18/12/2001
by Elena Balzani

For the second year running Finarte is hosting a Young Art auction focused on the latest trends of contemporary art. The sale will be held tomorrow evening (19^th of December) at the Cartiere Vannucci in Milan and will offer 65 lots (5 more than last year) for a predicted overall estimate of $ 140,000 (€ 155,000), with estimates ranging between $ 465-6,980 (€ 516-7,750). The catalogue presents works made in the last ten years by artists born from 1949 onwards. The initiative follows the encouraging results registered in the first edition held in Milan on the 5^th of June 2001, that had enticed 700 people and fetched $134,074 (€ 157.500), with an encouraging 85% of lots selling.

This kind of sale focused on the so called "young art" are unusual on the Italian art scene. In fact, the public sales of contemporary art in Italy do not usually include the works of emerging artists, but are limited to the names of artists of the now "historical" movements such as Arte Povera or the Transavanguardia. Paradoxically, for a young Italian artist it is easier to be included in auctions held in London or New York, rather than Milan and Rome. As witness, not only the examples of Vanessa Beecroft and Maurizio Cattelan, the only young Italian artists whose works are auctioned with a certain frequency abroad (and rarely in Italy), but also the more recent episodes connected to Grazia Toderi and Elisa Sighicelli, whose works were auctioned on an international market, London, for the first time in October (Toderi at Sotheby’s on the 22^nd of October and Sighicelli at Christie’s on the 23^rd of October).

While in Italy the market for the latest trends is essentially gallery based, initiatives like Finarte’s are aimed at a public of young collectors interested in contemporary art, not inclined for lack of time or cultural attitude to attend private commercial spaces. Kimiko Bossi, responsible for the auction explains: "many friends complained because in galleries they could only see the works by one or two artists, whereas here there are 65". But which are the advantages of buying at such an auction for the collector who is used to making gallery acquisitions? "Mainly – Bossi continues – the asking price. While taking the market quotes of each artist into consideration, the estimates are kept lower than the normal gallery prices, in order to make the competition more lively".

Flicking through the catalogue there seems to be some incoherence. Although the label "Young Art" is "elastic", it is not suitable to cover artists born in the Fifties of the calibre of Tony Cragg (Liverpool, 1949), whose mixed technique on paper from 1993 is estimated $ 4,050-4,950 (€ 4,500-5,500). Similarly, among the young artists many well known Italian names with an affirmed or growing market are missing: from Francesco Vezzoli to Patrick Tuttofuoco, from Loris Cecchini to Luisa Lambri, from Paola Pivi to the duo Botto & Bruno, to mention a few. If the public’s response will be also positive this time round, it would be worth thinking, for Finarte, of making a further step ahead: abandoning the purely promotional title of Young Art and programming, without compromises, a series of dates reserved for art of the last twenty years, improving the synergies with the most active Italian galleries in this field.

Among the top lots on offer are works by Vanessa Beecroft, Maurizio Cattelan, Alessandro Pessoli and Chantal Joffe. A fresh watercolour on card by Beecroft (Genoa, 1969) from 1993 is offered with an estimate of $ 4,050-4,950 (€ 4,500-5,500). Maurizio Cattelan’s (Padova, 1961) La lotta di classe, a pen on squared paper work from 1991, plays on words mixing social conflict with school fights (estimate: $ 900-1,350, € 1,000-1,500). An investment of lire $ 2,560-3,000 (€ 2,750-3,250) must be made to secure Il sole che non c’è (100 x 140 cm) a brilliant work on paper from 1996 by Alessandro Pessoli (Cervia, RA, 1963). While a small oil on canvas (29 x 21.5 cm) from 1999 by the English Chantal Joffe (St. Albans, 1969) is estimated below $ 2,300 (€ 2,580).

For those who love paintings, there are numerous offers in the catalogue, but it will be interesting to see the outcome of the works by Marco Cingolani (Como, 1961), Daniele Galliano (Pinerolo, Turin, 1961), Federico Lombardo (Castellamare di Stabia, Naples, 1970), Alessandro Papetti (Milan, 1958), Luca Pignatelli (Milan, 1962) and Cristiano Pintaldi (Rome, 1970). The works by these artists already have a certain market and enjoy the support of well-reputed galleries. As far as estimates are concerned, they range between $ 1,290-1,800 (€ 1,250-1,750) for a mixed technique on polystir by Cristiano Pintaldi and $ 2,300-2,800 (€ 2,500-3,000,) for two dark paintings Paesaggio di Guerra (1997) by Luca Pignatelli. The investment required for the oil on canvas (80 x 54.5 cm) by Daniele Galliano is slightly more ($ 2,800-3,260, € 3,000-3,500), as is the investment required for the large painting (oil on canvas, 190 x 190 cm) by Federico Lombardo valued at $ 3,490-3,960 (€ 3,750-4,250). Finally, the last offers ranging between $ 4,650-6,980 (€ 5,170-7,750): Intervista a Van Gogh by Marco Cingolani from 1993 (estimate: $ 4,650-6,980, € 5,000-6,000) and Riflessi, a large oil on canvas (200 x 77 cm) from 2001 by Alessandro Papetti (estimate: $ 7,230-6,980, € 7,000-7,500).