WopArt is an annual art fair dedicated to Works on Paper, spanning all periods of art from Old Masters to contemporary art. Deriving its name from the acronym of “Works on Paper,” WopArt was founded in 2016 under the patronage of the City of Lugano.
After the resounding success of its ‘online’ edition in 2020, WopArt returns from November 19 to 21, 2021 with an exhibition titled “Extra Time” (ahead of its 6th Edition next September 2022) in an “in-person” format that welcomes collectors and art lovers.
Wopart was founded in 2016 at the behest of art lovers seeking to champion a niche segment of the art market, to bring together professionals, connoisseurs, collectors and aficionados of works on paper.
Since 2016, WopArt has attracted some of the world’s most preeminent art galleries, and ranks as one of the most acclaimed art fairs on the international calendar. It is considered today the premier venue for top-quality works on paper that are fresh to market, with prestigious provenances and impeccable attributions.
While historically the segment had appealed to collectors of Old Masters works, the fair’s deliberate orientation towards contemporary works of art has opened a new horizon accessible by a wider public.
The Extra Time Exhibition may well be its most anticipated yet, both by the participating galleries and the Italian and international collectors and visitors expected to attend.
A Marketplace for Collectible Art
Drawings and other works on paper have become, in the past few years, a highly collectible segment of the art market, both in terms of quality and price. Contrary to other mediums like paintings or sculpture where established artists command prices beyond the reach of most buyers, works on paper make it possible today for collectors and art-loving buyers alike to acquire pieces by great international artists at more accessible prices – ranging from $50 to $350,000 – making this segment particularly attractive to both entry-level, specialist and seasoned collectors.
Paper has long been the preferred medium of great artists who have used it as a creative starting point in the process of composing a more complex work. A preparatory sketch often reveals the germination of an idea in the mind of an artist, with an immediacy with the hand of the artist. But not all works on paper are preparatory works. Many artists have and continue to treat paper as their preferred medium, a deliberate choice to create works on paper as stand-alone works of art.
No matter the motivation of the artist, works on paper reflect, for visitors and collectors alike, a sophisticated and refined choice when it comes to investing in art or simply enjoying it.
Past Editions of WopArt
The 4th edition of WopArt in 2019 had welcomed 102 participating galleries from 16 countries and 15,000 visitors. The large selection of works presented ranged from ink drawings to oils on paper, covering fields as wide as graphic design to drawing to photography. Seven separate special exhibitions were organized over 1,000 square meters of space. On opening night, the fair hosted, in a festive and elegant setting, over 1,000 international collectors and VIPs.
In 2020, due to the global health crisis, the 5th edition of WopArt was re-oriented as a virtual “online-only” event from 26 November 2020 to 10 January 2021. Forty five galleries participated in that edition. A Virtual Room was dedicated to a show of Michele Ciacciofera and another, to the collection of the fair’s main sponsors, BNP Paribas, Eberhard Watches and Swiss Logistic Centre.
The 5th edition of WopArt in 2020, proposed as a virtual event for the first time due to health restrictions, was nevertheless a resounding success. From November 26, 2020 to January 10, 2021, the online exhibition counted 44,735 views on the website www.wopart.ch and 6,474 views on the dedicated pages of 40 international exhibitors. Over 400 works were presented to the delight of collectors registered on the platform from 11 countries including China, Colombia, Egypt, France, Germany, England, Italy, Russia, Spain, United States, and Switzerland.
We did not imagine such a success – says Paolo Manazza, director of WopArt 2020 – for a Virtual Fair that, to tell the truth, we had to invent ourselves at the last moment within a month. We have to thank the Digital staff of We Web Company, the Italian company that publishes the ArtsLife art newspaper, who performed a real miracle in the timing and quality of the virtual exhibition. Of course, online sales of works of art will never be able to match those made in person, but from the final results obtained it is evident that even on the online sales front something important is also moving in the art sector.
