Marco and Valeria Curina met each other at Biennale di Venezia — Marco declared that it was his happiest moment related to art as he has found someone to share his passion with. Valeria used to be an artist studio manager while Marco is an entrepreneur in pharmaceutical industry. Together they have been building up the MarVal Collection which is currently comprised of around 400 artworks by over 150 contemporary artists. Last year, Valeria organized an exhibition of some of the female artists in their collection in a castle not far from Milan.
Marco explained to LARRY’S LIST how he started by collecting local Italian artists; why it is important for them to support young souls; where they have exhibited some of the artworks from the collection; his thoughts about being told bluntly “We sold everything” by a gallery person when he wanted to know more about the artist on display; and the upcoming art shows he is looking forward to.
Collecting
What made you want to start collecting art? What is the main motivation behind your collecting?
I was always fascinated by objects. When I was 15 years old, I bought my first swatch. Back in the time, 1990, it was a very simple watch in terms of value, but the mechanism was very innovative, and it was such a cool object, that I needed to have. Now, I have 365 — one for every day. To be honest, I don’t have a real motivation for why I am collecting art, just my big passion for the beauty, innovations, and trends. And I think in contemporary art you can live these three aspects the most.
When did you fall in love with a piece of art? What was it?
It was 13 years ago, in a small village called Santa Margherita Ligure. I was there for a business meeting, and after lunch, I saw a work of a local Italian artist in the main window of a small gallery. It was a figurative painting, and I just admired the technique the artist used. I went inside the gallery and bought it. Love at first sight.
Last summer, we decided to hang the work in our summer house to remind ourselves where all started; even though my wife doesn’t like it at all [smile].
What is your focus regarding the artists in your collection? Are you more interested in emerging or renowned, local or international artists?
I started by collecting local Italian artists since I am not from a collectors’ family; neither did I study art or anything related; and it was what I saw/had here in Italy. Now, with my wife, we are focusing on international renowned as well as emerging artists. We truly believe in supporting young people who chose art as their medium of expression. Having three kids, we know how important it is to support young souls.
Is there any particular type of art that has consistently attracted you, or anything that unites all the works you have acquired?
The first work I bought was a painting. And I still love paintings, but I am also triggered by conceptual sculptures, like those by Ser Serpas, Kaari Upson, Diamond Stingily and Andra Ursuta.
What were the first and the latest artworks you purchased?
The first artwork I consider to be part of the collection my wife and I are building up, is Charles Avery. The last one: two dancing dogs of Anastasia Bay on new year’s eve [smile], as a good start for 2022!
How many artworks do you own? Where do you display your collection
We have about 400 works, and most of them are exhibited. We have spaces open to appointment in all our factories in Europe (eg France, Germany, Spain), and of course we are living with our favorite pieces in our houses.
Have you ever presented your collection publicly?
In 2021, my wife organized an exhibition of some of our female artists in a small castle outside of Milan. It was amazing to open a part of our treasure to everyone. But we are also loaning a lot of our works: last year, we lent works to Kistefos Museum in Oslo, McBA, Lausanne and MaMCO, Geneve. Right now we have a work at the Museo del Novecento in Milan and at Madre · museo d’arte contemporanea Donnaregina Naples.
What do you consider before purchasing an artwork?
Nothing. The work has to provoke us. But obviously, if I am attracted to something very expensive, I start to inform myself about the artist, his/her education, etc. to understand the requested price. But I think it is quite normal when you have to spend a lot of money [smile].
What is your most treasured artwork?
They are all treasures to me, us. Every single work we have has its own story for us.
How important is it for you to meet the artists who created the artwork?
Not really, I am always quite skeptical when it comes to meeting the artist: I always fear that the feeling I had in front of the work will change or even be destroyed by the person who in such moment cannot be who he is, aka the artist, but needs to act as a vendor or a PR agent for himself.
How do you make use of social media to discover artists or artworks? Have you purchased any works through Instagram? If yes, how was the experience?
Social Media helps us a lot to stay tuned what is happening in the art world. And even to discover “new” artists. And yes, when a gallery post something we like, it happened that we bought it.
Even it was very complicated to travel and meet new galleries, etc. (fairs has been postponed), but thanks to social networks, such as Instagram, we were still able to enter in contact with galleries and explore new artists. Sometimes, it was even the gallerist who approached us on social media to sell us a work. Like with Anastasia Bay — we saw her in Miami, but it was sold; and then they got back to us with her newest production. This is very nice, a bit like customized shopping [smile].
The Art World
What was your happiest moment being involved in art?
Meeting my wife at Biennale di Venezia and have finally found someone to share my passion with.
What’s your art-world pet peeve?
I don’t want to be trivial and so I’ll tell you an anecdote that happened to me during Nada fair in December in Miami. I entered the booth of a NY gallery and ask the girl in the stand if she could give me some more information on the artist on display. The girl’s prompt response was, “We sold everything.” This situation is now very often repeated in contemporary art galleries where the most important thing seems to be how much they have sold and not who is the artist and what is his message.
Who inspires you the most in the art world?
Throughout these many years, I have met the most interesting and disparate people I could ever meet in my life, and only thanks to contemporary art. When I started, several collectors who were more experienced than me introduced me to this fantastic world until I met my wife who opened the doors to me to experience something deeper in this world. At the time, she was the studio manager of an important artist, and thanks to this, I was also able to experience the many situations in the contemporary art world that taught me the mechanisms behind an exhibition, a museum acquisition, a sale, all situations that I would never have seen as a simple collector.
Milan and 2022
What do you think about the current art scene in Milan and Italy?
I am very happy about the current situation in Milan — a lot of new and fresh galleries are opening and great shows are happening. I am looking forward to Elmgreen & Dragset at Fondazione Prada and Anicka Yi at Hangar Bicocca.
What are you especially excited about in regard to art in 2022?
We are just hoping to have the possibility to enjoy exhibitions, gallery shows, and art fairs in real, as well as enjoying all the nice parties and get-togethers.
Related: Marval Collection
Instagram: @marvalcollection
A selection of artists Marco and Valeria collect:
Alexandra Bircken
Chris Huen Sin Kan
Danh Vo
Lena Marie Emrich
Monica Bonvicini
By Ricko Leung
