Could you briefly tell us about your gallery and work?

The Après-coup Arte Gallery was opened in Milan in October 2017 by David Ponzecchi and looks at art by Italian and foreign emerging artists. By “emerging”, we mean artists who consistently devote themselves to research and have created original poetics, a unique style that stands out in the vast scenario of contemporary art in Italy. The artists we select are offered a chance to showcase the latest, unpublished results of their research work at our Gallery. The exhibitions we host focus on painting, photography and sculpture. We intend to value every form of art, with no genre restrictions.

What resources are available today to engage the target audience?

The way we see it, merely visiting an exhibition at a gallery is not enough for the audience to feel engaged in art today. We believe instead that besides artistic contents and forms of expression, we should encourage a broader, more personal experience of art. This is why we organize different kinds of gatherings and collateral events to always bring new, heterogeneous visitors to the gallery: vernissages, finissages, talks and on-site interviews with artists, exhibition tours guided by the curator and followed by refreshments in the gallery itself (“Bollicine in mostra” [“Bubbles on display”], a series of meetings held for Katia Dilella and Elena Mutinelli’s personal shows), performances (visual artist and performer Gigi Piana’s personal exhibit), live-paintings (Giuliano Del Sorbo’s exhibition), documentary screenings and presentations of specific themes related to on-going shows (photographer Valentina Tamborra’s personal exhibition).

Of all the authors you’ve covered along the years, who’s been the most appreciated?

Over these two years in the business since our gallery was founded, we’ve hosted fourteen personal exhibitions (three in our Bistrot) and a collective show, and we’ve received positive feedback on the selected artists, all interested in researching the themes of identity and the body through their art. Our audience has also particularly appreciated works by Giada Mazzini, an artist from Prato that we displayed at our Milan gallery in collaboration with Meri Marini’s Die Mauer Arte Contemporanea in Prato (November 22, 2018 to January 25, 2019).

How do you see the art market today in Italy and particularly in Milan?

It’s extremely challenging to open a gallery today, and without great passion and resilience there’s a high risk that it comes to nothing. Love, passion, patience, devotion, intuition, study, expertise, imagination, courage all are necessary factors, but they’re not enough. In order to succeed, it’s essential to combine one’s vocation for contemporary art with the ability to face the current economic crisis, the fast evolution of our audience and collectors. Milan is perhaps the best city in Italy where to dare embarking on this amazing, incredibly hard endeavor.

Milano Gallery Weekend: which opportunities can stem from events of this kind and how are you joining?

An initiative like this can contribute to raise awareness of the rich calendar of exhibition and cultural events that Milan’s art galleries joining the Milano Gallery Weekend can offer.
The Milano Gallery Weekend is thus an opportunity for the audience to experience a real full immersion in contemporary art, and for the participating galleries to expand their contact network and foster future collaborations.
For the Milano Gallery Weekend, Après-coup is showcasing Roberto Rampinelli’s personal exhibition “Invisibili destini” (“Invisible destinies”), running September 12 to November 1, 2019. We’re also glad to announce two more events specifically conceived for this initiative:

• On Friday, October 11 at 9:00pm, the “Après-Comedy” night theatre jam with actor Francesca Puglisi and some surprise guests, at the Après-coup Bistrot. Ticket: €8. Booking required at: proscenio@apres-coup.it, +39 0238243105.
• On Saturday, October 12 at 7:00pm at the Après-coup Bistrot, “Le ragioni invisibili” (“Invisible reasons”): readings curated and interpreted by actress Lucia Ferrati, inspired by the works on display at artist Roberto Rampinelli’s “Invisibili destini” personal exhibition. Texts by E. Montale, M. Bontempelli, D. Garrone. A presentation of the exhibition on display at the gallery will follow. Free entry.