Turin Art Week, kicking off on 30 October, extends across the city and its surrounding areas, bringing together an exceptionally rich programme of events, presentations, exhibitions, art fairs, museums, foundations and galleries. Amid this vibrant cultural landscape, we have selected some of the events we believe deserve particular attention.
Artissima, now in its 33rd edition and once again hosted at the Oval, brings together 183 galleries from four continents. This year’s theme explores the power of imagination through “Fancy: a Flexible, Acrobatic Body”, drawing inspiration from the philosophical thought of Martha C. Nussbaum.
Fancy is understood as the ability to move beyond what is immediately apparent, to change direction and perspective, and ultimately to approach and understand the experience of others. Among the works that particularly caught our attention are Maurizio Nannucci’s red, yellow and blue Murano glass neon installation, presented by Galleria Enrico Astuni, and Elisa Sighicelli’s photographic series, presented by Rossi & Rossi Gallery, in which the scene becomes a veil concealing a deeper narrative.
The Others, a fair aimed both at established collectors and at those discovering the art world for the first time, has found a particularly fitting home in the spaces of the former Parcheggio Lancia. Directed by Lorenzo Bruni, this year’s edition explores the theme “Temporary Stop, Forms of Permanence in a Space of Transition”.
A fair with a distinctive approach, The Others invites visitors to explore the relationship between art and reality, while reflecting on the value of participation in its many different forms. Rather than following the conventional grid layout, the exhibition is organised into individual islands, encouraging unexpected encounters and allowing visitors the time to engage with the different artistic directions shaping this edition.
The first theme to emerge is a critique of the attention economy, followed by memory as a tool for investigation, questions of belonging and the perception of space.
The coexistence of different approaches to artistic production and audience engagement may well represent one of the keys to the sustainability and future of art.
Flashback Art Fair offers a space where artistic experiences separated by centuries can find new interpretations and unexpected connections. Bringing works from different periods into the present, the fair challenges the linear notion of time and encourages fresh perspectives on art history. Among the highlights are a Blue Venus by Yves Klein and an owl by Pablo Picasso.
Among the exhibitions taking place across the city, particular attention should be paid to the retrospective devoted to Alberto Savinio, brother of Giorgio de Chirico, the leading figure of Metaphysical Painting. Hosted at the Pinacoteca Agnelli, the exhibition traces the artistic journey of this multifaceted figure: painter, musician and intellectual whose work consistently resisted categorisation, moving freely across different disciplines and forms of expression.
Paratissima, finally, is the art fair dedicated to emerging artists, hosted at the historic Real Collegio Carlo Alberto in Moncalieri. The building becomes a stage for contrasting visions and perspectives, where a new generation of artists interprets the present from fresh and unexpected angles, bringing contemporary sensibilities and artistic languages into focus. Piero Biasion
