After a tour of Lisbon and Oporto, we found ourselves with a dilemma of our own. Which city’s galleries would we tour next? Luckily, Domenico de Chirico and Marialuisa Pastò curated our brand new Gallery Guide Milano. Just in time for the city’s art fair, we present you a selection of spaces all around the city, from the blue-chip galleries, to the small ones where the local scene is always buzzing. Internationally famous due to its fashion spirit, it’s time to present you the hottest art destinations on our Gallery Guide Milano.  

BRAND NEW GALLERY

Brand New Gallery is a space devoted to contemporary art, suspended halfway between a gallery and a center for cultural promotion. The brainchild of two art historians, Chiara Badinella and Fabrizio Affronti, whose aim is to promote the work of foreign artists know internationally, but still unseen in Italy. This platform where artists, curators and collectors can meet and exchange ideas has represented Angel Otero and Kasper Sonne and previously exhibited Oscar Murillo, David Ostrowski and Christian Rosa. Brand New Gallery is also a fresh presence in art fairs such as Miart, Art Brussels and Expo Chicago. 

Address: Via Carlo Farini 32 - Website: www.brandnew-gallery.com

HANGAR BICOCCA

Hangar Bicocca is a space devoted to the production, exhibition and promotion of contemporary art. Set up in 2004, it occupied a vast industrial complex formerly owned by Ansaldo-Breda. It has landed solo exhibitions of top international talent like Tomás Saraceno, Marina Abramovic and Alfredo Jaar. The artistic programme is defined by its focus on research and experimentation and by its particular emphasis on site-specific projects capable of interacting with their unique setting. An idea well worth launching by Hangar Bicocca. 

Address: Via Chiese 2 - Website: www.hangarbicocca.org

LISSON GALLERY

Lisson Gallery is one of the most influential and longest-running international contemporary art galleries in the world. Since being founded in 1967 by Nicholas Logsdail, it has championed the career of several artists who have transformed the way art is made and presented. Its Milan counterpart, which opened in 2011 after two spaces in London, is directed by Annette Hofmann and has showed artists like Ai Weiwei, Jason Martin and Anish Kapoor. It’s a regular presence at major art fairs like Frieze and Art Basel. And it also travels inside its own walls with Lisson Presents, a programme of timely initiatives beyond the gallery spaces. A beautiful way to connect spaces through art. 

Address: Via Zenale 3 - Website: www.lissongallery.com

MASSIMO DE CARLO

Massimo de Carlo gallery was founded in Milano in 1987. Focusing, since the beginning, in young and prominent artists such as, among others, Alighiero Boetti, Rudolf Stingel, Maurizio Cattelan and Yan Pei-Ming. The success of these and other artists they picked went on to favour its ongoing success. After all, Massimo de Carlo has been playing a fundamental role in bringing the most interesting voices to the Italian art scene and taking Italian artists into much higher flights. It has a second space in London since 2009 and is present in art fairs such as Art Basel Hong Kong, Frieze and FIAC.

Address: Via Giovanni Ventura 5 - Website: www.massimodecarlo.com

FEDERICO VAVASSORI

An important part in the Milan art scene, Federico Vavassori gallery has been around since 2011. Know for its distinct architecture and for its importance in the city's art scene, it has artists such as Emil Klein, Greg Parma Smith, and Dario Guccio on its roster. It has previously exhibited The Stillhouse Group’s Brendan Lynch, Louis Eisner and Nick Darmstaedter.  

Address: Via Giovanni Ventura 6 - Address: www.vava-milano.com

FONDAZIONE PRADA

Only a fashion city could house a gallery such as this one. Fondazione Prada, co-chaired by Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli since 1995, is an institution dedicated to contemporary art and culture and is scheduled to open in Milan in May. It’s programme already includes showing the Prada Collection, but also projects from Wes Anderson and Roman Polanski. Just to spice our curiosities a little further, architecture firm OMA is developing the project led by Rem Koolhas for a dazzling 19,000 m2 of Prada. 

