Giancarlo Politi (born 1937 in

Trevi The area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) is a collection of justice as well as migration & home affairs policies designed to ensure security, rights and free movement within the European Union (EU). Fields covered include the harmonisati ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

) is an art critic and publisher, mainly known for being the founder of ''

Flash Art ''Flash Art'' is a contemporary art magazine, and an Italian and international publishing house. Originally published bilingually, both in Italian and in English, since 1978 is published in two separate editions, Flash Art Italia (Italian) and Fl ...

'' magazine.

Magazine

Politi was born in Trevi, in

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

. He had a brief spell as an artist and poet before turning to art criticism. In 1965 he moved to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, where he started his own

art magazine An art magazine is a publication whose main topic is art. They can be in print form, online, or both and may be aimed at different audiences, including galleries, buyers, amateur or professional artists and the general public. Art magazines can be ...

in 1967, a bilingual publication called ''Flash'', and then changed it to ''Flash Art''. In 1970 he moved the headquarters of the magazine to

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, where he founded his own publishing house, Giancarlo Politi Editore. Politi started publishing art books, exhibition catalogues, and ''Art Diary'', a directory to artists studios, art galleries, art critics and art institutions. In 1978 ''Flash Art'' was split into two separate editions, ''Flash Art Italia'', mostly focused on the Italian market, and ''Flash Art International'', covering the rest of the world. Over the years several attempts were made to publish the magazine in different languages, including

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

, French, German,

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

and Spanish. In 2004 he launched the first edition of the Flash Art Fair.

Museum

In 1993, Giancarlo Politi founded the

Flash Art Museum. The museum has hosted several exhibitions featuring international artists, including

Maurizio Cattelan Maurizio Cattelan (born 21 September 1960) is an Italian artist. Known primarily for his hyperrealistic sculptures and installations, Cattelan's practice also includes curating and publishing. His satirical approach to art has resulted in him bei ...

Vanessa Beecroft Vanessa Beecroft (born April 25, 1969) is an Italian-born American contemporary performance artist; she also works with photography, video art, sculpture, and painting. Many of her works have made use of professional models, sometimes in large nu ...

Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist, entrepreneur, and art collector. He is one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingd ...

, Miltos Manetas,

Piero Golia Piero Golia (born 1974) is a conceptual artist based in Los Angeles. Background As a young man in Naples, Golia studied chemical engineering, learning about the transformation of raw materials into powerful energy sources. He arrived in Los Ang ...

, Andres Serrano,

Paola Pivi Paola Pivi (born 1971) is an Italian multimedia artist. She has worked in artistic media including photography, sculpture and installation. Some of her works contain performance elements, at times involving live animals and people. In 1999, she ...

, Karen Kiliminik, and

Mark Kostabi Kalev Mark Kostabi (born November 27, 1960) is an American artist and composer. Early life Kostabi was born in Los Angeles on November 27, 1960, to Estonian immigrants Kaljo and Rita Kostabi. He was raised in Whittier, California and studied dra ...

. In 2005 Politi withdrawn his support, and the museum is currently operating under the name Palazzo Lucarini Contemporary.

Biennale

In 2001, Giancarlo Politi started the so-called "no-budget biennales". The first one was held in Tirana,

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

, but then, following a disagreement with the local art institutions, he opted for

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

. The first

Prague Biennale The Prague Biennale is an international art exhibition in Prague, Czech Republic, held in alternate (odd-numbered) years. It was founded in 2003 by Helena Kontova and Giancarlo Politi. It is supported by the Czech Minister of Culture and the City ...

inaugurated in 2003 and was followed by five other editions as well as three editions of the Prague Photo Biennale.

Personal life

Politi is married to fellow art critic Helena Kontova. They have a daughter, Gea, who is currently an editor at Flash Art.