THE 2020 DIGITAL EDITION OF WOPART
In facts and figures
Significant figures recorded for the 5th edition of WopArt were impressive:
– 44,735 Total Views
– 19,942 views of the pages of the virtual fair
– 6,474 views of the pages of individual exhibitors
– 1,951 logins with registered emails
The Extra Time Exhibition (2021)
The Extra Time Exhibition will be held from November 19 to 21, 2021 with a Preview on November 18. It will take place in the pavilions of the Lugano Exhibition Center, under the auspices of the Swiss Federal Government to ensure compliance with applicable public health measures.
The decision to hold the fair later than its regular dates in September was taken due to the unprecedented nature of the global health crisis. The new dates in November were chosen to ensure that the next edition of WopArt could in fact be organized with a “physical” component, a format better suited to today’s fast-moving art market.
Two pavilions of the Exhibition Center in Lugano will host major exhibitions with special spaces dedicated to meetings and debates on the themes of art, the art market and the dissemination of culture, in collaboration with Art Foundations and participating Galleries.
Robert Phillips, the new artistic director of WopArt, has chosen “FLUIDITY” as the theme of the “Extra Time” Exhibition, which includes a show of “Watercolours by Hermann Hesse” and works from the BNP Paribas Collection.
The “Extra Time” Exhibition is dedicated to the memory of the late Marco Borradori, Mayor of Lugano and a great art lover, who passed away recently.
Outstanding Personalities of the Extra Time Exhibition
Robert Phillips: This year, Robert Phillips is the Artistic Director of Wopart, and will also serve as a member of the fair’s Scientific Committee. In the 1990s, he worked as a consultant for private collections and a number of institutions, namely the Solomon Guggenheim Foundation in New York, the Moa Museum of Art in Atami and the collection of the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. He has since consulted with number of art conservation entities (the Artemis Group in France) and foundations in New York and Rome. As an independent curator in Venice, he oversaw several exhibitions and events in prestigious venues, namely the Palazzo Zenobio, the Museo Correr, the Palazzo Fortuny, the Arsenale and the Officina delle Zattere. He participated in the 2019 show “Friends”, first presented in Venice in 2015, that brought together artists, curators and gallerists who had participated in the 25-year story of Spazio Thethis at the Arsenale in Venice.
Ami Barak: For now a second year, Ami Barak will serve on WopArt’s Cultural Management and Scientific Committee. Mr. Barak, a critic, curator, art consultant, and a co-artistic director of the Salon de Montrouge, has served as director of France’s regional collection of contemporary art known as FRAC Languedoc-Roussillon (1993 to 2002); he served as head of the Visual Arts Department at the City Council of Paris (2003-2008), during which tenure he served as artistic director and coordinator of two editions of the contemporary art festival in Paris known as “Nuit Blanche.” His curatorial experience includes the 5th Jerusalem Biennial (2008); Art for the World, the “City of Forking Paths” at the Shanghai Expo 2010; the Romanian pavilion at the 54th edition of the Biennale di Venezia (2011); the White Night in Toronto (2013); the Biennial of Artistic Encounters in Timisoara, Romania (2017); and the Daegu Biennial in South Korea (2018).
Wayne Baerwaldt: A visual arts curator and media producer, Wayne Baerwaldt has commissioned and co-produced numerous international exhibitions, events, symposia, video installations and publications that retrace the diversity of artmaking strategies in a variety of topics. His recent projects include The Shadow of the Sun: Ross Bleckner and Zachari Logan at Wave Hill, New York and University Art Galleries, University of Saskatchewan, Thierry Marceau; The Great One’s Back at the Art Gallery of Alberta, a series of commissioned artworks for Cadillac Fairview Corp., Toronto, and Blake Little: Fluid, a touring exhibition of photographic portraits of models on the gender-fluid spectrum. He recently guest-edited Issue no. 62 of PUBLIC, The Gender-Diverse Lens. He is also a Michele Sereda “Artist in Residence for Socially Engaged Practice” at the University of Regina (MAP and Hill/Levine Business Schools).
