Young Milanese Antique Dealers

New group within the Milanese antiques dealers' association

Interview with Isabella Danesini

LThe concrete perception of a lack is the spark from which the question arises to fill it. It is clear that this is a banal concept, yet in reality how many times do we notice our own or others' needs but not have the strength, courage or energy to act and react! It is indeed a certain fact that the art and antiques market in particular has undergone major transformations in recent years. It is already a fact that customers inevitably follow fashions and trends, aligning themselves with new lifestyles, new needs and above all new desires.

It was and is therefore necessary to respond to this new need.
The person who understood and decided (and the true strength lies in the combination of the two actions) to gather the many voices of discomfort and react with a new idea was Isabella Danesini.

Restorer of paintings, wife of Paolo Giovanella, owner of Ghilli Antichità. Isabella has been a councilor on the board of the Milan Antique Dealers Association since 2015. In 2017, with the enthusiasm and will that distinguish her, she sought consensus on the idea of ​​establishing a group of young antique dealers with the aim of renewing and revitalizing the world of antiques in Milan.

Isabella can you tell us how you started to shape the idea of ​​a group?

“The idea was born when I discussed it with my husband, precisely to make a change. Then I proposed the project to my dear friend Domenico Piva, president of the association, and it all began"
It was a project that had to be pursued to reawaken in the most willing the desire for concreteness in solving a problem, as far as possible, and above all to stir up a sense of collective responsibility.

Where did you actually start from? What was the incipit?

“Once the project was approved, I said to myself “well Isabella now you have to find young people…” I thought it was complex but instead right at the beginning, talking about it with some very young antique dealers like Federico Cortona, Valeria Ricci or Camilla Pescetta, Alessandra Giglio… it was it's all an evolution and even today there are young people who call me to join the group. We started with about ten and now the enlarged group is about forty." By definition, new things are not always welcomed with enthusiasm, either due to misunderstanding or because they disturb the usual methods achieved with years of hard work and therefore considered the most correct.

Yet, novelty is not always a breaking of the status quo or a deviation from the marked path. Sometimes the novelty is simply finding the right connection. How to bind chemical elements already in nature to create a new compound (and we don't want to talk about viruses and antiviruses, for goodness sake). In our case, the novelty lies not only in having created a new compound but above all in having found the force of cohesion and collaboration that binds the elements. In this Isabella Danesini was and is truly a teacher every day.

Isabella tell us about the binder that makes the group cohesive and operational.

“I think the strength of our group is precisely its diversity. Each of us deals with different works, different eras and above all we work in different ways. Of course, keeping the group together is not easy, on the other hand it is an uphill road to implement change and above all it takes a long time"

However, the desire to bond and the joy of not precluding anything are the driving forces of this group because they are also the characteristics of young people. The desire to share problems, the pleasure of being together, setting high goals without fear of making mistakes and with the desire to try. Above all, the ability to overshadow personal interests and, indeed, the certainty that personal interests are protected in collective cooperation. Isabella How and when does your group work?

“We found ourselves (I speak in the imperfect because now the modality has changed) with a certain frequency in the moments of a working day, at lunch or during aperitif time, perfect moments for the kids to bring out the best with serenity, without feeling forced and leaving their thoughts free."

The chorality of the group and especially of a group of young people could make one think of a clash of voices and in fact sometimes it happens that the ideas mix or that some voices get lost but Isabella brings the notes back to the staves. Is it true Isabella?

“Of course, sometimes there are difficulties in coordinating and I often request more participation with appeals but I am not discouraged, on the contrary, I look for members every day, so that more voices can be added to the choir, each with some idea to express”.

Another great idea of ​​yours was to create a collaboration with other young people, parallel worlds that intersect.

Exact. The Giovani Antiquari Milanesi group in turn is a voice in the chorus of other voices of young Milanese people engaged in the cultural promotion of our artistic heritage. For example, the youth group of the Poldi Pezzoli Museum, the youth group of the FAI and the youth group of the Bagatti Valsecchi museum with whom a fruitful alliance has been formed in carrying forward projects, disciplinary connections and exchange of experiences".

The Giovani's projects were many: the precious collaboration to create Amart, the art and antiques fair in Milan after years of absence of such an important event for the city. The Gala Amart event, a splendid party at Palazzo Bovara which surprised everyone with the number of participants and the success of the fundraising aimed at the restoration of a work from the Poldi Pezzoli Museum.
The party has been widely talked about as a new event, do you want to tell us about it?

“The idea of ​​organizing a party for young people to introduce them to art was Alessandra Giglio's and with Gala Amart it was truly a battle won! The guys worked hard and personally to make it happen: they procured materials, thought about the music, set up a corner, in short, everything from scratch! Really exciting. And they were rewarded with everyone's applause.
We were already ready to organize the second Amart Gala last year, this time in collaboration with FAI, but the pandemic stopped us".

The group's activity now, given the impossibility created by the pandemic, is entirely virtual but always aimed at obtaining very concrete results. The group meets on digital platforms and promotional activities are mostly on Instagram with interviews with group members and live talks also with industry professionals and experts, with the aim of making themselves known but also of communicating the work of the gallery owner and antique dealer.
Isabella, how is this new way of communicating and planning that the pandemic has forced or initiated us into proceeding?

“Some of us have dedicated ourselves strongly to the growth, with images and contents, of our social networks and this has produced many contacts with experts, journalists, bloggers, magazines, event organizers and portals. Valeria Ricci exploited this opportunity by creating spring talks on the young people's Instagram profile."

With media globalisation, online omniscience, everyone knows everything and often lose sight of (or don't know where to look for) the auctoritas, those accredited voices that those who are not in the profession don't know where to find.
This also happens in the world of art, a world for everyone but not so easy to understand and really love. This is demonstrated by the distancing of most people from ancient art and antiques to embrace (always consciously?) modern art.
Isabella, what do you think young antique dealers should communicate to other young people?

“The purpose of this group is to keep alive the interest and love for a treasure that only our country has so richly.
You don't need to own a Raphael to call yourself a lover of ancient art, on the contrary, refinement lies in appreciating the painting, the sculpture, as well as an eighteenth-century piece of furniture or an ancient majolica". Luxury and culture are manifested in tasting them together with a tea served in a Meissen porcelain cup. One cannot help but be curious to discover this now rare but rare luxury only because it seems far away.

It is therefore really worth discovering this refinement by following the group of young antique dealers, a small army of culture tenaciously led by Isabella Danesini.

Edited by Isabella Balzarini