Phillips and Francesco Bonami present first auction of Italian art to take place in NY

It is going to be Phillips the first auction house to organize in New York a selling entirely dedicated to Italian modern and contemporary art, while for art critic and curator Francesco Bonami it has been the first selection of artworks made for an auction house: the dinner organized at Palazzo Visconti to announce “The great wonderful: 100 years of Italian art”, this is the allusive title chosen for the event, will probably be remembered as the milestone of the recent MiArt week, and there is more than one reason for that.

 

First of all, the group of artworks that will go under the hammer next 6 May is not the obvious result of a market driven approach. The artworks by Mario Ceroli (an astonishing sculpture dated 1964), Valerio Adami or Franco Vimercati presented for the first time last Thursday in Milan to a selected number of potential clients, proved that Bonami – as he stated himself during the dinner – had “almost complete carte blanche” in his choice.

 

It follows that, as expert Carolina Lanfranchi denotes, this auction will work as a museum standard exhibition enquiring (and not just selling) the Italian artistic production of the last century, a production that goes from Giacomo Balla – whose beautiful Futuristic drawing dated 1912 will be the oldest piece on auction – to Maurizio Cattelan’s red neon lighting comet star dedicated to the Brigate Rosse (the piece on sale is the number 1 of 3).

 

According to Ms. Lanfranchi, a Phillip’s consultant who assisted Bonami in the selection, this is an extraordinary occasion to discover a period of Italian art that is not known by the international art community as it deserves to be. In this regards Ms. Lanfranchi points out that none of the pieces have been provided by the auction house: the two curators personally selected (and obtained) all the 65 artworks that will be for sale.

 

Among them there will also be pieces by Lorenzo Viani (1917), Arturo Nathan (1937), Bruno Munari (1940), a monumental Cardial by Giacomo Manzù (1958/60), Vettor Pisani (1972), Gianfranco Baruchello (1979). While Pietro Roccasalva and Giuseppe Gabellone will be the youngest artists on auction.

 

Now that dollar and euro have approximately the same value is easy to predict that more American collectors will look with renovated interest at this sale, and the auctioneer is likely to have a smooth evening. Nevertheless it would be a mistake to regard this pivotal event only from the point of view of the market. Considering that, in term of promotion, the price has become the most powerful information regarding a certain artwork, artist, or movement, auctions like this one may be as important – or probably even more effective – than exhibitions in main public art institutions, whose presumed independence has been up to now the reference point to determinate the actual value of an artwork. But what happens when the free selection of a main curator publicly faces the market? Again, success or failure will depend on the most influential part of the audience.

April 13, 2015