemporary Art, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Fondazione Merz and Palazzo Madama—featured special shows by Paola Pivi, Valery Koshlyakov, Ragnar Kjartansson, Zena el Khalil and Dan Perjovschi.
At Artissima Lido, five international nonprofit art spaces (98weeks, Beirut; Auto Italia South East, London; Irmavep Club, Paris; Public Fiction, Los Angeles; and SOMA, Mexico City) curated site-specific exhibitions in such unexpected venues around Torino as the Museum of Resistance, the Museum of Antiquities, the National Archive, the Museum of the Holy Shroud, and the Museum of Oriental Art, sparking unique dialogues with these atypical institutions and their identities.
With all its major museums and institutions coming together during Artissima and bringing the city to life, Torino has reinforced its unique role as the capital of contemporary art in Italy, offering Artissima the ideal setting for a new and ambitious project planned for the year ahead.
Keep an eye on the 20th edition of Artissima, which will take place in Torino from the 8th to the 10th of November 2013.
Artissima, a brand owned by Regione Piemonte, Provincia di Torino and Città di Torino, is managed by Fondazione Torino Musei. With the support of Camera di commercio di Torino, Compagnia di San Paolo and Fondazione per l’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea CRT.
Main Partner: UniCredit
Partners: Fiat, illycaffè, Iren, Lauretana, Lonmart
In-Kind Sponsors: CarloAngela, Exclusive Brands Torino, Ferrero Rocher, L’Eclettico, Robe di Kappa, Tisettanta
Media Coverage: Sky Arte HD
