by Chiara Spagnoli Gabardi

Art is one of the first victims when recession strikes hard, and this can undoubtably be testified by the 18th edition of the International Art Fair in Milan, taking place from April 5th until the 7th.

The habitual location of the pavilions in Fieramilanocity in the past editions displayed the artwork on several floors, but this year only the ground floor hosted 140 international galleries, divided in four sections: Established (with 94 prestigious galleries dealing with modern and contemporary art), Emergent (with 20 newly established avant-garde galleries), THENnow (with a confrontation of nine artistic couples of different generations) and Object (with some galleries promoting small design objects that have a limited distribution).

5.500 square meters are filled with exhibitors coming from 15 different countries and 40 galleries exhibit at MiArt for the first time. But according to the new director of the fair, Vincenzo de Bellis, the utmost cutting edge of Miart 2013 is the aim of restyling Milan’s social imaginary, associated with fashion and design. Thus, to enhance Milan’s artistic and contemporary trait, MiArt 2013 gave birth to new collaborations, through the Mousse group, with Fondazione Trussardi – that has been promoter for years of contemporary art in Milanese historical locations – along with a small festival ‘Liberi Tutti,’ that will liven up the evenings of the contemporary art fair from April 3rd until the 6th, from 10pm until midnight.

But the true innovation challenge is entrusted to the galleries and the artists they represent. So far no-one has hailed any artwork as unseen or groundbreaking.

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