Verso nuovi continenti creativi ("Toward new creative continents"), Angela Mollisi's in-depth look at the vision of Primo Marella, a gallery owner who has been able to look beyond the boundaries of Western art, bringing to light talent from Asia and Africa, has been released.
From China to India, from Southeast Asia to the African continent, Marella discovered and enhanced artists who today find space in the world's most important biennials and museum collections. A journey that has not been limited to the marketplace, but has helped change the way global art is viewed and appreciated.
Article translation:
Until just under two decades ago, Asian and African creative production was little more than a side note in the great contemporary art book. Today, these artistic espressions dominate international fairs, biennials, and the collections of the world's most prestigious museums. An epochal change that did not happen by chance, but thanks to the vision and work of pioneers like Primo Marella.
His journey began in Milan in the early 1990s, at a time when his life was divided between two seemingly irreconcilable worlds. By day he devotes himself to corporate rescues, dealing with crises and corporate restructuring. In his spare time, however, he immerses himself in the study of contemporary art. “It was my passion, my way to regenerate my mind after intense days of work,” the gallery owner recalls. In 1991, still engaged in his core business, Marella opened his first gallery in Milan, with a focus on American art. “I soon realized that it could not remain a secondary commitment. I wanted to do something meaningful, something that went beyond just buying and selling works.”
At a time when galleries focus almost exclusively on Italian and/or Western production, Marella poses a riveting question: ”How is it possible that Asia, with its rich tradition, advanced technology, and huge number of inhabitants, has nothing interesting to offer the art world?” That insight prompted him, in the mid-1990s, to embark on several explo- rative trips to China and other Asian countries.
In 2004 he made a bold move: he became the first European gallerist to open a space in Beijing, completely immersing himself in the local art scene. “Visiting Chinese academies” he says, ”I discovered an incredible creative wealth. There were cutting-edge infrastructures for video art and photography, but all this remained hidden from the outside world because of political restrictions.” Marella's work proves fondamental in bringing contemporary Chinese art to the attention of the occidental public. “We have presented many artists, even at less than ten thousand francs, who have successively had remarkable revaluation in Christie's and Sotheby's auctions,” he explains. These include names that have now become landmarks in the inter- national art scene, such as Zang Xiao- gang, Liu Wei, and Chen Ke. However, the political climate in China proves to be an increasing challenge. “Censorship was oppressive. Many artists had problems, some were even jailed, their operations confiscated: my collaborators in China even suffered intimidation from law enforcement.
In 2011, we were forced to close the Beijing gallery, but our commitment to these artists has never ceased.” In parallel, the gallery also extends its gaze to Indonesia, the Philippines, and India, Japan, Vietnam, Myanmar, just to name a few examples.
Since 2008 Primo Marella has been expanding his research to Africa, discovering and promoting artists who now exhibit in the world's most prestigious museums. Recognition of his work extends far beyond the gallery world: the Tate Modern in London recently acquired Abdoulaye Konaté's Intolerance, which Marella has represented for years. One of the artist's works was also acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Looking to the future, the gallerist sees a growing importance of African art on the international scene. “The appointment of Koyo Kouoh, current director of the Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town, as curator of the Venice Biennale 2026 is sicurably a sign of that change and a recognition of the work she has done to bring African art to the world's attention.” The gallery owner's vision is also confirmed by the continued presence of his artists at the Venice Biennale. In 2024 Troy Makaza and Moffat Takadiwa exhibited in the Zimbabwe pavilion, Robert Zhao Renhui in the Singapore pavilion, and Hako Hankson in the Cameroon pavilion.
The gallerist's innovative approach continues to evolve, embracing new art forms and emerging trends from different parts of the world. One example is the exhibition opening tomorrow, Saturday, March 1, Gaze into the Distance by Kenji Sugiyama. The Japanese artist creates detailed miniatures of bookstores, museums and cinematographs, working with painstaking precision and applicating principles of optics to create striking illusions of depth. In parallel, Marella has never lost sight of the evolution of European art, particularly Italian art. His tireless talent scouting has brought to light artists such as Alessandro Sicioldr and Agostino Arrivabene, now represented by his gallery. These creatives reinterpret the antic tradition with a contemporary sensibility, rich in dreamlike and surreal recalls. “Art is not static, and neither are we,” the gallerist concludes. “We keep searching, discovering, surprising ourselves. Our job is to make sure that these unique artistic voices can be appreciated all over the world.