Mazzoleni opens its third gallery in Milan

What are the prospects from your point of view? Are there signs of recovery or not yet? We look to the future with cautious optimism. The majority of HNW collectors declare themselves confident for 2024–2025, according to the UBS report, and we also see a recovery in interest, albeit slowly, especially in the trade fair and private contexts. On the one hand, the decline in inflation and the expected reduction in interest rates are creating a more favorable climate for cultural investments and collecting; on the other, geopolitical instability continues to represent a transversal brake for all economic sectors, including the art market.

Geographically, which are the strongest markets at the moment, and in which do you feel the crisis more strongly, considering your international offices and the fairs you participate in? Far East Asia has shown strong reactivity in the post-lockdown period, with a rapid recovery and the entry of many new collectors, especially in China. The United Kingdom, on the other hand, has lost ground, also due to the impact of Brexit. Italy remains a solid market for us, with attentive, intergenerational and increasingly informed collecting. On the other hand, we have noted a more marked slowdown in some areas of continental Europe and in the United States, which, while maintaining global leadership, have shown greater caution, especially in the fair sector, where demand has contracted in some specific price ranges.

How has collecting changed in Italy? It has changed profoundly in recent years. Awareness and information have increased among collectors who, also thanks to digital platforms, are moving with greater competence and attention. The generational change is still struggling to take off, and this could represent a criticality in the long term, but new collectors are appearing who are interested not only in investment, for whom the depth of artistic research is fundamental.

Do you buy or sell more in Italy? We observe a good liveliness both on the acquisitions and divestments front: those who buy do so more selectively, while those who sell often seize the opportunity of an ongoing revaluation, especially for post-war Italians. In general, today in Italy you buy and sell with greater awareness and attention to quality.

Do you feel the difficulties of the market more among historicized artists or contemporary ones? For historicized artists the market remains solid, but requires constant work of valorization and critical contextualization to keep collectors' attention alive. For contemporary artists, the public is generally receptive, but the market is more volatile and sensitive to the economic and cultural dynamics of the moment. A determining factor is the tax regime applied to contemporary works of art. Currently, in Italy, the ordinary VAT rate of 22% applies to the majority of transactions, making the national market less competitive compared to other European countries, such as France (5.5%) and Germany (7%). Angamc and Italics, of which we are a consortium member, are working in synergy for a desirable alignment with other European countries.

Among your artists, which are attracting the most attention in Italy and abroad? In addition to the established ones of the Italian post-war period, from Alberto Burri and Lucio Fontana, we see growing attention towards Salvo , protagonist of a wide-ranging critical and collecting rediscovery. The work carried out by the Archive in recent years has contributed to restoring centrality to his research, strengthening a transversal collecting, which goes from the United States to the Far East. Great interest also for the path of Marinella Senatore , whose work stands out for its social commitment and the ability to activate communities through participatory processes. Her presence in the Unlimited section of the next Art Basel, curated by Giovanni Carmine , confirms the international relevance and topicality of her research.

Do you plan to include new artists in the program in the near future? Our main goal remains to strengthen the work with the artists we represent, supporting their projects at an international level. However, we do not exclude the inclusion of new artists, such as recently Iran do Espírito Santo , a Brazilian of international importance (already in the collections of MAXXI, MOMA and the Guggenheim in New York), to whom we dedicated a solo show in London in the summer of 2024 and who will be the protagonist of an exhibition in Turin in the autumn, in conjunction with Artissima.

Beatrice Miatto collaborated