Art Tracker, discovering new talents. Interview with Anna Marzuttini

Anna Marzuttini (Gemona del Friuli, 1990) is a painter who lives and works between Cerneglons (UD) and Venice. In 2018, she earned a MFA in Visual and Performing Arts with a major in Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice. During the past years she has participated in several workshops and collective exhibitions organized by Atelier F, curated by Professor Carlo Di Raco. In 2017 she took part in the collective exhibition of Graphic Art "Look at me as much as possible" at the International Gallery of Modern Art, Cà Pesaro (Venice). In 2018, she obtained a studio at Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa in Venice. In 2019 she is one of the three recipients of the Combat Prize in the Art Tracker section that leads her to participate in a collective exhibition, together with Giorgia Valli and Clarissa Baldassarri, at Lucca Art Fair 2020.

Genealogia di un fiore di tarassaco, 2019, 200x160 cm - credit Anna Marzuttini

How would you define your artistic practice and what are the themes you investigate?

I believe that a fundamental characteristic of my artistic practice is instinctivity. In the moment the brush comes into contact with the canvas I must feel interested in some form but, at the same time, free from other responsibilities, otherwise the thought and the sign stiffen, losing the spontaneity which, in my case, I believe is an essential factor of my work. I take the most reasoned decisions away from the picture, without inhibiting the most expressive gestures.

The main theme I investigate in my work is the "wild", understood as what is unruly, rough, thorny, inhospitable. I am attracted to everything that is far from human artifice, as far as possible. I am fascinated by the naturalness in which life has always developed and how it would continue to develop even without the presence of mankind, taking unpredictable paths. I am very interested in organic forms. They give me the opportunity, through drawing, to externalize and archive aesthetic information which is then reworked within the space of the canvas, creating new small mental worlds.

When did you decide that you would have been an artist?

I don't think I've ever really decided. I think that somehow, I had no other choice. I always had a clear predisposition towards manual skills and drawing has always been a spontaneous activity, a necessity. So, after the Scientific High School, I decided to enroll in the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice, where I discovered painting, which over time has become my main occupation.

Radici, 2019, 29,7 x 21 cm cadauno - credit Anna Marzuttini

You studied in Venice: how has this specific context influenced the definition of your work?

Venice was a fundamental stage for the definition of my work. Beyond the fact that I had the opportunity to live for years in a city of art, cultural exchanges and full of stimuli, if I had not attended the Academy of Fine Arts and specifically the Atelier F, the course of Professor Carlo by Raco, maybe I would never have reached the same awareness of painting that I have today.

It happened almost by chance, and I was lucky: I found a very educational and stimulating environment, dynamic and based on the peculiarities of people. Thanks to the Academy, an excellent concentration of talented young artists was formed in Venice, of which a large part, after completing their studies, decided to stay in the city sharing spaces where to continue working and maintaining a network of different realities. This has also been possible because of the specific shape of the city that, being on a human scale, favors the relationships between its inhabitants.

Your practice includes painting and illustration. Are there any common interests or directions? Are you also experimenting with other techniques?

Painting and illustration for me are two different but somehow bordering languages. Being an applied art, illustration is characterized by an intrinsic narrative aspect with which an illustrator must confront, while painting must be a free expression, pure research and experimentation.

For me, painting is a long time practice, which means that it takes longer to understand and metabolize it, and it is unpredictable because the result will never be what I had in mind but it will always be a surprise. Otherwise it would be limiting.

In the illustration, also thanks to tools such as the digital world, an image can be modified several times, in a controlled way, until the desired result is obtained, giving a very little space to chance. Furthermore, the illustration has a purely figurative and narrative nature while in painting these aspects, in my case, are not revealed.

I try to carry on both disciplines in parallel and they feed on each other. Thanks to pictorial research, my approach to illustration tries to be more experimental both in terms of language and technique and, on the other hand, illustration helps me to have a more rational and precise vision in the elaboration of an image. Lately I am also intrigued by other techniques, such as sculpture that I would like to put into dialogue with painting.

