All Eyes Are on Italy as the Art Market’s Next Great Hope Thaddaeus Ropac opens in Milan

By Brian Boucher

[...] Spanning more than 3,000 square feet on the first floor of the landmarked 18th-century Palazzo Belgioioso, the new Ropac outpost is just a few minutes’ walk from the Duomo and opens on Sept. 20 with a show of Georg Baselitz and Lucio Fontana, followed by a show of Valie Export and Ketty La Rocca; Baselitz has worked with Ropac for over 20 years, and is, the dealer says, “part of the gallery’s DNA”; Fontana spent much of his life in the city. Industry veteran Elena Bonanno di Linguaglossa, who will serve as the executive director, was already a resident. She describes Milan as “the most European city in Italy.”

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“Milan has a history of contemporary art-making throughout the 20th century,” Ropac pointed out. “All the Arte Povera artists came out of Milan and Turin.” Today, it’s a city that artist Maurizio Cattelan calls home, as do important collectors such as Gemma de Angelis Testa, Letizia Moratti, and, of course, Miuccia Prada.