It is said that those born in times of famine or war have fire inside to make it, especially in the darkest moments. The A.MORE gallery in Milan is a young project, an experience that began only a few months ago. Last October, in fact, the two gallery owners Tatiana Yasinek and Aldo Salucci opened the doors of their space without any fear. The devotion to art and the desire to create a compelling programming guided them through non-ordinary choices, such as the first solo show in Italy by the artist Reihaneh Hosseini. Subsequently, on November 18, Mario Schifano‘s exhibition L’arte sono io should have been inaugurated, with which A.MORE gallery would have continud its work focused on contemporary painting. Yet, a few days after the new set-up, the national health situation forced the city of Milan to close. The enthusiasm faltered and it was necessary to imagine an alternative way to move forward. How? Going back to the origins.

To date, galleries are exhibition spaces in all respects, frequented by a multitude of different personalities, like any other place of culture. However, their true nature should not be forgotten; a gallery is, first of all, a commercial activity, which must take into account the market analysis. At the same time, it is a showcase for the artists it decides to represent. It is not surprising, then, the choice of Yasinek and Salucci to present the singular selection of paintings by the artist Mario Schifano on their internet platform: seven enameled canvases and five drawings on paper, most of them made during the 1970s. Only Particolare per strada belongs to 1962, but it is of fundamental importance to understand the subsequent works, which focus on the deconstruction of the landscape. Not surprisingly, the central corpus is characterized by the collages from 1970 and the canvas Oasi from 1973. Untitled from 1984, on the other hand, is a poetic abstract landscape where expressive splashes of color make up wonderful water lilies, which give the title to the series.

When the access to the exhibition spaces is impossible, A.MORE gallery returns to play its main role through a sort of catalog that can be consulted online. Of course, the visual experience mediated by a screen cannot be compared to live viewing, but the two gallery owners have proven to be able to react promptly. In this interview Tatiana Yasinek accompanies us while we wait for the reopening by telling us about the work done in recent months in her gallery.

Erica Massaccesi: Despite the complex and uncertain historical period, in the last month we have heard of some new and daring projects; the A.MORE gallery is one of them. How did the idea come about?
Tatiana Yasinek: It may seem like a trivial answer, but the idea simply comes from two people, Aldo Salucci and I, who have a great passion for contemporary art.

Erica Massaccesi: Does the name A.MORE have any precise meaning and a reference to your past and present aesthetic and stylistic researches?
Tatiana Yasinek: Yes, we wanted to look for a different name, impactful and that people remember with ease and curiosity. “A” as art, “more” as more, whose union forms one of the most beautiful words to say and hear: LOVE. On the other hand, it is also the way in which we try to do our job every day.

Erica Massaccesi: The exhibition “Mario Schifano – I am art” should have been inaugurated on November 18. How do you explain this desire to represent both young artists, in their first experiences in Italy, and a master of contemporary art? What goals have you set for yourself?
Tatiana Yasinek: We mainly try to exhibit young artists whose art is very expressive, “powerful” and “direct”. For example, in January 2021 we will exhibit Jacob Patrick Brooks (Kansas City, 1994), also at his first Italian solo show as Reihaneh Hosseini. Our goal is that the artists and works we exhibit attract the attention of the viewer and raise any sentiment, positive or negative, in him/her. Only then art achieves its purpose. At the same time, we will also devote ourselves to some projects on established artists who have had a place in the history of art. The first is Mario Schifano, as we believe he is much more contemporary than many young artists who come out of art academies today. He was able to revolutionize the pictorial language, creating an unprecedented one, a source of inspiration for all subsequent generations.

Erica Massaccesi: Hoping that the places of culture can reopen very soon, can you tell us something about the exhibition? How did you choose the works? Will you address a particular issue?
Tatiana Yasinek: We have chosen works that try to represent all the innovations that Mario Schifano has managed to give us in his varied career: from the “details” from the Sixties, to the “anemic landscapes” and “oases” from the Seventies, to the more pictorial works like the “water lilies” from the 1980s. As you can see, the main focus always remains on painting.

Erica Massaccesi: Let’s go back to your work. Do you personally take care of the curatorial activities or do you plan to collaborate with curators or external partner?
Tatiana Yasinek: We believe that the most interesting and rewarding part of our work is to personally choose the artists to exhibit and present. We are obviously open to collaborations, but with the condition that there must be the sharing of the same vision of contemporary art and the philosophy of the gallery.

Erica Massaccesi: A thorny question: as an art gallery, in a period in which the market is struggling to restart, what are you proposing and how do you plan to deal with this new lockdown? Also, do you already have any plans for the future?
Tatiana Yasinek: Obviously it is not the best time to start a new business, in all sectors not only in the field of art. We will try to use social channels, as everyone does today, and above all we hope that the fairs will reopen soon. People want to go back to see fairs to share their common passion for art with friends, collectors and gallery owners. Since we think we have done a good program for the first year, in the future we would just like to continue like this and have the opportunity to present ourselves to the general public at art fairs. In this regard, we participated in the Digital Black event, the first Black Friday of art, while later, from 4 to 14 December, there will be the Digital Yellow event. Both are organized by ArtVerona on the Artshell platform.

Erica Massaccesi

Info:

Mario Schifano – L’arte sono io
18 November 2020 – 19 December 2021
A.MORE gallery
Via A. Massena 19, 20145, Milano