Germinazione, 2019 (allestimento Opera Viva) - credit Anna Marzuttini

In addition to the participation in the next edition of Lucca Art Fair, what plans do you have for the future?

During the whole month of February I will participate in a workshop organized by the Malutta Foundation at Spazio Punch in Giudecca (Venice). I would also like to take part in some artist residences, especially abroad. In the meantime, I continue to work, as always.

- CampoBase Team (Irene Angenica, Bianca Buccioli, Emanuele Carlenzi, Gabriella Dal Lago, Ginevra Ludovici, Federica Torgano, Stefano Volpato)

LUCCA ART FAIR - ART TRACKER

November 27-29-2020

Casermetta San Frediano, via delle Mura Urbane - 55100 Lucca

T +39 3311303702

E info@luccaartfair.it

W https://en.luccaartfair.com/

Opening times

Friday 27 November, 5.30 pm to 8 pm

Saturday 28 November, 10 am to 8 pm

Sunday 29 November, 10 am to 8 pm

Gasworks: 25 years of residencies and cultural exchanges

Gasworks is a non-profit art organization established in 1994 that works both in the UK and internationally. It provides studios for emerging London-based artists and residencies for international artists at their first exhibition in the UK, supporting them and giving them the opportunity to spend time researching and developing ideas, in an exciting panorama that a city like London can offer. Combat Art Review meets the director Alessio Antoniolli.

Gasworks' director Alessio Antoniolli

1. This year is Gasworks 25th anniversary. Could you give us an overview of what Gasworks is in 2019 and what’s been achieved since 1994?

A lot has been achieved in relation to the fact that we are now in a secure space, we were able to buy the building not too long ago, which gives us a much clearer sense of the future. Over the last 25 years we have worked with over 500 artists from 80 countries around the World. This is an amazing track record, not only for the number of artists, but also for the breath of Gasworks and its ability to go out of the main European and North American art centers, to really trying to support and promote talents on a more global scale. The focus of Gasworks is on artists, not just the art. We work with the actual people that make art, that’s why since the beginning we retained studios, we have been running residencies, we continue to work with artists towards the production of the exhibition. So it really is about the makers. Gasworks established its identity as a space for artists but it is also a space for curatorial processes and ideas, albeit aiming to reflect the direction that emerging artists are taking. The format of the program has changed very little over the years, but its content is constantly being updated by artists. Of course, this does not happen in isolation. Gasworks evolution happens in response to artists but also its context of peer organisations and the art 'ecosystem' in London, the UK etc. Gasworks was established here in South London because it was in a fairly central but completely underdeveloped part of the city, so the building was cheap and affordable to us and therefore to artists who are renting our studios. Things, however have changed and one of our neighbour is the American Embassy. We were lucky to be able to buy our building 4 years ago as it has established our roots and secured our future in a landscape that is constantly changing and becoming more and more unaffordable. I have been here for 21 out of Gasworks' 25 years, so, professionally-speaking we have 'grown up together' and lots has changed over this time. As the world and as the politics around the world are changing, as this wave of populism and nationalism takes hold, I find that working internationally, working across borders and across cultures, has paradoxically become more radical now than it was 15 years ago. I think this is very sad reflection of the state of things now. But for people like myself and many others who believe in cultural exchange and in international dialogue, the current situation only confirms and renews our commitment and determination to this work.

2. How many artists do you host in a year and how do you develop programmes?

We have 13 studios, 4 of them are reserved for 4 groups of internationals artists coming from 3 months, so we do 16 residencies over one year. The other 9 studios are rented to London based artists for a period of five years. On top of that we organize four exhibitions, mostly solo shows. Very rarely residencies are linked to the exhibitions as residencies are more focussed on research and development while exhibitions are commissioned-based. The open ended nature of residencies is important to me, particularly if the artist is new to London. In this case, having an exhibition at the end of the residency would create a lot of pressure and would limit the experimentation and the exploration of London as a site for new ideas and research. In addition to residencies and exhibitions, we work with two other artists each year on a six months residency where artists developed work in conjunction with community groups in our neighbourhood.

