03 MARCH 2019

Sunday, 3 March 2019
Daily Tribune
ITALIAN ENVOY:
Phl art fan
LIFESTYLE
23
Sometimes galleries, museums or curators tend to scare you.
Or that they want to make you feel that you don’t understand
From page 1
difficult to understand as most people
think,” said the Ambassador, who based
his talk on a book that he wrote about
contemporary art as he has seen them in
the countries where he had been posted,
whether these are local art works or
international works on exhibit at the time.
He described his book as “a sort of a
tour of the world. I talk about 60 works by
60 different artists. And they are divided
into geographical areas. So, I talk about
Latin America, United States, Europe,
Africa and Asia. So, compared to 40 years
ago, contemporary art is much more global.
Artists from various countries that move to
Europe or the United States bring with them
their traditions and work, but you also have
a lot of things happening in areas where,
maybe until a few years ago, nothing much
was happening.”
The Italian Embassy also hosted another
talk, this time at the Manila Art Fair, given
by Laura Chiari, Director and partner at
Galleria Lorcan O’Neill, Rome.
Ambassador Guglielmino explained,
“My idea is to bring here every six months
a player of the art world. So I started in
the first half of 2018. I arrived August of
2017, so in the first half of 2018, a curator
came here. During the second half of 2018,
an art critic came here. First half of 2019, a
gallery director.
“The lecture and conversation that
was recently given by Laura Chiari at the
art fair was very interesting because the
subject was ‘How Contemporary Galleries
Evolve,’ how they change, how they face the
challenges of globalization, the increase in
number of fairs, the Internet.
So I put together Laura Chiari from
the Lorcan O’Neill Gallery together with
Isa Lorenzo of Silverlens Gallery. And the
conversation was for about an hour. And it
was interesting because at the end of the
day, we saw that the issues and problems,
difficulties and challenges they are facing
and the enthusiasm is exactly the same.”
In our personal conversation with him,
the Ambassador told us that he himself does
not create art, although briefly in his youth,
he did try but realized soon enough he had
better skills when it came to diplomacy. He
also shared his encounters with artists from
various parts of the world while naming
two young Filipina artists whose works he
admires.
Art as parallel interest
Daily Tribune (DT): You seem to know
a lot about the arts. Were you an art
student? Is it something that you saw
when you were growing up?
Ambassador Giorgio Guglielmino
(AGG): No, I was not an art student. It is
something that I saw, thanks to my mother
who brought me to museums, theaters and
exhibitions.
DT: What is your mother’s name?
AGG: An unusual name, Viola. And
my background in university, to answer
your question, is more related to my job. I
studied politics.
DT: You took up politics, but you never
left the arts.
AGG: Yes, I took up politics. No, I never
left the arts. And I’m glad because I think
that whatever job you do, if you have the
parallel interest, it saves your life.
DT: That’s right. There’s something
else to amuse you, or distract you, or
to take you away from drudgery… or to
retreat to.
AGG: Yes, yes…I
agree…
I BELIEVE that people
should be free to say
what they want about a
piece of art.
DT: So, when you were growing up,
were you also creating or just watching?
What would you be more of, a spectator
or a creator?
AGG: No, no, just for fun, I tried to do
something that I realized was not for me. So,
I was just watching, and studying and reading
and looking…I think it is so important to look.
I always tell friends or people to whom I talk
that if there are exhibitions, you have to go
and see works in flesh. With the Internet, you
can see all the works wherever they are in the
world, but it’s different if you face the painting.
You have to face the work to understand or to
appreciate it, or to say you don’t like it. But I
think that it is very important to train your eyes.
Embassy of Italy Award
DT: Is this your second art fair in the
Philippines?
AGG: Yes. Last year was the first but,
of course, I was new here so I didn’t know
much. Now it’s more interesting because
I know the galleries, I know the artists,
everything looks more familiar.
DT: Of the ones you saw this year,
which are your favorite?
AGG: I like a couple of very young girl
artists. One artist is Jel Suarez. She works
with West Gallery and she was the winner
of an art award that I started last year. In
the framework of the Ateneo Art Awards,
we added in 2018 what we call the Embassy
of Italy Award. (It) is an acquisition award
in the sense that the embassy chooses one
artist among the 12 finalists of the Ateneo
Art Awards. When the 12 finalists are there,
I go there and the embassy chooses one of
them and acquires a work of that artist. And
the first winner was Jel Suarez.
The idea is to build a small but
significant collection of works of younger
Filipino artists that will be shown in the
Italian embassy. In 10 years’ time, there
will be an interesting selection. The
works are not intended to be brought
abroad. They will stay here but they will
be exhibited inside the Italian Embassy.