Marco Nicolò Riccomini: A graduate of the University of Florence with a degree in Modern Literature, Marco Nicolò Riccòmini first trained professionally in London, before serving as director of the Department of Early and Old Master Paintings at the Finarte Casa d‘Aste in Milan. He spent over a decade at Christie’s Italy. He has contributed to numerous catalogs and written specialist articles for Italian and foreign magazines, and curated number of exhibitions with catalogs, including the Baroque figures of time; Paintings by the Opera Pia dei Poveri Vergognosi, Bologna, Fondazione del Monte di Bologna and Ravenna. As a specialist in Bolognese paintings and drawings of the 17th and 18th centuries, he has published books and essays including on Donato Creti, the drawings of the Certani Collection at the Giorgio Cini Foundation, among others.
Responsible for the Wopart Press Office are:
– Luca Melloni (Milan) for Switzerland and Italy
WopArt’s Theme for the Extra Time Exhibition:
“Fluidity”
Robert Phillips, the fair’s Art Director has chosen “FLUIDITY” as the theme of the Extra Time Exhibition 2021.
The inspiration for Robert Phillips’ choice of “FLUIDITY” is illustrated by this quote by Hermann Hesse:
Fluid, without any reason to belong. Just as it is not possible to bathe twice in the same water in the similar way the soul of art lives as suspended in the life of the middle.
The theme of “Fluidity” will be showcased as a headline at the entrance to the Pavilions and at a special exhibition of watercolors by Hermann Hesse. This exceptional exhibition is made possible by generous loans from the Hesse Foundation, based in Montagnola (Lugano), and from private collections.
A detail chosen from one of Hermann Hesse’s watercolors along with the quote: “The depths are to be found in the spaces of clarity and serenity,” will be featured on all communication by the fair.
Finally, WopArt has appointed a new Honor’s Committee, the members of which (to be announced shortly) will be working alongside the fair’s Scientific Committee.
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WopArt is an annual art fair dedicated to Works on Paper, spanning all periods of art from Old Masters to contemporary art. Deriving its name from the acronym of “Works on Paper,” WopArt was founded in 2016 under the patronage of the City of Lugano.
The 6th edition of WopArt will be held from 18 to 21 November 2021, at the Lugano Exhibition Center on the shores of beautiful Lago di Lugano. This year’s edition combines an in-person edition with a virtual version, for a new “hybrid” fair model where the physical and the virtual will complement and mutually enhance one another.
Wopart was founded in 2016 at the behest of art lovers seeking to champion a niche segment of the art market, to bring together professionals, connoisseurs, collectors and aficionados of works on paper.
Since 2016, WopArt has attracted some of the world’s most preeminent art galleries, and ranks as one of the most acclaimed art fairs on the international calendar. It is considered today the premier venue for top-quality works on paper that are fresh to market, with prestigious provenances and impeccable attributions.
While historically the segment had appealed to collectors of Old Masters works, the fair’s deliberate orientation towards contemporary works of art has opened a new horizon accessible by a wider public.
The 6th edition of WopArt may well be its most anticipated yet, both by the participating galleries and the Italian and international collectors and visitors expected to attend.
A Marketplace for Collectible Art
Drawings and other works on paper have become, in the past few years, a highly collectible segment of the art market, both in terms of quality and price. Contrary to other mediums like paintings or sculpture where established artists command prices beyond the reach of most buyers, works on paper make it possible today for collectors and art-loving buyers alike to acquire pieces by great international artists at more accessible prices – ranging from $50 to $350,000 – making this segment particularly attractive to both entry-level, specialist and seasoned collectors.
Paper has long been the preferred medium of great artists who have used it as a creative starting point in the process of composing a more complex work. A preparatory sketch often reveals the germination of an idea in the mind of an artist, with an immediacy with the hand of the artist. But not all works on paper are preparatory works. Many artists have and continue to treat paper as their preferred medium, a deliberate choice to create works on paper as stand-alone works of art.
