The gallery’s activity immediately stood out for the high quality of its research and for the courage in reinterpreting major historicized artists in a contemporary key and in proposing artists from the new Italian and international avant-garde. Thus over time the stable roster of Galleria d’Arte Maggiore g.a.m. was enriched with names such as De Chirico, Balla, Fontana, Morandi, Arman, Picasso, Warhol and Kosuth.
You have just celebrated 40 years of activity. What has changed about your work and how has the Italian landscape changed over these years?
“ When Franco and Roberta Calarota founded Galleria d’Arte Maggiore g.a.m. in 1978 galleries shaped the taste of collectors, they were a meeting place and space for exchange among art historians, artists and enthusiasts, today that is no longer the case. With the increase in art fairs, spread extensively throughout the world and with a calendar that fills the whole year, the more globalized galleries are forced into fast relationships and exchanges, limited to the week dedicated to the fair. We like living the present, but preserving our identity, that is why we have decided to participate in only a carefully and selectively chosen set of international fair events and we opened a space in Milan, in via Manzoni, visitable by appointment, which recalls the idea of the cultural salon, presenting itself as a place of meeting and international exchange.”
“ When Franco and Roberta Calarota founded Galleria d’Arte Maggiore g.a.m. in 1978 galleries shaped the taste of collectors, they were a meeting place and space for exchange among art historians, artists and enthusiasts, today that is no longer the case. With the increase in art fairs, spread extensively throughout the world and with a calendar that fills the whole year, the more globalized galleries are forced into fast relationships and exchanges, limited to the week dedicated to the fair. We like living the present, but preserving our identity, that is why we have decided to participate in only a carefully and selectively chosen set of international fair events and we opened a space in Milan, in via Manzoni, visitable by appointment, which recalls the idea of the cultural salon, presenting itself as a place of meeting and international exchange.”
What is the guiding principle behind your gallery?
“ A long and sound knowledge of the past which together with an avant‑garde vision of the present allows us to make the historical times of art of yesterday and today coexist and, in some cases, even anticipate the future, including at a strategic level. And this thanks to a family history of shared passion for art and an unshakeable pride in being Italian.”
“ A long and sound knowledge of the past which together with an avant‑garde vision of the present allows us to make the historical times of art of yesterday and today coexist and, in some cases, even anticipate the future, including at a strategic level. And this thanks to a family history of shared passion for art and an unshakeable pride in being Italian.”
What reasons led you to open in Bologna and what instead prompted you to stay?
“ Bologna is our birthplace and since Morandi the city has stood out among Italian cities for its artistic avant‑garde. Here ArteFiera was born in the Sixties, becoming one of the most important fairs at European and thus world level; here is located the oldest university of the Western world where some of the most prepared art historians and critics of our country have taught; and here, at the Galleria d’Arte Moderna, in the Seventies, the ‘week of performance’ was held that launched, among others, artists such as Marina Abramović. And it is always in Bologna that in the Nineties we took part in the birth of the Morandi Museum and today collectors from all over the world love to come and find us here to discover a more authentic aspect of Italy.”
“ Bologna is our birthplace and since Morandi the city has stood out among Italian cities for its artistic avant‑garde. Here ArteFiera was born in the Sixties, becoming one of the most important fairs at European and thus world level; here is located the oldest university of the Western world where some of the most prepared art historians and critics of our country have taught; and here, at the Galleria d’Arte Moderna, in the Seventies, the ‘week of performance’ was held that launched, among others, artists such as Marina Abramović. And it is always in Bologna that in the Nineties we took part in the birth of the Morandi Museum and today collectors from all over the world love to come and find us here to discover a more authentic aspect of Italy.”
Which art fairs have you chosen and why?
“ First of all The Armory Show, not only because Franco Calarota has been on the committee for ten years, but also because it is the longest‑running fair event in New York, where many have tried but few have succeeded in lasting and having success. Then China and then Art Basel Hong Kong, where we have been present since before the arrival of ‘Art Basel’ and which for us is a source of great satisfaction, where we have some of the most loyal collectors. Another fixed appointment in our calendar is MiArt. Because in Italy it is without doubt the fair which more than any other has been able to give an original interpretive key to this event. Finally from this year we will take part in TEFAF Maastricht which distinguishes itself by its ability to attract true collectors from all over the world for the variety and the very high quality of works on offer.”
“ First of all The Armory Show, not only because Franco Calarota has been on the committee for ten years, but also because it is the longest‑running fair event in New York, where many have tried but few have succeeded in lasting and having success. Then China and then Art Basel Hong Kong, where we have been present since before the arrival of ‘Art Basel’ and which for us is a source of great satisfaction, where we have some of the most loyal collectors. Another fixed appointment in our calendar is MiArt. Because in Italy it is without doubt the fair which more than any other has been able to give an original interpretive key to this event. Finally from this year we will take part in TEFAF Maastricht which distinguishes itself by its ability to attract true collectors from all over the world for the variety and the very high quality of works on offer.”
A dream work you would like to own in the gallery?
“ We were in Paris at Christie’s auction for the Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé collection in 2009. It was hard not to counter the final bid for the Belle Haleine‑Eau De Voilette by Duchamp, the famous perfume bottle with the photograph of the artist’s female alter ego ‘Rose Selavy’, taken by his friend Man Ray. ”
“ We were in Paris at Christie’s auction for the Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé collection in 2009. It was hard not to counter the final bid for the Belle Haleine‑Eau De Voilette by Duchamp, the famous perfume bottle with the photograph of the artist’s female alter ego ‘Rose Selavy’, taken by his friend Man Ray. ”
Alessia, Roberta, Franco Calarota, 2018
