Could you briefly tell us about your gallery and work?
Avanguardia Antiquaria researches time: our gallery and exhibiting space in Milan host artworks, antiques, modern and design pieces from the 20th century. The gallery was founded in 2005 with the intention of gathering objects coming from different places and times. In this space, Stefano Vitali carries on his continuous research of antiques and design pieces from the 20th century, while deeply dedicating to contemporary art with periodical personal and collective exhibitions. This ongoing dialogue between a narrative of the past and contemporary artistic research is the leitmotif that shaped the oxymoron “Avanguardia Antiquaria” (“Antique Avant-Garde”).
What resources are available today to engage the target audience?
Besides the gallery’s windows, we reach our audience via social media like Instagram and Facebook, as well as our website, which has been online for over 20 years now and is constantly updated.
Of all the authors you’ve covered along the years, who’s been the most appreciated?
In the past few years, Avanguardia Antiquaria’s most appreciated author was sculptor Marcello Chiarenza, but also painter Francesco Casorati and sculptor Silvia Levenson.
How do you see the art market today in Italy and particularly in Milan?
Unlike the rest of Italy, where I sense a certain resistance by public museums and private galleries are struggling, I think Milan is quite dynamic, both in terms of public initiatives and entrepreneurial and philanthropic efforts.
Milano Gallery Weekend: which opportunities can stem from events of this kind and which instruments can public institutions use to support these initiatives?
Considering the strong commitment that this initiative was conceived and is managed with, I believe that it can lead to new, helpful connections and fruitful personal relationships between the participating galleries and the large national and international audience interested in contemporary art. On October 11, 12 and 13, I personally joined the event with “Fragile”, a collective exhibition featuring Silvia Levenson, Marcello Chiarenza, Enya Idda and Monica Rossetti, four sculptors with different characteristics and forms of expressions who share the use of the same fragile materials (glass, clay, paper, etc.) and a common poetic dialogue.