Torino is known for its bewitching beauty, the twisting river Po, the richness of the giandua chocolates and its dedication to contemporary art. One example of this citywide passion is the Luci d’Artisti (Artist Lights), an annual project to decorate the boulevards with light installations by contemporary artists (Rebeca Horn, Jenny Holzer, Mimmo Paladino to name a few past participants). This year the lights of 19 installations switched on at dusk on November 1, adding a modern twist to the festive season.
The fair was even edgier and more experimental than ever, with a renewed focus on young, emerging artists.
But the crowning event of the art calendar is undoubtedly Artissima, the art fair that come November, brings together over 200 galleries from 35 countries. This year, under the guidance of Director Sarah Cosulich Canarutto, the fair was even edgier and more experimental than ever, with a renewed focus on young, emerging artists. The city that raised Arte Povera continues to be a platform for ground breaking artists.
While the fair is in essence a market place it also serves as an educational platform, with a packed schedule of talks, presentations and performances. Artissima is also a meeting point for established galleries and new ‘non-commercial’ spaces. For visitors who feel alienated by the seeming elitism of the art scene, Artissima provided ‘guides’ into contemporary art. As you strolled around slowly growing accustomed to the bizarre and the shocking, you could stop one of the young Artissima aids in their fluorescent jackets and ask - ‘What does it all mean?’
While the fair is in essence a market place it also serves as an educational platform, with a packed schedule of talks, presentations and performances.
Artissima 2015 was organized with relentless passion and great energy, it stands as proof against the declaration of one blinking neon-work, which flashed at intervals ‘The Party is Over/Art is Over’. The party is far from over; it is just beginning to get interesting.
Katerina Don
