Emilio Vedova, De America, 2013-2014, exhibition view, Galleria dello Scudo, Verona. Courtesy Galleria dello Scudo Verona. Photo: Studio Vandrasch, Milan
Since its foundation in 1968, Galleria dello Scudo has devoted its activity to showing modern and contemporary art. Together with public institutions it has organized major historic exhibitions with a strictly systematic approach, including De Chirico, gli anni Venti, 1986-87; Afro, l’itinerario astratto, 1989; Boccioni 1912 Materia, 1991-92; Marino Marini, mitografia, 1994-1995; Fausto Melotti teatrini, 1996-97; Morandi ultimo – nature morte 1950-1964, 1997-98; De Chirico, gli anni Trenta, 1998-99; Pietro Consagra, necessità del colore, 2007-08; Alberto Burri, opera al nero, 2012-13; Emilio Vedova, De America, 2013-14; Antonio Sanfilippo, segno e immagine, 2015-16; Leoncillo, materia radicale, 2018-19.
Leoncillo, San Sebastiano I e II, 2018, exhibition view, Galleria dello Scudo, Verona. Courtesy Galleria dello Scudo, Verona. Photo: Studio Vandrasch, Milan
Galleria dello Scudo also continues to present works by Carla Accardi, Giacomo Balla, Giuseppe Capogrossi, Piero Dorazio, Lucio Fontana, Piero Manzoni, Gastone Novelli, Angelo Savelli, Salvatore Scarpitta, Toti Scialoja, Gino Severini and Tancredi, as well as works by contemporary artists such as Gianni Dessì, Giovanni Frangi, Giuseppe Gallo, Marco Gastini, Eliseo Mattiacci, Nunzio, Luigi Ontani, Arcangelo Sassolino and Giuseppe Spagnulo.
Arcangelo Sassolino, D.P.D.U.F.A. (Dilatazione Pneumatica Di Una Forza Attiva), 2019-2020, exhibition view, Galleria dello Scudo, Verona. Courtesy Galleria dello Scudo, Verona. Photo: Agostino Osio/Alto Piano
“The artists? I believed and still believe in those who combine creating art with critical thinking that is never banal. ”
Massimo Di Carlo. Courtesy Galleria dello Scudo, Verona. Photo: Claudio Abate, Rome
In conversation with Massimo Di Carlo, Galleria dello Scudo
Is there a “Made in Italy” aspect to your work? What distinguishes the Italian art scene?
“Made in Italy” is known the world over for the beauty, balance and excellence that characterize artistic expressions and artifacts in general. In fifty years of running Galleria dello Scudo, I made a specific choice: Italian art only, often going against the fashions and trends of the time. The artists? I believed and still believe in those who combine creating art with critical thinking that is never banal.
What do you predict for the future of the art system in your sector? What is the greatest challenge that you’ll have to face?
We live in an age of “challenges.” Never has a term been more used and abused. We’re not merely actors called to the market scene. Today, the commitment lies in being able to do one’s job with clarity, being aware of a future that, even in post-Covid times, could have some unpredictable developments in store.
Galleria dello Scudo, Verona. Courtesy Galleria dello Scudo, Verona
How did your career in art begin?
Art has always been in my family. One great-grandmother was an antiques dealer, and had galleries in Bologna, Paris and St. Moritz. She then passed on that passion to my mother: after taking a degree in Chemistry, she enrolled in the Faculty of Arts, specializing in Art History. Then came the idea of the art gallery. She started running it with a partner on December 1, 1969, and I joined in 1971.
When and how did you open your gallery?
When I started working at the gallery, I was just twenty years old and studying at the Faculty of Law in Padua. Already in those days, the gallery only dealt in Italian art, convinced of its extraordinary quality. This choice was confirmed at international trade fairs, even when it would have been easier to sell a painting by Picasso, or who knows which other foreign artist. So, it doesn’t get more Italic than that!
Why did you choose this city?
I was born in Milan, where I lived until liceo classico, the senior secondary school. Then my family moved to Verona for work-related reasons. I’ve never considered opening other branches of the gallery. I’ve never felt the need. It has always been important for me to build and maintain a single point of reference, the strongest one possible, clearly identified and recognizable.
