Throughout the 20th century, the exhibition, with its well-established rituals, represented the driving force of the art world. That obscure sense of anticipation, the chance to admire an artist’s latest work, the inevitable psychological clash among collectors: these were the seductive lures that objectively enhanced the allure of the event. There are wonderful pages that accompany these splendid obsessions. Some illuminating flashes from Stefen Zweig, the subtle contrasts described by Giorgio Soavi in his magnificent “Il quadro che mi manca”, are devoted tributes that verge on the most captivating literature. But in this whirlwind phase of transformation, everything has evolved far too quickly. Exhibitions still survive, fortunately. They remain a vital point of connection between artists, gallerists, and collectors. Yet the physical presence seems to be fading. The web, with its new strategies, offers constant alternatives. Everything can now be archived online: previews of artworks, critical reviews, dimensions, prices, sometimes even traced through those databases that preserve the complete auction history of an artist, even the most obscure records. A rapid and efficient scan, handled in just a few minutes, without wasting time, and perhaps enhanced via smartphone, collecting further information from the enormous wave of data that daily engulfs everyone in the field.
Gone is the sense of anticipation. Lost is the specific interest in the evolution of the artist. The anxieties and tensions of an opening are erased. Often, the real weight of an exhibition lies in the financial potential of the works it presents, above all, in what they might be worth in the future. That’s it. A horizon stripped of emotion, with no special regard for the beauty of the artwork or the creative gesture behind it. And yet, in a system that is shifting, constantly reshaping itself, the exhibition remains a reference point, albeit a new and different one. A new profile offering itself to the art world in an entirely innovative way, with artificial intelligence already proposing further evolutions, pushing the boundaries of tomorrow toward goals that, objectively, we can only imagine for now.
