In 2013, Italy’s contemporary modern art sector saw a slight increase, pushed forward by the vivacity of an international market whose limits are steadily expanding as countries with a high economic potential such as China, Russia and Brazil have recently started to get involved with the art system.

In any case, in Italy too it is possible to close some rewarding deals, provided you follow with curiosity all those promising artists that are not only showing potentials, but that in addition of being involved in projects that will help them to get established and recognised on a worldwide level, also can demonstrate to have the right past and the right biography.

From now on, every month we will recommend some names worth following.

For all Spatialism-lovers

Paolo Scheggi

Deceased in 1971 aged 30, just like Manzoni he has been defined as Italian art’s enfant prodige. Born in Florence but raised in Milan, after he was discovered by Fontana he moved from the Azimuth roaster to the Zero group. A lesser known artist if compared to fellow spatialists Bonalumi and Castellani, Scheggi at the moment looks like a viable investment as his quotations today are still accessible  (€20/50,000) and growing. After the recent London exhibition at Dorotheum (Ronchini Gallery) in May 2014, his  “Zone Riflesse” was valued a record-breaking  €573,000. Extremely promising.

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From heads to paper

Luca Pignatelli

With one exhibition in Naples at the Capodimonte museum and one in Milan at the M77 Gallery, the 1962-born Italian artist is currently enjoying his creative maturity to the fullest, which has pushed him to experiment with new techniques and new shapes. Son of renowned painter Ercole Pignatelli,  Luca has now moved from traditional representations to a more informal style that should open the doors to wider international markets.  Quotations between €20,000 and €100,000 place him in an optimal range for future growth.

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Abstractist as a destiny

Roberto Floreani

He is one of the best Italian abstractists and despite not being what today could be defined as ‘cutting edge’, Floreani remains faithful to his decade-long dedicated quest for some archetypical shapes that reflect our world, circles in particular. Venice-born but raised in Vicenza, Floriani doesn’t live in the public eye: he was invited to Venice Biennale in 2009 and next fall he will have the privilege to exhibit his paintings in Verona, at the historic Palazzo della Gran Guardia. Followed by tenacious collectors, Floriani produces artwork that rarely reaches the auction market however quotations are still accessible. A safe investment.

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Post-wood sculpting

Aron Demetz

Forty five years old, tall, blond, blue eyes. Alto Adige born Aron Demetz started his career by producing some refined wooden kuros. As time went by, his quest for human body shapes evolved from the formal desire to represent the body’s exterior beauty to the almost expressionist attempt to capture the deepness of the human soul reflecting on the skin. It’s not by chance that his technique moved from wood to bronze, and then again to burned wood often covered in resins.  His artwork has been valued between €15,000 and €90,000, Demetz is part of the small group of young Italian artists that have managed to establish themselves on both sides of the Alps.

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From Val Masino to Moscow

Alex Folla

Alex Folla: he hasn’t reached 35 years of age yet, he lives in the Val Masino mountains, a mixed Romanian and Valtellina heritage, he paints just like a high-quote Caravaggio. In February, he featured in an exhibition at Moscow’s Triumph Gallery, right on Red Square,  showcasing thirteen pieces focused on a religious theme, featuring saints revisited in a modern key. His artwork echoes of  fifteenth century paintings, sprinkled with unprejudiced contemporaneity. From June 18, 2014 Folla will be showcasing his work in Forte dei Marmi, at Villa Bertelli, which will include his series “Falene”, naked bodies surprised in all their primordial decay. Plenty of talent, quotations still to be defined.  ideal for those who want to bet on young generations.