Galleria Oredaria
Space for contemporary art

Space and light. 400 square metres of luminous exhibition space in what was once a factory manufacturing mattresses. A passion for contemporary art, a high professional seriousness in managing artists and their work; and an exquisitely charming welcome for all who enter the Galleria Oredaria from its director Marina Covi Celli.

By Aniko Horvath
february 2009

Galleria Oredaria opened in 2003 in via Reggio Emilia, just along the street from Macro (the publicly owned Museum of Contemporary Art: Roma). In just a few short years the Oredaria has become a reference point in the Italian capital for collectors and ordinary enthusiasts of contemporary art.
The exhibition space is stunning: arches and massive columns reach gracefully upwards and the gallery is flooded with natural light.
It has hosted exhibitions by some of the most prestigious names in contemporary Italian art, including Michelangelo Pistoletto (who created 50 works specifically inspired by the gallery’s form and structure), Gilberto Zorio and Alfredo Pirri, and is currently featuring works by the young Israeli artist Gilad Efrat.

Rome is an open-air treasure house of ancient art; what is the city’s relationship with contemporary art?
Rome is such an overwhelmingly historical rich city that only recently has a growing interest in contemporary art – from both public and private institutions – become clear. Major new exhibition spaces like Macro and the imminent opening of MAXXI (the first national museum of arts for the 21st century), important events like “The Road to Contemporary Art” (a festival involving galleries across Rome which this year runs from 2-5 April) have all raised public awareness and stimulated interest in contemporary art.

You’ve just come back from the contemporary art fair in Bologna, one of Italy’s most important. Has the credit crunch affected the art market in Italy?
Without doubt the market has slowed down. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It helps to weed out the less interesting work so that only art of only genuine quality emerges. The Italian market is less exposed to the effects of the economic crisis: the big international investment funds are not major operators here and our collectors are private individuals. For this reason, too, prices have remained more or less unchanged, there is little or no speculation. The value of an artist’s work depends on slow and careful evaluation throughout her or his career.

Galleria Oredaria's director Marina Covi Celli

Where does contemporary Italian art fit into the international scene?
Unlike in many other countries, contemporary Italian artists benefit from little or no promotion. Because of the lack of official support – and financing – Italian artists travel rarely. They have less contact on an international level and are therefore more influenced by our national artistic climate. Of course there are exceptions. Some of our most successful artists, like Maurizio Cattelan, live abroad. Or there are those who have nevertheless managed to carve out major international profiles like representatives of the Arte Povera movement: Pistoletto, Mario Schifano and the movement’s “founder” Mario Merz. Our next exhibition, which opens on 26 February, will be dedicated to Merz’s life and work. It will be the first since his death in 2003.

The Galleria Oredaria has made a name for itself because it does far more than simply organise exhibitions.
The work of a gallery and its staff in no way begins and ends with the exhibition itself. We take special pride in publishing informative catalogues so that in a certain respect the exhibition lives on after it’s over. We also take care to cultivate an ongoing working relationship with all our artists. My aim has always been to stimulate wider public interest and involvement, both among dedicated art lovers and the simply curious. For example, for the Merz exhibition we’ve also organised a conference on art and mathematics. Another upcoming special event will be an auction to raise money for charity which will be held in the middle of February.

Galleria Oredaria – contemporary arts
Currently on show: Gilad Efrat – Common Place
Via Reggio Emilia 22-24
tel: 06.97601689
www.oredaria.it