People want to see the
contemporary works while
collectors want to collect them.
DT: Who made the choice? What was
the basis for the choice?
AGG: (laughs) I made the choice, but I
did it together with Boots Herrera, who is
involved in the Ateneo Art Awards. First of
all, the first selection among the 12 was done
for practical reasons. One of the works there
was a complex installation with moving
things. Another one was a video projection.
These things are not exactly what you expect
to place in an office. Just for technical
reasons, I said not to consider these works.
So, what I saw as interesting, I told Boots. I
shared with her my views about the painting
that I liked. And she agreed. And so, this
was the choice.
DT: What about in the recent art fair?
Was there an artist whose work you
found interesting?
AGG: There was another young girl.
I think she’s very talented. Her name is
Brisa Amir. And she works with Art
Informal and Mabini. Jel Suarez and
Brisa Amir are both very young. I
suspect they are about 25 or 26.
DT: Sir, you said that the book
is about several countries. How
did this come about? Are these
the places to which you were
assigned?
AGG: Not all. For example, I’ve
never been assigned to China but
I talked about a couple of Chinese
artists. I have visited the United
States but I’ve never been posted
to the United States. And of course,
if you talk about contemporary art,
you cannot avoid talking about
some American artists.
AMBASSADOR Guglielmino with Isa Lorenzo (left) and Laura Chiari.
DT: In the case of China, how did you
become exposed to Chinese art?
AGG: Because Chinese art is quite
famous worldwide. I saw exhibitions in
London, I saw Chinese works in many art
fairs. So, they’re very well known.
DT: Can you name all those countries
in the book? It’s quite a number.
AGG: I started the book when I
was in Buenos Aires. I started the first
part of the book which is about Latin
America. Then I talked about Africa.
Then I put together China and India, two
mega countries. Then, I talked about a
group of artists who come from different
countries. There’s a girl from Israel, an
artist from Korea. If you visited certain
countries, you would not expect to see
the contemporary art scene, although
THE Italian ambassador gave a talk on contemporary art based on a book he wrote.
they are getting there and they are very,
very important. Then, I talked about the
United States.
DT: Is your approach very academic
or very personal?
AGG: More personal. Some of the
artists, I was lucky enough to meet. The
idea is always to be very open, even very
relaxed because sometimes galleries,
museums or curators tend to scare you.
Or that they want to make you feel that
you don’t understand. I believe that people
should be free to say what they want about
a piece of art. And even free to say I don’t
like this. Again, to approach the work
with simpler minds, with simpler attitude,
without being afraid of saying something.
That’s especially because in contemporary
art, there are lots of bad works. (laughs)
Not everything is good.
When you study the Renaissance, or art
500 years ago in Italy, you of course study
the geniuses, the best artists. But 500 years
ago, even in Italy, during the Renaissance,
there was a lot of bad artists. Of course,
time canceled all the bad artists. The
problem with contemporary arts is they’re
all still here.
Two or three hundred years from now,
when our grand-grand-grandsons and
granddaughters will study this century,
they will just study the real good artists.
You don’t know who will remain or who
will not. But of course, there is such a vast
number of artists and then there are lots
of artists which are so-so.
Prada Foundation
DT: How is contemporary art in
Italy now?
AGG: That phase is a little bit the
challenge of the past because we have
so much ancient and classical art,
Renaissance art. Until a few years ago,
the museums were a little bit skeptical to
deal with the contemporary. They didn’t
want to deal with the contemporary -- it
was too complex. I kept on with classics
where I could not make any mistake which
has led to acquiring contemporary art. So,
in the last 50 years, I think the museums
in Italy should make more effort to buy
contemporary art. It’s going to change now,
thanks to some private foundations.
There are some significant foundations
basically linked to famous Italian brands.
For example, Prada, the famous clothes and
bags (brand), opened only a few years ago
a beautiful foundation in Milan. Trussardi,
the brand, opened a foundation in Milan.
Thanks to them, contemporary art in Italy
is getting more and more attention.
Also because young people and young
audiences want the contemporary. So,
contemporary is very popular now. There
are not so many people very interested in
the very classical arts. Now people want
to see the contemporary works while
collectors want to collect them. Maybe it’s
also because it’s a little bit in fashion.
DT: Considering that your education
is on the classical side, how did you shift
to liking contemporary
art?
AGG: Because I was
interested in seeing how
the artists reacted to and
what they thought about
the same work. If you see
a painting of 300 years
ago, you admire and like
it, but what was really on
the mind of the painter?
It is very difficult to grasp.
