Five Artists to Watch Now
From a Dior collaborator who works in a Roman pasta factory to the French artist reimagining Paris 鈥� we introduce key highlights from the APT Collection
黑料不打烊
Aug 02, 2017
From a Dior collaborator who works in a Roman pasta factory to the French artist reimagining Paris, Valentina Casacchia introduces 5 of the most exciting contemporary artists working today — all featured in the APT Collection. Click here to view the collection in full.
1. Pietro Ruffo
Pietro Ruffo, pictured in his studio in Rome
Pietro Ruffo lives and works in his native Rome, in a studio which, fittingly for the Italian capital, was once a pasta factory. “It’s an amazing space,” comments Casacchia, APT's representative in Milan, citing the building’s “industrial” architecture — a rare find in Rome — and its colorful history as a center for artists. “In the ‘70s, this place was like something from Berlin,” she continues. “The building was filled with artists, who would use it to host live performances.”
Pietro is part of a second generation of artists continuing the building’s legacy. An architect by training, his art is “clean, precise, and detail-orientated,” Casacchia explains. “Many of his works feature stages, or built architectural elements. They’re complex constructions, and his installations often require the help of a team of assistants.”
Pietro Ruffo's set for Dior's Fall 2017 show, held in Paris in July
The theatrical nature of Ruffo’s work has led to a run of commissions for major fashion houses, who have turned to the artist for intricate sets that form a backdrop to the latest in haute couture. In 2015, Ruffo designed “a modern Roman forum” for Valentino shows in Piazza Mignanelli and at Art Basel Miami; this year, a fantastical set for Dior’s Fall 2017 show in Paris drew inspiration from the celestial globe made for Paris’s Exposition Universelle in 1900.
Celebrated for his aesthetic sensibility, much of Ruffo’s work is also deeply political, and he frequently returns to issues surrounding immigration and territories. In 2005, following the Beslan tragedy, he worked from Russia, using art in workshops for children who survived the massacre. “He’s hands on and very kind towards people,” says Casacchia. “He’s a cool guy.”
2. Loris Cecchini
Loris Cecchini constructs one of his large-scale modular installations
Diving his time between Berlin and his native Milan, Loris Cecchini creates sprawling installations inspired by organic forms, physical phenomena and chemical structures — from the undulation of an electromagnetic wave, to the creeping growth of climbing plants. As Casacchia explains, his sculptures are “like giant strands of DNA that have multiplied of their own accord.”
Cecchini’s creations are as remarkable for their size and shape as they are their material construction. Look at a wall text for his work and it is not unusual to see ‘welded steel’, ‘aluminium ladders’ and ‘plastic spheres’ listed as components. For the installation Cloudless, pictured below, the artist used 50,000 plastic spheres, hung from steel wire in modular arrangements.
Loris Cecchini, Cloudless, 2006. 12 aluminum ladders, steel wires, 50,000 plastic spheres, fixing plastic strips. Installation view Beiing Galleria Continua, Beijing, China. Photo: Zhao Zhao.
Like Ruffo, the visual impact of Cecchini’s work has attracted collaborations with major fashion labels. “In Milan, he has created a beautiful installation spanning the top floor of Tiffany’s Italian flagship,” comments Casacchia, comparing the modular structure of the artist’s works to the cut of the diamonds and precious stones used by the brand.
3. Benoit Broisat
Benoît Broisat, pictured in his studio in Paris
“Benoît is really interesting,” says Casacchia, discussing the Paris-based artist whose philosophical practice has caught the attention of major international curators including Hans Ulrich Obrist. Much of Broisat’s work considers the role of description in constructing space: can we accurately document places using words or retrieved memories?
The notion is at the heart of Broisat’s latest project, which is based around collective memory and a square in Paris. “He has never visited the square, but is instead building up a picture of it using information gathered through phone calls with its residents — from local families to restaurant owners,” explains Casacchia.
The residents’ responses come rich in remembered events and associations. “It’s proved difficult to find an objective summary of the environment,” Casacchia continues. Broisat banned his gallerist from visiting the square for the duration of the project, concerned he might unintentionally reveal details that would alter its outcome.
4. Andreas Angelidakis
An installation view of Andreas Angelidakis' Unauthorized, currently on show at Documenta 14 in Athens. © Giorgios Sfakianakis
Andreas Angelidakis was born in Athens in 1968, and his work retains strong links to the city — which remains his home today. “He’s incredibly proud of the Greek capital, which is so rich in history and culture,” says Casacchia. A trained architect, much of Anelidakis’ work focuses on Athens's historic buildings and its ruins, whether ancient, contemporary or imaginary.
“His practice is intensely philosophical, trying to make sense of where we are, and what it means to be in a place at a certain time,” Casacchia continues. Works by Angelidakis feature in this year’s Documenta exhibition, held between Kassel and Athens — among them, the 2016 film Vessel, which describes the ancient Diogenes as “like an ancient internet,” defying allegiance to just one place.
5. Dominique Blais
Left: Dominique Blaise, Right: Exhibition view, Paris 2009, Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Xippas
For French artist Dominique Blaise, sound is just as important as aesthetics. Based in Paris, his work seeks to “make the invisible visible” — whether that be the physical properties of material, to the electromagnetic currents that can be recorded at the North and South Poles.
Installations by the artists frequently incorporate components of what Blaise calls “the world of the sound system” — including microphones, cables, speakers and vinyl turntables. “This array of audio technology reiterates the artist’s ambition of making the unheard both audible and visible,” explains Casacchia.
Works by the artist currently feature in the Lyon Biennial, for which Blais has created an installation that models architecture through the movement of sound and light.
About APT:
Founded in 2004, the Artist Pension Trust® (APT) is a unique social initiative, designed to bring financial security to a select group of emerging and internationally established artists around the world. Managed by 黑料不打烊, the program acts as a mutual assurance scheme, allowing participating artists to benefit from the sale of each other’s work — in essence, ensuring that the big-name artists behind blockbuster shows can support the work of talented peers still gaining art world recognition.
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