Voices: Alberta Pane, Paris & Venice
Alberta Pane
Alberta Pane is the owner and founder of her eponymous gallery located in Paris, France and Venice, Italy.
Alberta Pane at the 2018 Venice Biennale.
Tell us about why you decided to open a gallery.
I think I will really know it, only when (and if) I decide to close it.
What is your personal or professional motto?
Always go for the most radical choices!
Why are you passionate about art?
Because it is my positive addiction!
How have you grown as a dealer over the years?
I've grown together with my artists and the fundamental support of the collectors.
Exhibition view, Mutation, 2018, solo show Luciana Lamothe, Alberta Pane Paris, Courtesy of the Gallery
How have you grown as a curator over the years?
I think that curating is implicit in the work of the dealer. It can not be separated.
Tell us about a mentor you had early on in your career and what they taught you.
When my gallery was in rue Saint Claude in Paris, near some very important galleries (including Perrotin), Bernard Utudjian, of the Polaris gallery, really helped me, taking me under his wing.
Name a big overall lesson you've learned in running a gallery.
That there is always something to learn, that nothing is acquired and that it is more difficult to maintain a level and surpass it than to reach it.
What are you busy working on right now?
On the gallery's participation in Future fair, of course! And other new exciting exhibitions!
What does success as a gallery director mean to you?
To be in the vital mechanism of art and to be able to move forward by making the artists I support grow in institutional recognition.
Exhibition view Marie Lelouche, Sensibilite Synthetique, 2017, Alberta Pane Paris, Courtesy of the Gallery.
At what point in your life did you first learn about the art industry? What called you to it?
I've been working in the art field since I was 16 years old. While studying, I was also working at Palazzo Grassi (Pinault Foundation) in Venice. It is from there that everything has started.
What is your favorite thing about your gallery space?
I have two gallery spaces: one in Paris and one in Venice. The Paris one is small, bright, with a glass window overlooking the street. The Venice, a former carpenter's shop, is a very big space, more hidden, to be found and discovered. I like this contraposition and dialogue of the two spaces and the fact that my artists have to deal with different spaces and volumes.
Name a person in the art industry that you admire or look up to and why.
Emmanuel Perrotin, for his enterprise. Chantal Crousel for the exceptional artists she represents.
What does the art world need more? Less of?
More culture and less financial interest.
What is the most important quality you look for in a patron of the gallery and your artists?
They should be: brave, radical, intelligent, curious and professional.
Tell us about one artwork you love living with and why.
For sure the artworks by the artists I have the pleasure to represent.
Tell us about an artwork you recently acquired and why.
Rumore Bianco by Michele Spanghero. A gift from the artist with a clear reference to a book I love by Don DeLillo.
Exhibition view, Extended Architectures, 2018, Alberta Pane Gallery Venice, photo Irene Fanizza, Courtesy of the Gallery