The Italian version, Premio.Celeste, boasts over 13,000 members, nearly 9,000 of whom are artists.  However, do not think only of painting when using the word ‘artist’, for Premio.Celeste features a whole range of different art genres, such as photography and graphic design, sculptor and installations, video and animation, and, of course, pictures.  The diversity is huge, and there is much to see.

As the name implies, artists can win cash prizes for their work, and this must help up their profiles both within, and outside of Italy.  An excellent idea.

Free Membership

Premio.Celeste

Membership of Premio.Celeste is free, and is not limited to artists alone, there are journalists, which is what I’m calling myself, seeing as I am starting to do some freelance journalism work, and blogging is not too far from journalism, when all is said and done.  Since joining, I’ve acquired 12 14 22 30+ friends, which is wonderful.  As you might imagine, many of these friends are artists.

Another nice aspect of the site is that the artists can post details of events featuring their work, however, many of the Italian artists only post details in Italian, which is a shame, as those visiting Italy might like to see the work of their preferred artist in the flesh, so to speak.  This is something I’m looking into changing, as I think it might be interesting for event details to be in English too.  If I get anywhere in this little quest, I’ll report here.

Friends

My profile is here: Italyisin, and if you do happen to have a spare few minutes, I suggest viewing some of the very interesting work by my Premio.Celeste friends, many of who are Celeste Prize winners.  These friends are, so far:

1. Alberto Mileti
2. Giuseppe Galli
3. Mauro Lacqua
4. Isovni Contemporary Visions
5. Marco Bellomi – Winner Celeste Prize Italy ‘09. Category: Painting
6. Antonio De Luca – Winner Celeste Prize Italy ‘09. Category: Photo & Digital Graphics
7. Steven Smith – International Friend
8. Leonardo Lenzi – Winner Celeste Prize Italy ‘09. Category: Photo & Digital Graphics
9. Gaetano Fiore
10. Barbara Karwowska -  Winner Celeste Prize Italy ‘07. Category: Painting
11. Gabriela Bodin
12. Maria Chiffi
13. Luciano Civettini
14. Jordi Fornies – International Friend – Winner Celeste Prize ‘09. Category: Painting
15. Juanita Capogna – Winner Celeste Prize Italy ‘09. Category: Painting
16. Cinzia Tomassini
17. Exhibitionow – Winner Celeste Prize Italy ‘08. Category: Photo & Digital Graphics.  Winner Celeste Prize Italy ‘08. Category: Video, Installation & Sculpture
18. Rossano Liberatore – Winner Celeste Prize Italy ‘09. Category: Painting
19. Vincenzo Baldini
20. Claudia Ibanez
21. Gabriella Ferlito – Winner Celeste Prize Italy ‘09. Category: Painting
22. K-soul – Cosmic Garden Holokinetics Laboratory.  Winner Celeste Prize Italy ‘09. Category: Video, Installation & Sculpture. Winner:  Celeste Prize 2009. Category: Video & Animation
23. Ilaria Messaggio
24. La Tavolozza – Centre for Art and Culture
25. Michele Lombardo – Winner Celeste Prize Italy ‘09. Category: Photo & Digital Graphics. Winner Celeste Prize Italy ‘08. Category: Video, Installation & Sculpture.
26. Daniele Gori -  Winner Celeste Prize International ‘09. Category: Painting
27. Adria – Winner Celeste Prize International ‘09. Category: Painting
28. Rinaldo Cirillo – Winner Celeste Prize ‘09. Category: Painting
29. Carapostol -
30. Paolo Dogà – Art Critic and Curator
31. Carlotta Castelletti

I thoroughly recommend art lovers take a look at the site.  Remember my Celeste Prize profile, where you will find the people listed above is here: Italyisin, so please spend a few minutes looking at the work of the artists listed.  If you like what you see, spread the word about the artist, Celeste Prize site and Italyisin.

A nice touch is the RSS feed for each artists’ ‘Gallery’ – look for ‘Opere‘ in Italian or ‘Artworks‘ in English.  Just click on the RSS symbol over on the right, and you will be notified via your browser, feed reader, or whatever you use to follow feeds, as and when the artist or artists you are following add something new.  If you have no idea what an RSS feed is – look at this video here: Using RSS, a post over on my Blog from Italy site.  Note too that you can alos

If you do not find something that appeals, I will be extremely surprised!  Happy browsing!  Beware, though, this site will have you whiling away many hours.  You have been warned!

Dependtendency – Call for Venice 2009 from celeste.prize on Vimeo.

Not being members of such exclusive clubs can prove to be a substantial, almost insurmountable, obstacle.  After all, if nobody even knows about their work, then the chances of artists gaining valuable exposure, achieving recognition, and making sales, become virtually non-existent.

Banksy Does It

How about then, considering alternative galleries?  Just what, you may well be asking, do you mean by alternative galleries?  Well, for one thing, such galleries surround us.  They are everywhere.  Indeed, their potential for displaying art is almost limitless, as a certain Banksy knows very well.

