Founded by Javier Peres in 2002, Peres Projects is a contemporary art gallery promoting contemporary international artists to a global audience. The gallery represents and supports a diverse group of artists throughout their careers, who often demonstrate inter-disciplinary, and experimental practices.
The program focuses on nurturing ambitious projects by the represented artists, in dialogue with leading institutions and scholars, with the goal of expanding their presence internationally. Since the gallery’s inception, it has operated project spaces and presented important exhibitions of contemporary art internationally. Currently it has locations in Berlin, Seoul and Milan.
Rafa Silvares, Toboga Vesuvius, installation view, Peres Project, Milan. Courtesy Peres Projects. Photo: t-space studio
Exhibitions
City
Exhibition
Date
Milano
Dressed to Leave This World, Dalton Gata
Until 20.12.2024
“The mission and aim of the gallery have always been, and remain, identifying the most exciting new artists and creating a wider audience for them.”
Javier Peres ritratto da Piotr Niepsuj
In conversation with Javier Peres, Peres Projects
What is your background?
I studied law and diplomacy and practised law in the San Francisco Bay Area. At that time, my interest in art was more focused on collecting and art history. I’d never thought about opening a gallery, but once I decided that was what I wanted to do, I never looked back.
How did your career in art begin?
I was in San Francisco during the dot-com boom, which meant I was very well acquainted with the start-up scene. So when I opened my first gallery, I had the specific intention of bringing a new synergy to what I wanted to create, that is, an environment that nurtured creativity in a forward-thinking way. I wanted to bring a different energy, to promote artists I valued and who I thought were not getting the right level of attention.
Why did you choose Milan?
Milan is an amazing city with a rich cultural heritage and strong entrepreneurial communities in the fields of art, culture, finance and fashion. We wanted to stay in Europe, a change of lifestyle that could also give us the chance to expand Peres Projects. Milan was the ideal choice because of its strategic location; being so close to France and Switzerland has definitely been an advantage, and travelling from here to the rest of the world is very easy.
Are you a collector?
We collect art from various “categories”, including contemporary art, classical African art and also contemporary and vintage design, in particular Italian design from the Memphis Group. When it comes to collecting contemporary art, our main focus is the artists we work with and represent. We always try to collect their work in as complete a manner as possible, depending, of course, on the availability of the work. Apart from that, there are other artists we collect but do not represent, or artists we no longer handle but continue to collect.
Dylan Solomon Kraus, “Holy Unrest”, installation view, Peres Projects, Milano. Courtesy Peres Projects. Images: t-space studio
How do you see your gallery in ten years’ time?
The mission and aim of the gallery have always been, and remain, identifying the most exciting new artists and creating a wider audience for them. This has always been our prime mission and continues to be the thing that gives us the most satisfaction, as well as how we make a greater contribution to the art community.
