Talk — Can VideoArt be sold? Is it possible to purchase?
25/09/2024
A conversation about the video art market in contemporary art from the perspective of a collector, Diego Bergamaschi of Seven Gravity Collection, an artist, Driant Zeneli, and a curator and art advisor, Iole Pellion of Persano. What does it mean to have a video collection? How are works purchased and sold? Do editions exist? And what about the formats?
TALK 25.09 | 7.00 pm at Recontemporary, Via Gaudenzio Ferrari 12/b, Turin, Free entry
Seven Gravity Collection
The Seven Gravity Collection is a video art collection created in 2013 by an anonymous group of collectors. It is a unique project, not only for the works it houses but also for the collaborative approach to selecting them. Notable members include Diego Bergamaschi, Giuseppe Casarotto, and Cristian Berselli, figures closely connected to the contemporary art world and artistic institutions.
The group collects works by established artists such as Ali Kazma and Keren Cytter, as well as by emerging young talents. Despite the complexity of video works, often museum-scale and costly to produce, the collectors have not been deterred. On the contrary, they collaborate with curator Leonardo Bigazzi and participate in the "Lo Schermo dell'Arte" festival, acquiring a work each year from an artist under 35 who takes part in the VISIO workshop. Thanks to these activities, the collective has privileged access to European video art, even anticipating purchases by major museum institutions.
Since 2019, the collection has evolved, moving from acquiring already finished works to producing new works in collaboration with artists.
Driant Zeneli
Born in 1983 in Shkoder, Albania, Driant Zeneli currently lives between Milan and Tirana. His works challenge both physical and intellectual boundaries by staging ironic, dreamlike, and sometimes absurd situations. His latest research takes on a performative approach – involving both himself and others – through a process that feels the passage of time, identifies with dreams, plays with reason, and simultaneously resonates with the entire audience. Central to Zeneli's performative works, as well as other projects that use a media-driven narrative, is the redefinition of the concepts of failure, utopia, and dreams, considered elements capable of opening up possible alternatives.
In 2011, he represented Albania at the 54th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale. In 2024, he won the 13th edition of the Italian Council; in 2017, he won the MOROSO Prize, and in 2009, the Young European Artist Award from Trieste Contemporanea. In 2008, he received the Onufri International Contemporary Art Prize in Tirana. He was the artistic director of Mediterranea 18, the Biennale of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean, which was held for the first time in 2017 in Tirana and Durrës. He is also a co-founder of Harabel Contemporary Art Platform in Tirana.
Iole Pellion di Persano
Iole Persano (Torino, 1991) is an art enthusiast, collector, and independent curator. In 2016, she founded Recontemporary with the goal of communicating contemporary art through video. Originally established as a cultural association, Recontemporary became a foundation in 2018, promoting video art and new media through exhibition and educational projects. Since 2019, its headquarters have been located in the center of Turin, and since 2024, it has been collecting videos and supporting the growth of new talent through the Recontemporary Prize. Born into a family of gallery owners, she studied Design and Visual Communication at the Polytechnic University of Turin and completed her studies at the Sotheby’s Institute of Art in New York. As a curator, she has organized numerous exhibitions in Italy and abroad, collaborating with partners such as the Gazprombank Foundation, the Loop Festival, and the Italian Institute of Culture in Madrid. In 2019, she became a Specialist for Torino at Cur/agenda NY. She works as a consultant and Art Advisor for private collections and an art fund. Since 2019, she has been a partner at the Giorgio Persano Gallery, overseeing its direction for fairs and international relations. A supporter of female entrepreneurship, in 2021 she co-founded The Rown, a club focused on art, literature, fashion, and design.