3. What are the new needs of artists?

it is very important to safeguard spaces for dialogues and experimentation in a context like London, where life is very expensive and the art market is big necessity. Residencies and subsidised studios are vital to support artists' creative development, particularly at early stages of their careers, when they may not have the support of commercial galleries. This is a very critical time in artists' careers and they need a space that is willing to take a risk, that is able to invest on their potential. I'd like to think that Gasworks is one of the spaces.

4. At this particular moment in history it is fundamental to continue to support collaborations, cultural exchange and dialogues. How’s the residencies system changed in your years at Gasworks and what is changing now?

In the last 20 years the art ecosystem has become a lot more sophisticated. Collectors, philanthropists and the wider public are seeing smaller and more experimental places as an opportunity to find new artists, ideas and approaches. The market for art has also expanded and become more global. This has also made art more accessible to more people. It would have been unthinkable 5-10 years ago to have a group of collectors to supporting a residency at Gasworks, where the investment is in the artists' development rather than a piece of work. We are very lucky now to have significant support by private individuals, who are enabling us to invite artists from countries or region where the funding structure is extremely limited or non-existent. It has become a joint effort between Gasworks and many visionary individuals to provide residencies for artists who can potentially become part of a more international conversation through their work and the exposure to new ideas and opportunities.

5. Who are the supporters in 2019?

Our main funder is the Art Council of England, then there are trusts and foundations in the UK and internationally that support us. We also have an expanding group of collectors, philanthropists and people that have a passion for art and artists. Collectors are becoming more adventurous, they are not only going for established artists, they are more willing to take risks. They are also aware that buying work by more emerging artists is a way of supporting their career and become part of their journey.

6. Triangle Network is an international artist and visual arts network of organizations that provides support and development and Gasworks is part of this global system of connections. What’s Triangle Network’s plan in 2019?

Triangle Network is actually the network that gave life to Gasworks. It started in 1982 and developed as an international network of partners before Gasworks existed. While, over the years, Gasworks has become the main hub and I have become the director of the Network, most of our partners are based in Africa, Asia and Latin America. It is also important to say that while I do manage the development of the network, each partner is completely independent. We come together because of similar methodologies and a shared commitment to creating exchanges. For years the network relied on donations from foundations and NGOs, but this support is diminishing fast. It is perhaps time for Triangle Network to look at how it can build its own sustainable model, one that is less reliant on sporadic donations. We are trying to establish a fund that supports the network, starting for partners operating in places where resources are more limited. Reduction in funding is threatening the future of many of our partners, often leaving nothing in its place. In addition, this situation is threatening the dialogue that has been established over the years, returning to a hugely problematic one-sided flow of ideas and information. With this in mind, finding a level of self-sustaining system for the networks and for its partners is fundamental. To do so we try join forces and thinking. At the moment we are working on a possible exchange program amongst our partners in South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, which we are hoping to extent to other areas of the network soon.

7. Could you talk a bit about the current exhibition by Libita Clayton at Gasworks?

We work with a foundation called Freelands Foundation, who is supporting us to create links with artists and organisations based outside London. This programme addresses the disconnection between London and the rest of the UK and aims to crate a better flow of ideas and opportunities. Libita Clayton was the artist invited as part of this programme which included a residency and later down the line, an exhibition at Gasworks. We were able to facilitate her to undertake research in London and Cornwall, as well as South Africa and Namibia as she traced her family roots and journey. Specifically she researched her father's exile from Namibia to Europe, ending up in Cornwall working in the mining industry. In her work she looks at the role of mining as key to a process of colonial extraction, not only on its effect on people, but also as geological trade. The show takes the form of a sonic archive, informed by a series of photograms that chart her research and served as music score for a composition she created with fellow artists, musician and sound engineers. In this way, the archive is accessed in a more experiential way, through the emotions, sensations and feelings it triggers on the viewer.

