Page 10 - PROTAGONIST-120

Page 9: Above, left Page 9: Above, right
In the foreground: Mario Schifano, handpainted photographs, 10 x 15 cm each In the foreground: Malcolm Morley, Sentinel, 1989, painted bronze, 159 x 41.5 x
In the background: Enzo Cucchi, Fare un quadro, 1993, oil and iron on canvas, 28 cm. On the wall: Sandro Chia, Senza titolo, mid-1990s, oil on canvas, 26.5 x
365 x 367 cm 20 cm. Page 9: Below, View of the gallery library

I had always been interested in art. I love this world because

it is a world of total freedom. I am a free spirit, curious by

nature . . . I went around on my own, looking for the artists

I liked. I immediately understood that art was my world, I

was cut out for it.

The Palazzo Comunale, the cathedral, the AF: I’d say we’re already getting to ity, believe me. I am a real gallerist, and
Portico del Collegio . . . Modena is a gem the point. Emilio Mazzoli means first with our projects today we continue in this
nestled at the center of Emilia Romagna. of all great intuitions and choices that direction. We are also in Berlin, my son is
But there is also a gem within that gem, have allowed the gallery to be a leader there. He has a gallery that works mainly
Galleria Mazzoli, an unexpected haven of on the market, to progress through ma- with sound art, and Berlin is a cultured city,
the lives of artists, with a glorious past and jor changes. Are there cardinal points in another market. Art has changed; astro-
intriguing future projects. Discovering half this success story? The phenomenon nomical sums are set in motion, and now
a century of history through this gallery be- of the Transavanguardia, Schifano, the the situation, so to speak, has gotten colder.
comes a voyage into the present, and there figure of Basquiat? Art and economics have become sisters. But
is only one guide capable of leading the EM: This job is a tough one, complex, in the end, not everything has changed: art
way: Emilio Mazzoli. Waiting for us at the full of risks. Art is made of moments, it’s and collecting are particular worlds, made
entrance, at the back of the gallery, stands true, but also of people, of affinities, and if of personal desires and sensibilities. I al-
a man who seems to come from another I have to start with someone, I’ll start with ways say that works are not sold, they sell
century: peerless aplomb, erudite, candid, Schifano: an incredible artist, a very special themselves.
and full of energy. person, brilliant in spite of all his problems.
I can tell you about an episode that was fun- AF: Big numbers, like the painting
Achille Filipponi: Buongiorno damental for me. When I was young I did sold for 150 million dollars by Basquiat,
Emilio! It’s an honor to be here with an exhibition, and I had paintings by Schi- which was made here. You were the first
you, and I’m not sure where to begin. fano and Nagasawa in the gallery. The gal- to bring this great artist to Europe, right?
Galleria Mazzoli is a place that has lery was flooded, in a hurricane, because it EM: Yes, that’s what happened. The
changed the art of the world. How did was below ground level. It was August and painting was made here. And this is a very
it all get started? the person responsible for the local drain- important episode, also in terms of how it
Emilio Mazzoli: I began in 1966. I age system was on vacation. The space was all began. I was invited to go to the Unit-
had always been interested in art. I love completed flooded, and everything was ed States, and I spoke no English. I went
this world because it is a world of total destroyed. I called Nagasawa and said: there, and I met Diego Cortez, who was also
freedom. I am a free spirit, curious by na- “Look, I have a problem.” He replied: “Not Basquiat’s agent. Cortez invited me to see a
ture. I was an elementary school teacher, my problem, yours!” I called Schifano and museum in Long Island City, which is now
so I had to comply with the hours and the said: “Mario, I’m desperate,” and he an- part of MoMA, where there was a graffiti
rules, which I found limiting. Then I met swered: “Don’t worry, send the works back exhibition, and I thought: “This guy is the
a priest who nurtured my love of art; he down here.” He fixed the ruined drawings, best of the lot.” So I went to Diego’s studio
was a collector, an intellectual. I followed dried them, cut them, retouched the works, and bought all the paintings he had. I called
his lead and I stopped teaching, at the age and once again they were masterpieces, Basquiat and said: “Come to Modena im-
of twenty-six. I went around on my own, even better than before. That’s what I mean mediately, we’ll do a show.” The first show
looking for the artists I liked. I immediate- when I talk about people. did not get a big reaction, but it didn’t go un-
ly understood that art was my world, I was noticed either.
cut out for it, and I immediately gained a AF: Today the gallery has changed,
good reputation. But in practice, I had no art has changed. What is the situation AF: We should mention, however,
money, nothing: I set off, I bought paint- now? that it sold out.
ings, and then I sold them to my friends. EM: We are here, we’ve always been EM: Yes, I sold everything. But that
The most important thing is to be a prod- here, and I would do it all again. For me, was because I was good at my job, and also
uct of one’s own time, willing to take risks: criticism gives me energy: the gallery because the works were not expensive! In-
I wasn’t interested in the past, but instead thrives on projects, vision. If you work in tuition, taste, understanding the things
in my contemporary, and my contempo- the avant-garde, you can only go forward, around you, that’s all. A good gallerist is
rary was what I was living. That was the the past is history and gossip. I have never always a forerunner, also for the benefit of
big wager. had a secondary market—and this is a rar- his collectors.

8 Art Protagonist