Angela Vettese offers us an in-depth look at her working method and the transformations of the art system: a conversation that spans several historical moments between memory, present and some advice for the future. Through the lenses of a multifaceted career (curator, critic, university professor and writer), Angela Vettese shares her vision with clarity and with the strength of a direct and consolidated experience.

Art critic, curator and author, Angela Vettese (Treviglio, 1959) has always placed the fluidity of critical thinking at the centre of her work, valorising the continuous changes in the way of understanding contemporary art and bearing witness to some historical changes in artistic and curatorial practice. A tenured professor at the IUAV University of Venice, she teaches in the master’s course in Visual Arts, contributing to the training of new generations of curators and artists. She has curated exhibitions for prestigious institutions such as the Galleria Civica in Modena –where she created Yayoi Kusama’s first solo exhibition in an Italian museum –and the Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa in Venice, collaborating with artists of the calibre of Ugo Rondinone, Richard Hamilton and Yoko Ono. In addition to her curatorial and teaching activities, she has carried out an intense critical production, writing for newspapers such as Il Sole 24 Oreand publishing fundamental essays on the theory of curation and the evolution of the contemporary art system. Her experience allows her to offer a sharp and disenchanted look at cultural dynamics, underlining the importance of a rigorous approach and political awareness for those who want to undertake this profession.
The interview was born from the meeting that took place during the presentation of the recent restoration of La materia dell’ornamento, a work by Joseph Kosuth set up on the façade of the Fondazione Querini Stampalia in Venice.

AN INTERVIEW WITH ANGELA VETTESE

Throughout your career, you’ve observed many different approaches to curatorial practice. What do you think remains constant in this work, and what changes as cultural and institutional dynamics evolve?
I’ve seen the role of the curator become more defined and grow, especially as it began to replace that of the critic. Critics, who once had a primary role as commentators and writers, also took on the role of exhibition designers. Today, a curator chooses a theme, develops it by selecting the artists for a show, handles the installation (or chooses someone to do it in agreement with them), selects a publisher, and follows the production of the catalogue: it’s a job that begins with a theoretical idea and unfolds through countless practical actions.This isn’t entirely new ‒artists were among the first curators in the avant-garde movements, from Marcel Duchamp (International Exhibition of Surrealism, 1938) to Robert Morris (9 at Leo Castelli, 1968), and even Maurizio Cattelan’s early curatorial efforts (Wrong GalleryandBerlin Biennale, 2006). Alongside them were seminal curators like Pontus Hulte n, Kynaston McShine, and Harald Szeemann from the 1960s onward.Today, what was once a revolutionary shift in roles is becoming a canon: actions such as studio visits, space visits, co-installation with the artist have become obligatory steps, as have certain formats for didactic and informational materials (labels, catalogues, short guides), which now tend to feel repetitive among current curators.

Curators are often called upon to translate the artistic process into an exhibition or a text. What is the curator’s responsibility in this process? And when, in your opinion, is curatorial work truly effective?
I appreciate curatorial work that gives value to the artworks, that givesthem space, that doesn’t use artists merely to amplify a curator’s worldview.

What are the lesser-known difficulties of curatorial work ‒the ones rarely discussed but with a real impact on the process of creating an exhibition?
The relationship with artists isn’t always easy, especially when they lack clarity in their ideas or have egos that are hard to manage. It takes a lot of patience, especially in creating harmony among the artists as people, and among their works as objects that define the exhibition’s path.

THE CAREER OF ANGELA VETTESE

Is there a show or project you curated that left a lasting impression on you ‒not just for the final result but for the process behind it? What made it special or significant?
I should say first that I’m not “primarily” a curator, as I don’t have much patience for the unexpected.Curating the 1998 and 1999 editions of Arte all’Artewith the Associazione Arte Continua, alongside Florian Matzner, was a great experience (the artists included Eliasson, Rehberger, Kosuth, Buren, Paolini, Erkmen, Theis, Paladino).
Then I didn’t have much time and above all I got discouraged: two group exhibitions that I cared about, the 52nd Premio Michetti, which exposed the theme of the two shores of the Adriatic in times of great inequality, as well as the Dire Aidsexhibition at the Promotrice in Turinturned out to be extremely difficult due to budget cuts and institutional challenges.Since 2001, I’ve dedicated much of my time to university teaching and directing institutions, so I’ve mostly curated solo exhibitions in the museums I’ve led: I fondly remember the Yayoi Kusama show at Galleria Civica di Modena, her first solo exhibition in Italy; Ugo Rondinone’s solo show in Modena, with the help of his then-partner, the poet John Giorno, who gifted me magical moments; and also Richard Hamilton’s show at the Bevilacqua La Masa Foundation in Venice, with the involvement of his wife, son, and the entire Venetian staff, with great precision, but also fun. Other memorable exhibitions include solo shows by Rebecca Horn, Yoko Ono, Peter Doig at Bevilacqua La Masa in Venice, and Magdalena Abakanowicz at the Fondazione Pomodoro in Milan.
However, I would not have had the strength of character for a collective exhibition with two hundred participants. It takes a beastly physique.

In the contemporary art world, we often talk about networking and professional relationships. How important have human connections been in your career? Have any encounters with curators or artists significantly shaped your experience?
There are curators I admire and have learned a lot from, even just by observing them like Ute Meta Bauer and Marta Kuzma‒, both peers and younger professionals. I’ve learned less from the “old masters”: they were often quite possessive of their know -how, and their working methods are not really repeatable today.

ANGELA VETTESE AND THE ART WORLD

We often describe a career as a linear path, but in reality it’s full of detours, accelerations, and pauses. Looking back, is there something you would do again, but in a different way?
I think I should have continued directing museums instead of focusing on academia. But I don’t like to dwell on missed opportunities. There’s also a kind of glass ceiling: every time I was offered the directorship of an important museum ‒and it happened at least three times ‒, I was eventually pushed aside in favourof equally qualified candidates who had more explicit political backing. You don’t get handed a museum with a significant budget unless you’re the choice of a political figure with enough power to put you there.

In your opinion, does art criticism still make sense today? Does it still serve a function ‒whether positive or negative?
I enjoy writing, but I’d rather describe myself as a chronicler. It’s something I’ve always done for newspapers and in the books I write. I’m not even sure how to define criticism anymore ‒ and I don’t think I’m the only one.

If you had to distil one piece of advice from your journey, what would you say to someone who wants to enter this profession today?
I’d say the level of professionalism required today is very high, so one must train thoroughly and also spend time abroad. If you want to work in Italy, you’ll need specific political alliances. Otherwise, you’ll work outside the country, where that issue is less intrusive. In a constantly shifting artistic landscape, Angela Vettese leaves us with a lucid and pragmatic reflection: being a curator today means moving with awareness between passion, external influences, and pragmatism. Love for art is not enough ‒ it takes a beastly physique, and perhaps a touch of disillusionment. But for those willing to put themselves on the line, opportunities do exist. And who knows ‒ maybe the right path lies hidden in the detours and pauses.

Leonardo Piazza