- Carolina Rapezzi

London Art Fair 2019 – In conversation with Sarah Monk and Kiki Mazzucchelli

What’s the role of an art fair? Who are the new collectors and buyers? How is the art market changing with new import/export policies and what’s the importance of collaborations? Combat Art Review met the London Art Fair director Sarah Monk and the 2019 curator for Dialogues Kiki Mazzucchelli.

London Art Fair director Sarah Monk

Carolina Rapezzi: Going beyond the concept of an art fair as a commercial and cultural event, what is the role of an art fair in a panorama where large scale exhibitions and art fairs have become more alike? And how’s the fair changed from a curatorial point of view?

Sarah Monk: LAF is very fortunate and very proud of its heritage, this year it’s the 31st edition and I think we have managed to sustain ourselves by continuing to evolve and reflects what’s happening in the market in terms of what artists are producing, the media they are using, and equally the trends and points of interest, amongst buyers, visitors and collectors as well.

We want to feed the appetite and the trends that are emerging from the market and at the same time support, encourage and enable a new generation of buyers and visitors to come through the fair. We have an incredibly loyal group of galleries and visitors returning every year, but our lifeblood is also dependent on new springing galleries. There is a desire to discover something new and, going beyond the commercial concept of an art fair and its role of matching artists with buyers, it is also necessary to create interesting and innovative programmes: talks and discussions, tours and performances are part of London Art Fair to stimulate the audience to engage in different discourses, to pick up sort of political, social and economic commentaries, which are happening alongside the art world.

Another important section of the fair from a curatorial point of view is the Museum Partnership that we introduced six years ago and that allow us to shine a spot light on a different public museum from the UK a year, bringing highlights of their permanent collections to the fair. This gives us the priviledge of hosting a museum exhibition within a commercial environment of an art fair, but also highlight the importance of collecting, as a way of securing work for a broader public to enjoy over time.

CR: At your 6th year as London Art Fair director, you have been a fundamental part of the fair evolution, focusing on cultural exchange, collaborations and Dialogues, indeed, the feature you launched when you started as director. What has been achieved so far and what would you like to achieve in the future?

SM: One of the main characteristcs of the fair is that over its history the fair has become a much more international and contemporary art fair. This was instigated when we launched Art Projects 15 years ago, section of the fair where we really wanted to support and encourage the most interesting contemporary emerging galleries to be part of the fair and present their artists, either with solo shows or group exhibitions. We understood that from a fair prospective, the finances of being able to be part in a major fair are often quite prohibitive for younger galleries. So we wanted smaller galleries to be able to come to London and start appearing and showing with us and, at the same time, to support and subsidise their stand cost so that they did not have to make any compromises on the ambition of their presentations and allow these galleries and artists to fully realize their own practice, staying true to that and introducing their audience to them. I inititated Dialogues in 2014 to look beyond a sense of collaborations in terms of presentations, but today it is also important to create platforms for exchange in terms of relationships. Thinking about an international gallery that is coming into London, introducing their artists to the audience for the first time, as a fair, we feel the responsability of creating partnerships to help and support them through that process. As part of this collaboration we pair these galleries with UK galleries, these are then able to support them introducing them to their local circle of collectors. Visitors coming to the fair can enjoy the dialogue, the similarities and the differences between these galleries. And because of the incredibile selection of fairs across the globe that the visitors can choose from every year, there is an absolute need for fairs to continue to look at infinitive ways for galleries to present themselves and for visitors to be presented with different considerations and to see different juxtapositions between artists and galleries because it is a richer experience to have.

Work by Larry Achiampong, part of Photo50 at London Art Fair 2018. Photo credit - Mark Cocksedge

CR: Who are the collectors in 2019?

SM: Our collectors are incredibly diverse, it’s reflective of the work on show. We have works from exceptional modern art to emerging contemporary works. The range in terms of age of visitors of London Art Fair is very varied. Certainly, in an increasing digital age, that allows the fair to go beyond the geographical location, we have a lot of international collectors and also, they are getting younger compare to seven years ago. But initiatives like the Museum Partner, with the presence of galleries representing british modern art, which is a very important part of our heritage, it means that we are still retailing to a more mature buyer. We then have collectors buying for themselves, equally, buying for institutions, for corporate collections; we are very close to the city and the financial heart of London, investors that are interested in buying something they are passionate about. But it’s our responsability to continue to acquire new collectors of art, to introduce them to our galleries, to find new relationships, invite that young collector coming to London Art Fair to buy a new piece of art.

