Meet Swab Barcelona 2019's Selection Committee

Giuseppe Casarotto, executive engineer, collector of contemporary art based in Bergamo Italy, He is president of the ClubGAMEC, a cultural association that promotes and supports the Modern and Contemporary Art Gallery of Bergamo, with which he is the founder of the Club GAMeC Prize, Casarotto is also co-founder of Seven-Gravity-Collection, a private group focused on the acquisition of video art works and on the promotion of young video artists.

What does young art represent in the international panorama?

I think that the art of new generations of artists is fundamental for the world scene of contemporary art. They live and represent the current time, young male and female artists are increasingly competing to emerge in a new creative proposal.

What role is art going to play in a world ruled by technology and immediacy?

Above all young artists are inclined to use the most advanced technologies to express their vision and their poetics. Today we tend to consume everything quickly and even contemporary art is involved in this aspect. Part of today's artworks will not last long, but I'm sure many new masterpieces will enter museums and continue to make art history.

What part are collectors and curators supposed to play at an art fair?

I think that the curators should contribute more to improve the artistic quality of the fairs. The best exhibitions are those in which the galleries display a project, a well-designed program and not the works they have in stock. This is the main task of the director of the fair and the chosen curators. Contemporary art collectors will appreciate the difference between the ordinary fair and the development fair.

What sets Swab Barcelona a part from other fairs? What can Swab Barcelona contribute to the art world that other fairs can not?

Swab Barcelona is not an ordinary fair, but it is one of the most international expressing the interest in artistic innovations. What to do more? I do not know well, but I would suggest to focus the event with a common current or a theme connected for example to the territory. A special opportunity to place halfway between Arco Madrid and LOOP in Spain.

Why should people attend Swab Barcelona?

Because Swab Barcelona is not just a commercial exhibition of art, but much more is an art festival where you can develop new knowledge and contacts and, of course, find an interesting work for your collection. All this in the magnificent hospitality of the city of Barcelona

Domenico de Chirico is an independent curator from Italy. Born in Bari in 1983, he lives and works in Milan. From 2011 until 2015 he was a professor in "Visual Culture" and "Trend Research" at Milan’s European Institute of Design (IED). He collaborates with a number of international artists, galleries, institutions, art fairs, art prizes, and magazines worldwide. He has been artistic director at DAMA Fair, Turin since 2016. He was also a visiting tutor at Goldsmiths, University of London (2018); Network Event for Young Curators, LISTE - Art Fair Basel, Basel (2018). Upcoming exhibitions and researches (2019/20): Swab Barcelona Contemporary Art Fair, Barcelona (committee member); Matteo Olivero Award 2019 (advisor), among others; Exhibitions in various venues and cities, among which: Moscow, Turin, Milan, Venice, Montréal, Hamburg, Tbilisi, Zürich, Munich, Poznań, Berlin, Istanbul, and so forth.

What does young art represent in the international panorama?Beyond the scope of possibility in economic terms, young art keeps alive the incredibly intricate contemporary art scene with its fresh take, hope and knowledge. Furthermore, I would like to underline that I’d prefer to talk about emerging art scene, rather than young art.What role is art going to play in a world ruled by technology and immediacy?Undeniably both technology and immediacy are nowadays visibly playing an important role in today's era of globalization and huge technological changes in everyday life, and the art scene is definitely an integral part of this approach.What part are collectors and curators supposed to play at an art fair?

For various and obvious reasons, collectors and curators are equally important in order to guarantee economic and curatorial support and investment and the success of mobility depends on these conditions being met, in this one perfect moment which facilitates conscious encounters.What sets Swab Barcelona a part from other fairs? What can Swab Barcelona contribute to the art world that other fairs can not?The host city makes the difference itself, and also because it properly works as a metaphorical bridge between Europe and Latin America and a number of other countriesWhy should people attend Swab Barcelona?What I find very attractive about Swab is its democratic will: the fair offers a perfect balance between emerging proposals and well established projects. Furthermore, it provides the visitor with a very interesting portrait of what is happening on the international artistic scene, reuniting galleries and independent spaces from all over the world. All in all, I believe that people should go to Swab to keep their curiosity alive.

