Present Future—Emerging Talents Artissima 2023

For three decades, Turin has been celebrating contemporary art, hosting the renowned Artissima (02-05.11.2023). With its unwavering dedication to experimentation and artistic exploration, the event unfolds across the main fair and three curated sections, each helmed by a panel of international curators. With a discerning eye for cutting-edge talent, Saim Demircan and Maurin Dietrich had turned to curate PRESENT FUTURE. Gathered in one place, international artists spanning Mongolia, France, Ukraine, Germany, and beyond, represent new, more significant, and cutting-edge trends on the international art scene. Throughout the fair, both the walls of Oval Lingotto and the dedicated digital platform, Artissima Voice Over, will showcase projects from eight emerging artists, each presented by their respective reference galleries. 

For PRESENT FUTURE, Matèria (Rome) shows a selection of works from Bekhbaatar Enkhtur (b. 1994, Mongolia). The Mongolia-born, Bologna-based artist crafts intricate sculptures using beeswax and clay, exploring closely the universal, intrinsic concept of change. Frequently echoing the forms of animals, his works mirror the fascination with the passage of time and the fleeting nature of being. By molding both organic materials, inherently susceptible to natural deterioration, and inorganic ones, he contemplates the inevitable evolution in meaning and function and how, amidst these changes, the core essence endures. Bekhbaatar’s portfolio boasts an array of projects, including his participation in the artistic duo “Nomadiuk.” During a residency, he ventured into the realm of sound, extending his multidimensional exploration of space.

Vistamare Gallery (Milano and Pescara) features the talents of a Turin native, Sara Enrico (b. 1979, Italy). Enrico’s work delves into the intersections of surfaces, the dynamic relationships between the human body, clothing, and spatial dimensions, earning her prestigious recognitions. Notably, in 2017, she secured the highly esteemed New York Prize, followed by the Menabrea Art Prize within the same year. Beyond her individual accomplishments, she is a co-founder of Laboratorio del Dubbio, a multifaceted residency program and cross-disciplinary platform. From 2008 to 2012, she actively participated in Proteggo Diogone, an artistic collective operating out of an old tram carriage located at a pivotal roundabout in Turin’s public space. Enrico’s academic journey includes studies at the Academy of Fine Art in Turin, supplemented by specialized training in the restoration of ancient paintings and frescoes at the Istituto Spinelli in Florence. In addition to her thriving artistic career, she imparts her knowledge and expertise as a professor of Painting/Visual Arts at the Academy of Fine Art in Bergamo.

Galerie Von & Von (Nurnberg) introduces the young emerging artist Sophia Mainka (b. 1990, Germany). Graduating from the Munich Academy of Fine Arts in 2020, she is currently holding a residency fellowship at the Cité international des Arts in Paris. At the heart of Mainka’s artistic journey lies a fascination with the concept of living space and the sometimes imperceptible boundaries that separate the private and public domain. Themes of security, home, and the essence of living converge in her meticulous studies. Her examination commences with an introspective perspective, grounded in the vantage point of the Western European suburban middle class—a launchpad to contemplate broader questions about power and values that shape our society.

Masha Silchenko (b. 1993, Ukraine), a visual artist, finds her representation through Import Export (Warsaw). Her multifaceted practice spans painting, sculpture, ceramics, and media installations. Silchenko has forged a unique expressive language, anchored in her unconventional training and erudition encompassing art, literature, music, and belief systems like animism, which revolves around themes of love, loss, and longing. Silchenko’s work is characterized by introspection and dreamlike qualities. It presents a constellation of enchanting objects and imaginative figures, seamlessly blurring the boundaries between the realms of nature, inanimate objects, and the spiritual. Having graduated from the ENSBA in Paris, Silchenko has since solidified her position as a resident artist in Jutta Koether’s studio at the Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg. Along her academic journey, she embarked on a one-year exchange program at Geidai Tokyo University of the Arts, focusing her efforts on traditional pottery craftsmanship.

Fons Welters, based in Amsterdam, presents a collection of artworks by Tenant of Culture, the pseudonym of Hendrickje Schimmel (b. 1990, the Netherlands), currently based in London. With an academic background that includes an MA in Textiles from the Royal College of Art in London, this Dutch artist navigates the creative space between sculpture and couture. Tenant of Culture’s body of work showcases fashion’s material and symbolic expressions, frozen in a quasi-fossilized state. Through the deconstruction and reconstruction of mass-produced garments, Tenant of Culture scrutinizes how ideological frameworks and power structures manifest themselves within the processes of garment production, distribution, and marketing. The materials she employs in her textile assemblies are sourced from various points in the garment production cycle, as well as secondary usage channels and discarded items. Her work suggests an inherent potential for both destruction and transformation, echoing the complexities of the fashion industry’s impact on society.

Esther Schipper, with locations in Berlin, Paris, and Seoul, takes the lead in showcasing the work of Cemile Sahin (b. 1990, Germany). This German artist embarked on her artistic education at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London and further refined her skills at the Universität der Künste in Berlin. She currently calls Berlin home. Sahin’s artistic practice spans a diverse range of media, emphasizing the synergy between visual and textual communication in film, photography, sculpture, and literature. Her work blurs the lines between words and images, still and moving, utilizing text as both a form and a symbolic element. In 2019, she made a significant impact with her debut novel, “TAXI,” and maintained that momentum by releasing “ALLE HUNDE STERBEN” in 2020. Both of these works are integral to her artistic journey, with “TAXI” earning her the prestigious Alfred Döblin-Medaille.

Gallery Ciaccia Levi (with locations in Paris and Milan) is the platform for the works of Chalisée Naamani. The French-Iranian artist, born in 1995,works at the crossroads of her Parisian and Persian heritage. She centers her work on the essence of the body, focusing on what fuels and defines it, how it interacts with the world, and its interconnectedness. Her creations tread the line between the physical form and fabric. Yet, it is also the socio-political turmoil in Iran that plays a significant role in influencing her art. Naamani keenly observes the struggles of protestors in her native Paris and is moved by the bravery of a young generation willing to make sacrifices for their cause. Chalisée Naamani skillfully blends photography and fabric in her compelling collages, crafting personal stories through the lens of global imagery.