This weekend, I went to Bologna to see the annual international art fair, Artefiera. This year, the fair was slightly smaller after some galleries chose not to attend. This just means it was a little less overwhelming and a not as crowded. Lower viewer attendance could have also been caused by the national train strike last Friday.
Even if you aren’t a collector, the fair is still an opportunity to to make connections with other artists, and become informed of the contemporary art scene primarily represented by some of the top art galleries in Italy. I made note a some of my favorite pieces seen around the fair in the contemporary gallery pavilions. Here are a few of them.
Playful wall sculptures made of metal and mixed-media by Francesco Bocchini.
Francesco Bocchini
Photos of architectural intervention paintings by one of my favorite artists: Georges Rousse.
Georges Rousse
Scientific and constellation-inspired paintings and drawings by James Brown.
James Brown
Multi-layered works by Kaarina Kaikkonen using old clothing as medium.
Kaarina Kaikkonen
Umberto Manzo
Cut city maps dissected with pins by Elisabetta Di Maggio.
Elisabetta Di Maggio
And even a few cases of art jewelry from the Bagnai Gallery of Florence.
Galleria Bagnai
Probably one of the more interesting gallery exhibitions was one that decided not to participate at the fair, but at a pop-up venue in the center of town. Grossetti Arte Contemporanea (Milano) installed their exhibition “Oltre l’Attimo” in an elegant apartment — contemporary art presented with furniture design pieces. The context worked perfectly and was a nice contrast after the stuffy and pristine art fair pavilions.
"Oltre l'Attimo"
Dado Schapira
Antonella Zazzera
"Oltre l'Attimo"