Controversies

Politi has often been a magnet for controversy. In 1972 he announced from the back page of ''Flash Art'' that he was selling his services for $1,000 to galleries, museums, and attractive female artists. In 1997 Politi publicly defended

Alexander Brener Alexander Davidovich Brener (russian: Александр Бренер) (born 1957, in Alma-Ata, Kazak ASSR, Soviet Union), is a Russian performance artist and a self-described political activist. He is considered one of the main figures of Mos ...

for spraying a green dollar sign on Kazimir Malevich's painting ''Suprematisme''. In 2011 a story emerged about an intern candidateThe intern, the art magazine, and Italy's secret 'exploitation'
"

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

", 19 October 2011, Michael Day.Indignata per stage gratis, le danno della mignotta. “All’estero ho un contratto vero”
''

Il Fatto Quotidiano ''il Fatto Quotidiano'' (English: "The Daily Fact") is an Italian daily newspaper owned by ''Editoriale Il Fatto SpA'' published in Rome, Italy. It was founded on 23 September 2009 and was edited by Antonio Padellaro until 2015, when Marco Trav ...

'', 18 October 2011, Luigi Franco. who was mocked and offended after she has been denied a fair compensation. The episode raised some interest in Italy, due to a permanent situation of exploitation of youth work and skills of young graduates.Caterina querela per l’epiteto ‘mignotta’: il caso Flash Art finisce in tribunale
''

'', 6 November 2011, Luigi Franco.

Bibliography

*''Poesia Umbra Contemporanea'', Capitoli, Rome, 1960. *''Linea Umbra'', Beniamino Carucci Editore, Rome, 1961. *''Giorgio Celiberti'', Gallery 63, New York, 1963. *''

Sante Monachesi Sante Monachesi (1910–1991), was an Italian painter belonging to the modern movement of the ''Scuola romana (Roman School)'' and founder in 1932 of the ''Movimento Futurista nelle Marche (Futurist Movement of Marche)''. Life and career Mon ...

: Sculture'', Bruno Alfieri, Venice, 1965. *''Brajo Fuso'', Edizioni Il Foglio,

Piombino Piombino is an Italian town and ''comune'' of about 35,000 inhabitants in the province of Livorno (Tuscany). It lies on the border between the Ligurian Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea, in front of Elba Island and at the northern side of Maremma. Ove ...

, Italy, 1967. *'' Dario Villalba'', Galeria Vandres, Madrid, 1974. *''Italian Painting Today'', Multhipla, Milan, 1975. *''Gianni Bertini'', Castelli & Rosati, Milan, 1977. *''Flash Art: Two Decades of History'', Politi Editore, Milan, 1990. * ''

Daniel Spoerri Daniel Spoerri (born 27 March 1930) is a Swiss artist and writer born in Romania. Spoerri is best known for his "snare-pictures," a type of assemblage or object art, in which he captures a group of objects, such as the remains of meals eaten by in ...

from A to Z'', Fondazione Mudima, Milan, 1991. *''

Mimmo Paladino Mimmo Paladino (born Paduli, 18 December 1948) is an Italian sculptor, painter and printmaker. He is a leading name in the Transvanguardia artistic movement and one of the many European artists to revive Expressionism in the 1980s. Biography ...

'', Politi Editore, Milan, 1992. *''Fabio Sargentini'', Politi Editore, Milan, 1992. *''Antico Amore'', Edizioni Pulcino Elefante, Milan, 1992. *''Panorama Italiano 1'', Politi Editore, Milan, 1996. *''Tirana Biennale 1: Escape'', Politi Editore, Milan, 2001. *''Prague Biennale 1: Peripheries become the Center'', Politi Editore, Milan, 2003. *''Prague Biennale 2: Expanded Painting'', Politi Editore, Milan, 2005. *''

Pino Pascali Pino Pascali (19 October 1935 – 11 September 1968) was an Italian artist, sculptor, set designer and performer.

'', Cambi, Florence, 2006. *''Prague Biennale 3: Glocal and Outsiders: Connecting Cultures in Central Europe'', Politi Editore, Milan, 2007 *''Prague Biennale 4: Expanded Painting 3'', Politi Editore, Milan, 2009. *''Prague Biennale 5: New Location, New Face'', Politi Editore, Milan, 2011. *''Prague Biennale 6'', Politi Editore, Milan, 2013.

References

External links

''Art Diary''''Flash Art''''Good Reads''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Politi, Giancarlo Italian magazine publishers (people) 1937 births Living people Italian art critics Italian art curators Italian magazine editors Italian book publishers (people) Italian magazine founders Italian publishers (people)