On entering the 2024 edition of miart in Milan, the question that crossed our minds was –  can it carve out its own path in an arguably over-saturated international calendar of art fairs? In a calendar that includes behemoths such as Frieze in four locations and Art Basel in three and many smaller fairs throughout the year, what does this art fair offer that makes it stand out? STIR spoke to director Nicola Ricciardi in the run-up to the fair to find out what we could expect.

miart certainly has a sizeable footprint, with over 1,000 artists presented by 178 galleries from 28 countries. It’s at that size where it feels like there’s a lot to see, but a single visit to the fair is still enough to take it all in.

One common gripe from art fair regulars at miart is that the most exciting works are often in the section for emerging artists, which is tucked away at the back of the fair – this is for clear commercial reasons as the galleries that pay the most want to be front and centre. For the second year running, miart has taken the brave decision of having all visitors enter via the emerging artists section - aptly named Emergent. This is a welcome move, as one can start by visiting London-based Gathering’s presentation of Soojin Kang’s woven sculptures, which appear like organic forms, or, in some cases, appear to be erupting from their concrete bases.

Other highlights from this section include the local Milanese gallery ArtNoble, which presents a playful sculpture by Luca Staccioli that takes the form of a prickly pear cactus made from individual pieces in the shape of ticket dispensers, which can be found all over Italy in shops and pharmacies. It’s the type of cheeky and experimental work that makes an art fair interesting for buyers and non-buyers alike.

Another highlight was the Portals section curated by Abaseh Mirvali, dotted throughout the fair. Arguably, the strongest booth in the fair is within Portals, with a display of Maria Lai’s work presented by Nuova Galleria Morone, Milan. Works by the artist include a wall of works made up of terracotta tiles and wooden boxes modelled on houses for fairies, based on a local Sardinian myth. These reference her better-known fabric works, in the patterns on the surface of the tiles or the golden threads linking the boxes together – they’re both beautiful and make for an intriguing look at local traditions.

Timescape within the Established section of the fair is designed to show works from different historical periods. However, the presence of galleries showing works by artists like still-life painter Giorgio Morandi and Kinetic and Op Art pioneer Alberto Biasi means it doesn’t distinguish itself from the rest of the fair.

The majority of galleries come under the Established section and walking through the main section, it becomes clear that this is very much a European fair. While miart is keen to mention its international participants, we only counted seven galleries that have no European presence outside of art fairs. The high number of Italian galleries means we saw Lucio Fontana’s trademark coloured canvases slashed with a razor blade in at least three booths, and the surreal landscapes of Giorgio de Chirico in two booths.

Among the Italian galleries presenting contemporary works, one highlight was Simóndi from Turin. They have photographic mock-ups by Emily Jacir, who wanted to supplement the Venice vaporetto stops with their names in Arabic during a previous iteration of the Venice Biennale (it was approved before the local authorities pulled the plug for no given reason). Alongside her works are photographs by Kurdish artist Fatma Bucak, who has pictured hands holding jars filled with dark liquids from the ink of newspapers that didn’t cover an ongoing massacre of Kurds at the time. The political nature of these two artists’ work makes Simóndi’s booth stand out.

The proximity to the Biennale, in dates and location, makes miart a natural stopping point on the way to Venice. It helps that Milan is currently hosting some impressive exhibitions including Nari Ward: Ground Break which incorporates elements of the traditional practices of the African diasporic community, at the cavernous Pirelli HangarBicocca. Also, Fondazione Prada, beautifully designed by Rem Koolhaas, is hosting a retrospective of Pino Pascali, an Italian artist who only produced art for four years before he died in a motorcycle accident. Pascali’s output was prolific; he used found materials to make weapons out of car parts and made a giant blue spider out of textiles.

The strength of miart was in its Emergent and Portals sections and we’d welcome an expansion of both these sections at miart 2025. These two sections have the potential to ensure miart stands out from other art fairs, extending a longer arc of art history that connects and supports past and present.

'miart' is an annual art fair in Milan which ran from April 11 - 14, 2024.