This independent curator combines his curatorial task with other activities such as cultural management and teaching. His projects have been seen in spaces like Caixaforum Barcelona (2008), Matadero Madrid (2010), Fundació Joan Miró de Barcelona (2012-2013), Fabra i Coats Centre d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona (2014), EAC - Espacio de Arte Contemporáneo de Montevideo, Uruguay (2015) or Bòlit Centre d’Art Contemporani de Girona (2016). Armengol is part of the curatorial team of BcnProducció (2016-2019) and teaches a project development subject at IDEP Barcelona (Escuela de Fotografía, Moda y Diseño). He is currently curating an exhibition about the collection of MACBA (2017-2019) and is co-curating the Urugay Pavilion at the Venice Biennal 2019.

What does young art represent in the international panorama?

I would say that young art is just a label that helps - or limits - when it comes to facing artistic practice, although I understand that "emergent" always exudes an intensity and an energy that affects all areas of art. I believe it reflects an art in process of consolidation, and even though this may seem negative, I think it is a good thing to have at a fair. Regarding the international component, I think emerging art always reflects a good state of health.

What role is art going to play in a world ruled by technology and immediacy?

The future of art is always uncertain, since it is as unnecessary as it is indispensable. However, I believe that, as a reflection of our time, contemporary art will always know how to adapt to technologies and immediacy. Not all art, but surely an important part of it. I would even say that this frantic times do not affect art. They affect us, in general, and art is a part of that.

What part are collectors and curators supposed to play at an art fair?

The role of the curator always implies "taking care" of certain contents at all levels: discursive, relational, scenic... And I believe that at the fair their role remains the same. I would say that the difference sometimes lies on the human dimension. At the fair, sometimes the curator works more with spaces and galleries than he/she does with artists ... But, of course, that depends on the specificity of each fair. The curator always has a positive relationship of dependence around a base; and that base is the works and the artists. As for the collectors, I see them as the third key piece in the gearing of a fair: artist, gallery and collector. Maybe the fairs are basically made for them

What sets Swab Barcelona a part from other fairs? What can Swab Barcelona contribute to the art world that other fairs can not?

The difference between Swab and other fairs lies mainly in its scale, and that is not bad thing, on the contrary. It is a small fair, that works in close contact with emerging art, and that connects with the context of Barcelona, where emergent art is in a fairly good situation (awards, calls, institutions sensitive to its practice ...). Without a great pretension, Swab can provide a human scale, which always generates more complicities than very large structures.

Why should people attend Swab Barcelona?

For me, the main reason would be to have a good experience of connection with contemporary art. This connection can present different degrees: mere curiosity, professional interest, purchase wishes ... and all them are valid and valuable. They all give meaning to the fair and help maintain its ecosystem.

Cal Cego is a private collection with no permanent exhibition venue. The Cal Cego project started in 2006 with the incorporation of Montse Badia as artistic director, part of the collection as a work tool from which we can establish collaborations with different agents. Following our aim to generate and share knowledge, since 2006 we promote, in collaboration with the University of Barcelona IL3, the Master in Contemporary Art: Context, Mediation and Management.The collection has evolved organically and has been emphasizing different focuses of interest, starting with works related to architecture and public spaces, to end up focusing in works of a more conceptual nature and / or reflecting around to the image, the collective memory or the status of the artist, among others.

What does young art represent in the international panorama?

For artists, both young and emergent, art is a tool to express their interests and communicate what they want to say from a local position (meaning physical space) but internationally connected through new technologies. Young art is, by definition, the desire to explore, research and question all those things we just assume.

What role is art going to play in a world ruled by technology and immediacy?

Technology is part of a young artist's life, training and environment. Their artworks are produced in a technological world. On the other hand, contemporary art can be the counterpoint to this immediacy, which normally means lack of analysis and critical spirit, both very necessary in today's panorama.

What part are collectors and curators supposed to play at an art fair?

Curators can add artistic knowledge and content to make a fair special and different. The collector's role in a fair is to keep an eye on the works presented by the galleries and to find those pieces that best match their collection's concepts.

What sets Swab Barcelona a part from other fairs? What can Swab Barcelona contribute to the art world that other fairs can not?

