We meet Giancarlo Meschi, president of the new Finarte Auction House, which reopened last March with a new prestigious location in via Brera in Milan.
In addition to Giancarlo Meschi, the board of the company sees 5 other investors, Rolando Polli, Diego Piacentini, Attilio Meoli, Marco Faieta and Simona Valsecchi, all with different professional, managerial and financial experiences.
To date, the departments present are: Modern and Contemporary Art, XNUMXth Century Paintings, Old Master Paintings, Non-European Art, Photography, Design and it is not certain that others may be added soon following the main international models, increasingly interested in new and trendy area.
President, two months after the opening, what can you tell us?
I can say that there is a lot of curiosity about our business and also interest both from private collectors, dealers and gallery owners but also from Italian funds with which we have created a dialogue. We just have to wait, but I think we're on the right track.
How did Milan respond?
Well, we have had some good contacts and we believe it will be a city we will work on very well. The historical 900, to which we aim, is very present in the Milanese collections and often these are valuable works.
We know that you are a lover of the historicized 900th century, will there be interesting works at the next auction?
Certainly, we would have works by De Chirico, Savinio, Tancredi, Pirandello, let's even say a good representation of the century.
The Italian market is experiencing the current economic situation a bit, with a different attitude than that observed abroad, but it is also true that in Italy there are many important works present in private collections, how do you plan to re-evaluate the interest in your auction house?
First of all we will create a "curatorial" catalog not the usual list volume, we have chosen this typology because each work is unique and has its own story, I think it is essential to amplify the soul of the work. Surely all accompanied by images and data necessary for the work to be better appreciated.
Do you focus a lot on online sales? What market do you intend to reach?
Certainly yes, it's the future and not only that, first we will do it with the most suitable sectors such as photography, design and I don't exclude some news in the near future. The interest shown in online auctions makes us think that we could have the works and sectors preferred by web buyers.
Will the October auction include all sectors?
Broadly speaking and with the collection of works obtained up to today, I think so, but we have to wait until the end of the summer to be sure what the definitive catalog will look like. Two months after the start of the activity I feel satisfied so now I wait for other collectors to believe in us with other works to entrust to us.
What does non-European art include?
Mainly Tribal, African, Indian and Indochina works.
Will the photography sector include shots by important photographers or even contemporary works?
Initially we focus on actual photography, Italian and foreign authors, while for contemporary photographic works they will be included in contemporary art.
One last thing, can we believe that so mistreated Italian art is returning to the art market?
Everything is cyclical, it is true that, for example, the historic Italian 900th century, even by great masters, is underestimated compared to foreign artists, but it is also true that the collector who invests looks at international trends, but I think it is the best time to buy Italian artists. one has only to think that the value of their art increases over time. I'm optimistic but it will take some time. What will help us, as an auction house, is that we will be on online platforms and therefore we will reach a very broad audience that will be able to appreciate works that are still unknown to the world collector.