CR: How do you think the art market will change with possible international changes in the import/export policies?

SM: For us the importance of collaborations, communication and exchange will remain really determining. London is still a major and global art center, still very much open for business for a lot of international gallleries. I think the only thing to do is to continue to be open to collaborations, to new ways of working together. Fairs are important spaces for works to be sold, but equally important spaces to have conversations about the challenges that the art world is facing.

Visitors at London Art Fair. Credit - Mark Cocksedge

Carolina Rapezzi: How are you finding this experience as curator for Dialogues? How do you create and build collaborations between galleries and artists?

Kiki Mazzucchelli: Dialogues has a different curator each year and it establishes a dialogue between pairs of galleries. Because of my envolvement with Latin American art, I have been working with Latin America art for more then 20 years, my proposal was to create this main dialogue between Latin American and European artists. The process is quite research intensive because being London Art Fair a commercial fair, it requires a different method of curating it, if we compare it to an institutional exhibition or to a commercial gallery. For a fair it really depends on the gallery to be up for it. There is a long process of research and negotiation; sometimes gallerists think that it is not the right time for a fair, they might have different committments and it takes a long time before finding the right pair. Then there is a combination of factors that can influence the choice, such as previous relationships with galleries or artists, galleries proposing artists or the other way round. Sometimes the fair has spontaneous applications of artists being interested in specific sections. In this case the fair sends me their proposals and, if I think they fit with the curatorial idea, I’ll invite them to partecipate. So it is the fair itself as well to help promoting the curatorial concept.

CR: Which common subjects have come out from this series of collaborations between Latin American and European artists?

KM: There is one thing that is quite strong, the idea of promoting female artists. This is now a global discussion, which is quite serious in Brazil because of the political situation, but it’s also on the world’s agenda. Painting has always been a very male domain because it’s probably one of the most valued art forms, painters make money. Even if I have to say that in Brazil the most valued painters are female, this is not so common in other parts of the world. In one of the pairings, there are two female painters, very young and promising female painters. One of them is Goia Mujalli, London based from some years, but originally from Rio de Janeiro. Her works are very abstract works, she draws the motives of her hometown Rio, with the lights and colours. But her painting is also very conceptual, with layers and refined techniques. The other one is a british artist, Rebecca Harper, very figurative works, depictions of contemporary social life, very traditional in the sense of painting tradition but also very contemporary. I find interesting the idea of demistifying this exotic image of Latin America because Latin America actually doesn’t exist, it’s a political, ideological construction. Every country is different, they have their own history, culture. What I wanted to do in a very simple way was to confront Rebecca and Goia, next to each other, hopefully people will look at these two artists, without too many preconceptions.

Rebecca Harper, Hanging By A Scaffold. Courtesy Anima Mund

CR: How do you think the art market will change with possible International changes in import/export policies?

KM: This is a big issue in Latin America because customs are very complicated and we have very old fashioned import/export policies on place. So it’s very hard to do business with Latin America countries. On the other hand, people are always more interested in finding new ways, especially young generations. Lot of people are now based abroad, artists can travel to different countries to produce work, with residencies for example, especially if we are talking about contemporary art.

CR: What’s your next project?

KM: In February I’m going to Mexico where I curate the solo project section of the fair Zonamaco, which is going to host 24 galleries. In March I have a very exciting project, as I’m very interesting in rewriting art history, expanding the canon of art history and I am organising the exhibition of this avant-guard artist from Brazil, Flávio de Carvalho, who is well known in Brazil, but almost unknown abroad. This is going to be his first solo exhibition outside the country. It’s interesting because he studied in England and he corresponded a lot with thinkers, artists from britain.

- Carolina Rapezzi