Address: Via Spartaco 17 - Website: www.fondazioneprada.org

FRANCESCA MININI

One more stop in our Milano Gallery Guide is Francesca Minini gallery. Founded in 2006 and enjoying the view in Via Massiniano 25, Francesca Minini is a regular at every major art fair – with presences in Art Basel, FIAC, Artissima, etc. Its has some big names in its roster like Ghada Amer, Becky Beasley and Mathias Bitzer. 

Address: Via Massiniano 25 - Website: www.francescaminini.it

GIÒ MARCONI

Giò Marconi founded Giò Marconi gallery in 1990. He had previously created Studio Marconi 17, a experimental laboratory for young artists, critics and cultural workers. The new gallery, initially directed by Joe and his father Giorgio, founder of Studio Marconi (1965-1992), pays attention to the proposals of the new generations while still offering historic artists of Studio Marconi. With artists such as Wade Guyton and Franz Ackermann, its art fair presence in Miart, Art Cologne and Frieze is more than justified.

Address: Via Tadino 20 - Website: www.giomarconi.com

KAUFFMAN REPETTO

Francesca Kaufmann opened in January 2000. Since then, the gallery has aimed to explore different kinds of media, focusing on video and site specific installation. After ten years in its historic location, the gallery opened a new space in October 2010, under the name kaufmann repetto, to mark the recent partnership between Francesca Kaufmann and Chiara Repetto. 
In its new location, the gallery was able to further develop its exhibition program through a project room dedicated mostly to younger artists, as well as a courtyard for outdoor installations, both running parallel to the gallery main shows. 

Address: via di Porta Tenaglia 7 - Website: www.kaufmannrepetto.com

LIA RUMMA

With spaces in Milan and Naples, Lia Rumma is another leading contemporary art gallery. It regularly exhibits household names such as Marina Abramovic, Alfredo Jaar, Anselm Kiefer and Donald Judd. It is present at every Art Basel, but also in other art fairs such as Art Brussels and The Amory Show. 

Address: via Stilicone 19 - Website: www.liarumma.it

SPAZIO CABINET / STUDIOLO

Spazio Cabinet was founded in Milano in May 2010. Having started as a non-profit space exclusively based on international double-exhibitions, primarily focused on painting, sculpture and installation. Spazio Cabinet moved to a new venue in Via Alessandro Tadino 20 in November 2012. With a mezzanine floor inside an old style Milan building in the Porta Venezia area. Studiolo was founded with the aim of supporting and representing a restricted choice of young artists.

Address: via Alessandro Tadino 20 - Website: www.spaziocabinet.com and www.studioloproject.com

PEEP-HOLE

Peep-Hole is an independent art center founded in Milan in 2009, active in the promotion and diffusion of contemporary art. The aim of Peep-Hole - as underlined by its name - is to encourage people to take a closer look at artists’ practices through an articulated program that moves between the format of exhibitions, publications, lectures and workshops. Its activities take place mainly in the space located in Milan, at Fonderia Artistica Battaglia, historical foundry in Milan. It is a non profit organization supported by artists who believe in its mission. To date, Peep-Hole counts on more than 150 artist supporters. And that’s a lovely number.

Address: Via Stilicone 10 - Website: www.peep-hole.org

GALLERIA ZERO

The last gallery in our countdown through Milano is ZERO, a gallery founded in 2000 with the aim of increasing the inter­na­tional atten­tion on young Ital­ian art. The col­lab­o­ra­tion with international artists is also an impor­tant aspect of teir program, having already exhibited artists such as João Maria Gusmão + Pedro Paiva and Thomas Houseago.

Address: Viale Premuda 46 - Website: www.galleriazero.it

Exclusive Aujourd'hui.
Curated by Domenico de Chirico and Marialuisa Pastò