5 artists you need to know

With Affordable Art Fair Milan (24 – 27 January 2019) fast approaching, Fair Director, Manuela Porcu has selected her top 5 artists from the 100s exhibiting at the fair. Read on for her selection of contemporary artists, hailing from Italy, England, Albania, and even Korea!

THE 5 ARTISTS YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE COMING TO AFFORDABLE ART FAIR MILAN

The end of the year would not be complete, without one of our arty highlights lists, and this year I have selected 5 incredible artists, that you must know, before coming to the ninth edition of Affordable Art Fair Milan.

I’m really excited about seeing works by these artists at the fair for a number of reasons – a combination of their subject matter, materials, style and technique. Each has something very special that just jumped out at me!

1. Yusun Jung

Korean artist, Yusun Jung, is faithful to tradition. When first viewing his works, what struck me was the sensuality of the colours and the richness of the materials: pure pigments, silver leaf, Korean paper. Each of his pieces contain strong symbolic references and a respect for traditional Korean art practices, along with a clear love for the natural world. In just a few weeks, you will be able to study Yusun’s works in person by visiting the the Bomnamu Art Gallery stand (D4), which is just one of many galleries new to the Milan fair. Additionally, over the coming weeks, Yusun’s work is being exhibited at the National Museum in Ravenna, as part of show that draws links between contemporary Italian and Korean art. I think an investment in this artists work would be worthwhile! 

2. Mauro Rolle

Mauro Rolle is a champion of punk culture, a metropolitan artist, always looking for the most diverse stimuli through which he returns a futuristic vision of the reality in which he lives. For over a decade he has sent letters to his therapist. His series of mail art contains combinations of apparantly random elements, but related to his life, allowing the viewer to project their own imagination onto the body of works. Find Mauro’s work on the Gliacrobati stand (N2), a Turin gallery, specialised in art therapy and works from the Outsider Art movement. Mauro’s work is a modern day example of the French “Art Brut”, typified by artists working outside the conventional aesthetic norms, “immune to the influences of culture, immune to being absorbed and assimilated, because the artists themselves were not willing or able to be assimilated.” (Jean Dubuffet). If this style of work interests you, don’t forget to stop by stand H1 where you will find works of a similar genre, exhibited by Milanese gallery, Maroncelli12.

3. Yllka Gjollesha

Albanian contemporary art has very much been in the spotlight of late, and of course we have been ahead of the game with several young Albanian artists already having exhibited at the Milan fair over the past few years. This year is no exception, with Albanian art being represented within the Mediterranean Collection – a special exhibtion within the fair, created in collaboration with Gin Mare and curated by Ludovica Cadario. Within this unique exhibtion, you will find GALERIAKALO  (stand MC6), who hail from Tirana. They will be exhibiting works by several artists whose work comments on the political and social changes in Albania. Among the artists are Yllka Gjollesha, whose work is at the intersection between installation, performance and video art (main image). Yllka creates silent universes, which are in stark contrast to the every day noise of the big cities that we are used to, and plays with objects and details that may seem insignificant in everyday life but become the focus of her work. With her work already being exhibited in several museums and institutions across Albania, Italy and France, this is one not to miss!

4. Richard Heeps

“A Short History of Milan” is a series of works by Richard Heeps that I can’t fail to mention. One of our Special Projects at this edition, this series of works stemmed from a chat I had with Richard at Affordable Art Fair Brussels, who is one of the most loved photographers at the fair. Candidly, I can say that Richard’s works have always had great commercial success at the fair, and I am really excited to see Milan through his lens. It is a beautiful tribute to a city that Richard loves, and one that loves him in return! The final photographs will create a special limited edition, created and launched exclusively for the upcoming Milan fair. Don’t miss the “A Short History of Milan” series, which will be displayed next to the Bleach Box Photography Gallery (stand I7).

5. Anton and Alexey Tvorogov

Anton and Alexey Tvorogovy are twin brothers whose four hands work collaboratively to create a candied universe with a disturbing and strange edge to each piece, accentuated by the anthropomorphic forms that frequently appear in their works. The pair of artists are masters of their method (acrylic on canvas) and their works feature a decidedly recurring subject: a pug dog. The pug, appearing alone, with child’s hands, on different coloured backgrounds or obsessively repeated, is their favorite subject, and also their best seller. The Tvorogovy brothers are exhibiting at the fair with Artis Gallery (stand E5), another fresh new gallery at the fair, who will join us from Moscow.

And there you have it, you now know my top 5 artists, so you can officially join me at the fair to meet their works in person. To snap up a ticket, follow the link below, and I will see you there!

Manuela Porcu

Fair Director, Affordable Art Fair Milan

OR

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON AFFORDABLE ART FAIR MILAN, CLICK HERE

Main Image:
Yllka Gjollesha, Video Frame 2, Cycle, Duration 5.12 min, Format 16.9 mp4 HD, GALERIAKALO.

Featured art from first to last:

Manuela Porcu, Fair Director, Affordable Art Fair Milan.

Yusun Jung, Moments 3, 2018, silver leaf and colour stone powder on Korean paper, Bomnamu Art.

Mauro Rolle, TITLE, DATE, mixed media, Gliacrobati.

A sneak peek of Richard Heeps “A Short History of Milan” series, Bleach Box.

Anton and Alexey Tvorogovy, Awakening, acrylic on canvas, €1,000, ARTIS Gallery.