Periphery-born and one of the most influential international contemporary art galleries today, the story of Galleria Continua is founded on authentic passion and nurtured by an array of virtues held by the gallery founders and their team. It is one of those tales we crave to listen to and dream of being part of. There is genuine love, a family-like friendship that spreads to everyone who comes to visit, and unprecedented, life-long loyalty. There is art, both brought to the location and created in situ, and a larger-than-life passion for ensuring groundbreaking art projects see the light of day. As a matter of fact, Continua founders noted more than once during our meeting this year in San Gimignano that every gallerist knows that helping artists create their boldest projects, which will make part of the history of art, is a real victory for every gallerist. Finally, there is the unique location where the Continua expansive art adventure started— the Tuscan heart of Italy with breathtaking sunrises and untouched, unpretentious lands spreading as far as the eye can see.
The September event, taking place mainly in the gallery’s longest-established location — the cinema/theatre of San Gimignano — comprised two parts. One was the international preview of a documentary, “Galleria Continua. The Ability to Dream,” produced and made by Sky Arte and TIWI, which takes on the remarkable story of the gallery. Another one was the exhibition, a tribute to sixty-six artists represented by the gallery. At a certain point of the documentary, which we watched together with gallery friends and enthusiasts in the cinema/theatre, Anish Kapoor talks about the unparalleled “ability to dream” that characterises the team of Galleria Continua. According to the artist, approaching other gallerists and producers with such innovative ideas for art projects is rarely welcomed with such excitement. At Continua, on the contrary, “fear is not part of the equation.” So Kapoor felt overjoyed when one of the gallery founders, Lorenzo Fiaschi, eagerly approved of his concept for the site-specific installation “Ascension” (2003-2015). At Continua, there is always a way — affirm other artists, each in their own words. So, how did this suburbs-originated gallery receive trust and an astounding number of generous reviews from top global artists? Let’s have a look at how it all started.
Three young friends — Mario Cristiani, Lorenzo Fiaschi, and Maurizio Rigillo — opened Galleria Continua in Via della Rocca in San Gimignano in 1990. They came up with the idea after returning from a trip to Paris, which, for some of them, was their first-ever foreign escapade. As you’d expect, these hungry-for-life young minds were stunned by the vitality of such a big city and its great cultural offer. After coming home, filled with energy to create their own future, Mario, Lorenzo, and Maurizio decide to launch a business. “Let’s open a “crêperie” — suggests one of the three San Gimignano “musketeers.” Nota bene, another nickname they gained over the years is “the Beatles of contemporary art.” They were also compared to “a rock group or a great sports team” by Dino Vannini, Sky’s Head of Documentary and Factual Channels.
“Crêperie? I’ve got enough of this French craze; let’s start a galerie, instead!”, proposes another member of the upcoming gallery core – still with a French accent. When they reflect on these light-hearted talks from over thirty years ago, they also recall another reason why they preferred to set up a gallery over the pancake business. Our beginner entrepreneurs at that time figured out that opening a bar would require much more financial input than an artist-powered gallery operation. However, during our meeting, the founders openly shared that they had worked hard on the gallery development for ten years before earning their first profit.
The plan to open a gallery was as genuine as it was refreshing for their immediate surroundings. Mario, Lorenzo, and Maurizio, assisted by their mentor Luciano Pistoi, chose to bring contemporary art to a rural context, far from busy metropolises and cultural centres. The historical and artistic heritage of San Gimignano is proud of its masterpieces of Italian art, including works by Benozzo Gozzoli, Ghirlandaio, and Pollaiolo. As the gallery founders explained, even though today we might define them as ancient, they were contemporary at the time of their creation. This observation brings us to the root of the gallery’s belief that it’s essential to continue to support, promote, and enhance today’s artistic experiments to make new stories and memories. Along with this train of thought, the name “Continua” appears —it embodies the concept of connecting the past, present, and future. So, not only does Galleria Continua beautifully enable continuity between the centuries—as they underline in their statement—but it also aspires to participate in the writing of the history of the present day. Another of their great aims is no less crucial in today’s tumultuous world: celebrating the diversity of places, cultures, individuals, and communities.
But what happened for 32 years between the gallery’s humble beginnings and its evident global success? Continua today has eight locations across five continents. They were the first foreign gallery with an international program to open in China in 2004. In 2007, they inaugurated a new space in the Parisian Les Moulins, then in 2015, in Havana, Cuba, and also in 2020, inside The St. Regis Rome Hotel in Rome. The same year, Continua welcomed its new location in São Paulo, Brazil, within the Pacaembu sports complex with an inclusive space far from the white cube canon. In 2021, they set up a new space in Dubai at the Burj al-Arab, the iconic sail-shaped building off Jumeirah beach. Also in 2021, the gallery arrived in the heart of Paris, in the Marais district. With their increasing international success, another question arises – have they ever lost their true spirit on their way to becoming recognized globally? Not even close! In their new locations, it’s not only possible to visit exhibitions, but a visitor can also buy food and wine products and enjoy delicious ice cream, a fruit of the collaboration with the San Gimignano-based Gelateria Dondoli. It’s an open secret that cuisine is one of the most-appreciated Italian export goods. The gallery’s greatly cherished, by-now-retired cook Marisa Borghi, who has been satisfying the culinary desires of the Continua team and guests throughout the entire history of the gallery, couldn’t have gained more applause for her tremendous contribution during the September event at the gallery!
