Spotlight: Under New Director, the Artissima Art Fair Is Leaning Into a Theme of ‘Transformative Experience’

What You Need to Know: Artissima, the international contemporary art fair based in Turin, opens for its 29th edition this week. It is also the first edition of the fair under the leadership of Luigi Fassi, Artissima’s new director. Held in the Oval Lingotto arena, the fair will present 174 galleries hailing from 28 countries across 4 continents—with 40 of those galleries are participating for the first time. Along with its four signature sections, devoted to established and new galleries, and solo- and dual-artist booths, Artissima will also feature three curated sections: “Disegni,” curated by Irina Zucca Alessandrelli; “Present Future,” curated by Saim Demircan; and “Back to the Future,” curated by Anna Gritz and Balthazar Lovay. All three will also be viewable via Artissima Voice Over, the fair’s digital platform.

Why We Like It: The overarching theme of this year’s fair is “Transformative Experience,” based on an essay of the same title by the American philosopher L.A. Paul, which discusses how the individual is fundamentally changed through transformative experiences, their expectations and perspectives profoundly altered. Within the context of Artissima, visitors and collectors have the opportunity to undergo a transformation of their own as they engage with the diverse array of art, artists, and galleries from around the world. The curated sections expand on this core theme; “Back to the Future,” for example, presents artists who have had a significant impact on the history of art from 1960 through today in an attempt to reveal common threads in contemporary art, thereby altering how historical work can be viewed and understood in the present day.

According to the Director: “In a phase of change, the 29th iteration of Artissima in Turin speaks first of all of the fair’s ability to reinforce its double identity of a market platform and a place of cultural production, enhancing both aspects. What stands out this year is the quality of the Italian and international network of the fair, which implements its research on a global level to continue to offer collectors and museum professionals an experience of discovery….The 40 galleries taking part in Artissima for the first time in 2022 bear witness to the fair’s appeal and its status as a catalyst of experiments, research, and investment in the art market. Visiting the fair in Turin is an experience that brings together collectors, curators, and art lovers, and those who wager on Artissima will be rewarded by the fact that they have been enabled to intercept the works and artists that will be the protagonists of the near future.” —Luigi Fassi, director

See forthcoming highlights from Artissima below.