With contemporary art, I
like the fact that the artist
that is working now is
exposed to the same work,
the same television show,
the same movie, the same
news that I am watching
now. I like the fact that we
share what is good and bad
that is going on today. It is
all there on television and
in the Internet.
DT: Cultural exchanges are among
the tools used by the diplomatic world
in forging international friendship and
peace. How do you see the role of the
arts in diplomacy? Do the arts play a
significant role in diplomacy?
AGG: For me, yes. Because for me it is
something that can put together countries
(and I am not talking about the Philippines
now) closer even if they have difficulties
now. And I think that through art, you can
achieve better relations. I am not referring
to Philippine Italian relations because
we have very good relations with the
Philippines. So, no problem with that. But
in any case, art is a big help.
Venice Biennale
DT: What is your main focus when
it comes to Philippine-Italian relations?
AGG: The main focus of our relation
with the Philippines is the huge Filipino
community in Italy. It’s the largest
community in Europe together with the
United Kingdom.
DT: How do you think should Filipinos
involve themselves in the arts in Italy?
AGG: I think it is important for the
Filipino community in Italy as well as
in other countries to see to it that the
Philippines takes part in the important art
events in the country where they live. For
example, the Philippines is taking part in
the Venice Biennale. And I think that for the
Filipinos residing there, it is something they
should be proud of - that the Philippines
is part of the most important visual art
exhibition in the whole world. It should
make them feel proud. The Biennale this
year will open in mid-May.
DT: Does the embassy have something
to do with the Philippine participation?
AGG: Apart from issuing the visa to
the artists (laughter), the choice of the
artists and the works is, of course, totally a
Philippine matter. What I am trying to do is
to help some journalists to go to Venice to
report on the Biennale. Serious journalists
are easy to sponsor. So, if they want to
go and cover the Biennale, I will be very
happy to help them. The Biennale starts in
mid-May but it goes on for a little bit more
of five months.
DT: Of the different places you’ve
seen, which one impresses you most for
their arts?
AGG: Well, it’s not easy to say. (laughs)
I was in Latin America and I was based
in Argentina. But I made several trips to
Brazil and I must say that I was very much
impressed by Brazil not only by individual
artists but the strategy that they have. It is
something that I never saw anywhere else
in the world. When I was going there, each
artist was trying to help other artists, critics,
the galleries. It was really sort of an army
that was moving forward. A critic would
tell me you should go to this gallery. And
one artist would say visit this other artist.
So, it was really a network. The frontline is
totally incredible.
Five hundred years ago, even in
Italy, during the Renaissance, there
was a lot of bad artists. Of course,
time canceled all the bad artists.
Good economy
DT: How has been your Philippine
experience so far?
AGG: I had never been in the
Philippines before I was posted here.
So, I didn’t know what to expect. I
was surprised by two factors in the art
world here. First, I was surprised by
the galleries. And I mean, also by the
structures of the galleries. These are
beautiful spaces. They could be in New
York, London or Berlin. Silverlens is very
beautiful. So is Art Informal. The spaces
are perfectly done and arranged. The
second thing that I was impressed by was
the very high level of sales of the galleries.
Which means that there is a growing
number of collectors and even young
collectors buying works of art. And in fact
I am talking with some gallery owners and
they told me that it’s very new. Ten years
or 15 years ago, they were more or less
struggling to survive. Now they are doing
very well and the art fair is a significant
window of this development. I don’t know
how many hundreds of works have been
sold, but they are hundreds and hundreds.
DT: Even the auction scene has been
very active. What can you say about this?
Are auction houses here to stay? Do you
like the fact that many art works are
being sold for millions of pesos?
AGG: You can like it or not but it’s a
reality. You have to face it. And even in the
international market, when you hear that
this work has been sold for $20 million,
I should work for 2,000 years but it’s a
fact. One of the reasons is contemporary
art is very fashionable now and collectors
want to have pieces in their houses that
people recognize. If they put on their wall
a beautiful art work by a minor artist 400
years ago, not many people will recognize
it and appreciate its value. For some
collectors now, to have some works is a
little bit like a jewel for a lady.
DT: Do you see what’s happening in
the Philippines now as a fad, or as a part
of the seasonal turns?
AGG: A little bit of ups and downs
is normal. But I think the Philippines is
growing; not only the economy but the
interest in the arts.
DT: My final question is, do you think
that as far as the arts is concerned, we
have come a long way? I ask this in the
context of whether we have matured
politically and economically as a country.
AGG: Well, the growth in the numbers
of collectors is surely a proof of the good
economy of a country, no doubt about it. When
there’s more money around, more people are
able to buy art works. When a country is in
a deep economic crisis, art is not sold. If the
country goes well, the art market goes well.