No matter the motivation of the artist, works on paper reflect, for visitors and collectors alike, a sophisticated and refined choice when it comes to investing in art or simply enjoying it.
Past Editions of WopArt
The 4th edition of WopArt in 2019 had welcomed 102 participating galleries from 16 countries and 15,000 visitors. The large selection of works presented ranged from ink drawings to oils on paper, covering fields as wide as graphic design to drawing to photography. Seven separate special exhibitions were organized over 1,000 square meters of space. On opening night, the fair hosted, in a festive and elegant setting, over 1,000 international collectors and VIPs.
In 2020, due to the global health crisis, the 5th edition of WopArt was re-oriented as a virtual “online-only” event from 26 November 2020 to 10 January 2021. Forty five galleries participated in that edition. A Virtual Room was dedicated to a show of Michele Ciacciofera and another, to the collection of the fair’s main sponsors, BNP Paribas, Eberhard Watches and Swiss Logistic Centre.
The 5th edition of WopArt in 2020, proposed as a virtual event for the first time due to health restrictions, was nevertheless a resounding success. From November 26, 2020 to January 10, 2021, the online exhibition counted 44,735 views on the website www.wopart.ch and 6,474 views on the dedicated pages of 40 international exhibitors. Over 400 works were presented to the delight of collectors registered on the platform from 11 countries including China, Colombia, Egypt, France, Germany, England, Italy, Russia, Spain, United States, and Switzerland.
We did not imagine such a success – says Paolo Manazza, director of WopArt 2020 – for a Virtual Fair that, to tell the truth, we had to invent ourselves at the last moment within a month. We have to thank the Digital staff of We Web Company, the Italian company that publishes the ArtsLife art newspaper, who performed a real miracle in the timing and quality of the virtual exhibition. Of course, online sales of works of art will never be able to match those made in person, but from the final results obtained it is evident that even on the online sales front something important is also moving in the art sector.
THE 2020 DIGITAL EDITION OF WOPART
In facts and figures
Significant figures recorded for the 5th edition of WopArt were impressive:
– 44,735 Total Views
– 19,942 views of the pages of the virtual fair
– 6,474 views of the pages of individual exhibitors
– 1,951 logins with registered emails
The 6th Edition of WopArt (2021)
The 6th edition of WopArt will be held from November 19 to 21, 2021 with a Preview on November 18. It will take place in the pavilions of the Lugano Exhibition Center, under the auspices of the Swiss Federal Government to ensure compliance with applicable public health measures.
The decision to hold the fair later than its regular dates in September was taken due to the unprecedented nature of the global health crisis. The new dates in November were chosen to ensure that the 6th edition of WopArt could in fact be organized with a “physical” component, a format better suited to today’s fast-moving art market.
Outstanding Personalities of the 6th Edition of WopArt
Robert Phillips: This year, Robert Phillips is the Artistic Director of Wopart, and will also serve as a member of the fair’s Scientific Committee. In the 1990s, he worked as a consultant for private collections and a number of institutions, namely the Solomon Guggenheim Foundation in New York, the Moa Museum of Art in Atami and the collection of the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. He has since consulted with number of art conservation entities (the Artemis Group in France) and foundations in New York and Rome. As an independent curator in Venice, he oversaw several exhibitions and events in prestigious venues, namely the Palazzo Zenobio, the Museo Correr, the Palazzo Fortuny, the Arsenale and the Officina delle Zattere. He participated in the 2019 show “Friends,” first presented in Venice in 2015, that brought together artists, curators and gallerists who had participated in the 25-year story of Spazio Thethis at the Arsenale in Venice.