The expression “The Ability to Dream” is a part of the title of both the current exhibition at San Gimignano’s Continua location and a brand-new documentary about the gallery. Check out the documentary trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3U2nqHvAhn8. Dino Vannini, Sky’s Head of Documentary and Factual Channels, claims the reason why Sky Arte has decided to dedicate a documentary to the telling of over a thirty year long story of the gallery’s activity through the images, memories, and voices of some of the protagonists is due to Continua’s ability to “demonstrate that nothing is impossible for those who pursue a dream with commitment.” Vannini also mentions that “the penchant for risk, the courage, the strokes of genius and the kindness of founders Lorenzo, Mario and Maurizio have made Continua unique in its kind, an example of vision, hard work, and passion.” Speaking of the influence, in 1990, parallel to the gallery, the Continua team also founded Associazione Arte Continua APS. Its core message is corporate social responsibility, creating connections between art, architecture, and landscape, and fostering “giving art the central role in the construction of cities and local territories while respecting the natural, historical, and human context,” as affirmed by Mario Cristiani, the Association’s President. Thanks to the association’s efforts, for instance, 21 artworks by internationally renowned artists have become permanent installations in Tuscany. Other noteworthy recent initiatives are “Alberi in Versi” by Giuseppe Penone in the Uffizi Galleries in Florence and the “Anthony Gormley a Prato” exhibitions, and a series of online meetings “La città del futuro” (The City of the Future), dealing with art, technology, social responsibility, circularity, forestry, ruralization, and urban regeneration. Not to mention the Associazione’s financial contributions; they donated two million euros as a continuation of their fundraising campaign “Arte x Vino = Acqua,” launched in the global year of water (2003). The Association also has an ongoing fundraising campaign, “Arte per Riforestazione” (Art for Reforestation), focusing on our oxygen needs.
The exhibition was conceived as an homage to the artists represented by the gallery. Many attended the event in person including Pascale Marthine Tayou, Nedko Solakov, Jose Yaque, Hans Op de Beeck, Serse, Sabrina Mezzaqui, Subodh Gupta, Arcangelo Sassolino, Loris Cecchini, Giovanni Ozzola, Marta Spagnoli, Xu Min (widow of Chen Zhen), and Sisley Xhafa. The exhibition shows works representing the unique bond between Galleria Continua and its sixty-six artists created over the years. Thanks to “the mark they have left, their contribution, and the roads they have opened and embarked upon, this story has taken shape and has been able to develop and unfold over the years as a fresh and colourful storyline,” as written by Continua. The exhibition was designed as an immersive experience full of “unusual objects, fantastic characters, and installations that play with light and colour or defy the laws of physics, space, and time.” The location used to present artworks is fundamental, evoking visions and sensations from other eras. Most artworks can be seen at The Cinema Teatro Nuovo in San Gimignano, which also used to be a popular meeting spot for the local community. After a long period of inactivity, it was almost transformed into tourist housing and accommodation. Yet, since the gallery came to the site in 1995, the building has inspired many artists and become the protagonist of some renowned artworks.
During the meeting, the Continua team shared multiple heartwarming and wise stories, starting with their love-for-art powered beginnings and concluded with plans for the future. It’s worth noting that Continua has never had a strategy or plan. Instead, it evolved parallel to life as an ordinary, zealous human story. Continua founders mentioned, half-jokingly, that if there is a plan, there is always a chance that it goes astray. Yet, if there is no plan, nothing can go wrong. The gallery wants to be a meeting point for people and to do so through art. It was born and grew as a fruit of heartfelt passion, giving its founders the feeling of being useful to others through and thanks to art. Antony Gormley emphasises this aspect by declaring in the documentary that artworks have no value if they are not shared and diffused.
The international film premiere of the documentary produced and created by Sky Arte and Tiwi and exhibition opening, with artists: Adel Abdessemed, Etel Adnan, Ai Weiwei, Leila Alaoui, Juan Araujo, Kader Attia, Daniel Buren, Cai Guo-Qiang, Alejandro Campins, Iván Capote, Yoan Capote, Loris Cecchini, Elizabet Cerviño, Chen Zhen, Nikhil Chopra, Marcelo Cidade, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Jonathas de Andrade, Berlinde De Bruyckere, Leandro Erlich, Carlos Garaicoa, Osvaldo González, Antony Gormley, Gu Dexin, Shilpa Gupta, Subodh Gupta, Carsten Höller, JR, Ilya & Emilia Kabakov, Zhanna Kadyrova, Kan Xuan, Anish Kapoor, André Komatsu, Jannis Kounellis, Luis López-Chávez, Jorge Macchi, Ahmed Mater, Cildo Meireles, José Manuel Mesías, Sabrina Mezzaqui, Moataz Nasr, Hans Op de Beeck, Ornaghi & Prestinari, Giovanni Ozzola, Susana Pilar, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Qiu Zhijie, Tobias Rehberger, Arcangelo Sassolino, Manuela Sedmach, Serse, Kiki Smith, Nedko Solakov, Marta Spagnoli, José Antonio Suárez Londoño, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Sun Yuan & Peng Yu, Ana Maria Tavares, Pascale Marthine Tayou, Armando Testa, Nari Ward, Sislej Xhafa, José Yaque;
24/09/2022 – 30/10/2022