Swab Barcelona is a local fair with an international vocation, and in this sense, galleries and artists from different geographical areas have the opportunity to show their works in a different context. Focusing on emerging art and immaterial formats is a good strategy to set the fair a part from the rest, specially because this kind of proposals are a challenge to the traditional art market standards.

Why should people attend Swab Barcelona?

To have the opportunity to see emerging proposals from young galleries that are not presented at other fairs.

Marlise Ilhesca Jozami, journalist specializing in international politics, curator and art collector, is vice president of Fundación Foro del Sur and editor of Archivos del Presente and the Argentine chapter of Foreign Policy. In Brazil, she produced and curated non-commercial exhibitions such as "Miles Davis" (co-production with the Cite de la Musique); "Aesthetic Punk" (co-production with the Festival of Arles); "Argentina Hoy" (first platform of divulgation in Brazil of contemporary Argentine art); "Obra Gráfica de Antonio Berni" and "Arte Américas" that brought together 100 artists from 63 countries. Moreover, she is the international advisor of BIENALSUR - International Biennial of Contemporary Art of South America, event held simultaneously in more than 20 countries. In France, she promoted the creation of the Latin American Committee of the Pompidou Center, of which she is a patron, having donated important works so that Argentine art could be represented in that collection. She is also elected patron of the Reina Sofía Museum Foundation in Madrid, aswell as a member of the "Vivre en Couleurs" collectors program of the Cartier Foundation.

What does young art represent in the international panorama?

It's the expression of a world that changes day after day at an impressive speed. They are the ones that express trends that cross borders. They are the ones that experiment the most.

What role is art going to play in a world ruled by technology and immediacy?

Technology is already part of contemporary artistic creation. Not only as an expressive medium, but also as a cognitive way to live the artistic experience.

What part are collectors and curators supposed to play at an art fair?

The commercial operation is of course the main interest of an art fair, but the curators can help galleries to offer the visitors the possibility of appreciating every artwork regardless of the accumulation of images.That would actually be the most adequate strategy to promote acquisition and generating interest among new collectors.

What sets Swab Barcelona a part from other fairs? What can Swab Barcelona contribute to the art world that other fairs can not?

Above all, the vitality of a city that today is a reference in the world for innovation and a "hub" of European contemporary creation.

Why should people attend Swab Barcelona?

Because not visiting it would mean losing the possibility of discovering artistic expressions that are sure to grow on the international scene.

The first member of the Swab Barcelona 2019's Selection Committee is Jérôme Pantalacci, founder and director of ART-O-RAMA, the contemporary art fair of Marseille. Previously, he worked at the Roger Pailhas Gallery and the "Art dealers" organization, the art fair by invitation created by Roger Pailhas, held inside the 1000 m² gallery space. Regarding his academic career, Pantalacci graduated from a master's degree in visual arts at the University of Aix-Marseille.

What does young art represent in the international panorama?First of all, I would say that I don’t exactly know what could be « young art ». I’d prefer to speak about an emerging scene.What the emerging scene could represent in the international panorama. It probably depends on your interests, your age and if you are a collector, of course of your budget. The emerging scene is a part of the art world’s ecosystem. And it is undoubtedly the most affordable, I mean not only financially, but in term of encounters as well. So, it can be central for you or quasi-nonexistent. What role is art going to play in a world ruled by technology and immediacy?The art world doesn’t escape to the digital era. Instagram takes a prominent place. But I guess, the most important in art is the encounter, with artwork, artist or gallerist, and to take the time to exchange.What part are collectors and curators supposed to play at an art fair?

Their role is essential. Obviously, one of the most important aspects of an art fair is the commercial part. Artists and gallerists need to sell, and collectors are buyers.To buy an artwork is a real commitment, and it’s very important for an artist to be supported. Curators are important as well for promoting an artist. So they are the first public of an art fair.What sets Swab Barcelona a part from other fairs? What can Swab Barcelona contribute to the art world that other fairs can not?In my opinion, Swab is unique in highlighting the creation from two regions very connected with Spain that are Latin America and North Africa and by sustaining their emerging scene.Why should people attend Swab Barcelona?Attending Swab is a good opportunity to discover emerging artists and galleries, from Catalonia and abroad and to connect with the tremendous city that is Barcelona.