Ami Barak: For now a second year, Ami Barak will serve on WopArt’s Cultural Management and Scientific Committee. Mr. Barak, a critic, curator, art consultant, and a co-artistic director of the Salon de Montrouge, has served as director of France’s regional collection of contemporary art known as FRAC Languedoc-Roussillon (1993 to 2002); he served as head of the Visual Arts Department at the City Council of Paris (2003-2008), during which tenure he served as artistic director and coordinator of two editions of the contemporary art festival in Paris known as “Nuit Blanche.” His curatorial experience includes the 5th Jerusalem Biennial (2008); Art for the World, the “City of Forking Paths” at the Shanghai Expo 2010; the Romanian pavilion at the 54th edition of the Biennale di Venezia (2011); the White Night in Toronto (2013); the Biennial of Artistic Encounters in Timisoara, Romania (2017); and the Daegu Biennial in South Korea (2018).
Wayne Baerwaldt: A visual arts curator and media producer, Wayne Baerwaldt has commissioned and co-produced numerous international exhibitions, events, symposia, video installations and publications that retrace the diversity of artmaking strategies in a variety of topics. His recent projects include The Shadow of the Sun: Ross Bleckner and Zachari Logan at Wave Hill, New York and University Art Galleries, University of Saskatchewan, Thierry Marceau; The Great One’s Back at the Art Gallery of Alberta, a series of commissioned artworks for Cadillac Fairview Corp., Toronto, and Blake Little: Fluid, a touring exhibition of photographic portraits of models on the gender-fluid spectrum. He recently guest-edited Issue no. 62 of PUBLIC, The Gender-Diverse Lens. He is also a Michele Sereda “Artist in Residence for Socially Engaged Practice” at the University of Regina (MAP and Hill/Levine Business Schools).
Marco Nicolò Riccomini: A graduate of the University of Florence with a degree in Modern Literature, Marco Nicolò Riccòmini first trained professionally in London, before serving as director of the Department of Early and Old Master Paintings at the Finarte Casa d‘Aste in Milan. He spent over a decade at Christie’s Italy. He has contributed to numerous catalogs and written specialist articles for Italian and foreign magazines, and curated number of exhibitions with catalogs, including the Baroque figures of time; Paintings by the Opera Pia dei Poveri Vergognosi, Bologna, Fondazione del Monte di Bologna and Ravenna. As a specialist in Bolognese paintings and drawings of the 17th and 18th centuries, he has published books and essays including on Donato Creti, the drawings of the Certani Collection at the Giorgio Cini Foundation, among others.
Jasmine Spezie: Founder and president of IC Insight Communications, an international branding and cultural strategy specialist with offices in Paris, Milan and Madrid, Jasmine Spezie will act as WopArt’s collectors’ liaison. She will also serve as head of press relations for France, bringing to her role, a breadth of experience in the world of art, culture, luxury and beyond. Her agency, IC Insight Communications, has since its founding in 2003, created bespoke multi-channel communication and branding solutions for clients from the world of art, design and luxury that include renowned galleries, prestigious art institutions, luxury companies, and important art fairs.
Responsible for the Wopart Press Office are:
– Luca Melloni (Milan) for Switzerland and Italy
– Jasmine Spezie (Paris, Milan, Madrid) for France
WopArt’s Theme for the 6th Edition:
“Fluidity”
Robert Phillips, the fair’s Art Director has chosen “FLUIDITY” as the theme of the 6th edition of WopArt 2021.
The inspiration for Robert Phillips’ choice of “FLUIDITY” is illustrated by this quote by Hermann Hesse:
Fluid, without any reason to belong. Just as it is not possible to bathe twice in the same water in the similar way the soul of art lives as suspended in the life of the middle.
The theme of “Fluidity” will be showcased as a headline at the entrance to the Pavilions and at a special exhibition of watercolors by Hermann Hesse. This exceptional exhibition is made possible by generous loans from the Hesse Foundation, based in Montagnola (Lugano), and from private collections.
A detail chosen from one of Hermann Hesse’s watercolors along with the quote: “The depths are to be found in the spaces of clarity and serenity,” will be featured on all communication by the fair.
Finally, WopArt has appointed a new Honor’s Committee, the members of which (to be announced shortly) will be working alongside the fair’s Scientific Committee.