However, for those artists who are not keen on spending their nights painting walls alla Banksy, there are plenty of other locations which can display art.  Indeed, such locations need to display art, because art is an essential environmental component, not only complimenting, but forming key elements that can make or break the desired visual effect.

Kathleen Warner – Creating Alternative Galleries

California based art dealer Kathleen Warner, who is interestingly, of Italian origin, knows a lot about the creation of alternative galleries.  Her company provides tailor-made solutions to a vast range of well known corporate and hospitality entities.

What Kathleen does is match artists’ works to her clients’ environments.  Clients which, up to now, have included organisations such as Toyota, Bank of America, and the Hilton, Sheraton and Holiday Inn hotel groups.

It is a win-win situation.  Kathleen’s clients obtain interesting works of art which create satisfying environments, while the artists involved, aside from earnings generated via their artistic contributions, gain a level of exposure which traditional galleries, for the most part, simply cannot rival.

Actually, gallery owners themselves are often frequent travellers, buzzing from one art fair to the next, and as travellers, they often stay in up-market hotels.

Just imagine if one such gallery owner finds interesting artwork on display in the foyer and other significant locations in the hotel in which he finds himself.  Yes, she will inquire as to who the artist behind such work is.  Then, it will probably only be a matter of time before the artist concerned is invited to display his work in a gallery.

That is not to mention the multitude of other potential clients an artist can reach as a result of having his or her works on show in boardrooms, corporate headquarters or hotel foyers.

Massive Opportunities for Artists

The range of opportunities stemming from corporate demand is huge, and of great benefit to contemporary artists – especially in Italy where it is so difficult for outstanding artists, such as Gianpietro Carlesso, and many others, to achieve the recognition they merit.

As a matter of fact, from 2009, Kathleen Warner will be in Italy to work her craft here and around Europe.  Italyisin hopes to be collaborating with her, and will be supplying details of the Italian contemporary artists she thinks may be able to contribute to her clients’ projects.

In the 30 years or so that Kathleen has been in business, she has set up a valid form of alternative gallery network, something which Italian contemporary artists have much to gain from.

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Discover more about Kathleen Warner’s origins and ethos in the article Faletto Directions which she has kindly provided to Italyisin.

This is good news for Italian sculptors who work in this sector. Indeed, one Italian sculptor, Maurizio Cattelan , is just behind the top three sculptors in terms of those artists whose works are most in demand on the worldwide art market.

For other Italian scultptors, such as Gianpietro Carlesso , Angelo Aligia , and Simone Racheli such news is encouraging. The work of these and many other Italian artists is crying out for more recognition.

Actually, the fact that the sculptors featured on this site have not yet attained the recognition they merit is very good news for collectors and speculators. It means that their works can be acquired for very reasonable prices, which will, potentially, increase vastly over time.

However, many artists come up with work which could well be exploited by business, and, indeed, I spoke to an artist about this on Monday. What I suggested was that his work could be turned into another product by an enterprising company. Selling this product would then create an income for the business concerned, and generate royalty payments for the artist. Obviously those in business need to make profits to keep their companies going, and artists need to generate other income streams to help them raise funds to allow them to devote more time to their, for the want of a better word, art.

Artists come up with some excellent designs, which can be used in connection with a great variety of products. At a basic level from postcards to posters, but at a more innovative level, from curtains to car interiors. The possibilities are just about endless, and, potential, the resulting products would be original and eye catching.

Italy is in wants to encourage Italian contemporary artists to go down this path, even if, not all artists will appreciate seeing examples of their work incorporated into everything from mugs to mirrors. However, those who are open to the use of their work in connection with new product development, may possibly generate enough income to permit them to say goodbye to the day job, and be able to devote themselves to their creativity full time.

Of course, not every artist will find a business that is interested enough in their work to make a business propositions, but for those that do, life may well become a little easier.

If you happen to be a business owner who is looking for fresh new designs to use for some product line or other, and the work of one of the artists featured on Italy is in catches your eye, then please contact Italy is in , with details of how you would like to use the artist’s work, and Italy is in will then contact the artist concerned to see if he or she may be interested in taking the idea further.

In general, it would perhaps be fair to say that most artists would like their work to form part of limited edition products, however, those seeking wider exposure, may well be open to ideas resulting in the mass production of goods. They only way to discover what an artist may be interested in, is to establish contact.

Alex Roe of Italy is in speaks English and Italian, and can certainly make the approach necessary, as can Gaetano Salvo, who, while he does not speak English so well, would have no problem discussing business propositions with the artists concerned.

At the end of the day, business relationships of this type can be productive for artists and businesses, without forgetting, of course, the positive effect such partnerships can have on the ‘Made in Italy’ brand.

In the case that Italy is in is aware that an artist is open to business proposals, this will be mentioned in the artist’s profile.

Indeed, artprice has two databases:

• a database of artists, and
• an auction catalogue database (290,000 catalogues), can be searched.

All that is needed to search the databases is the artist’s name and surname, which, of course you will be able to find on Italy is in .

Registration with artprice only becomes necessary if you find something you wish to look at in more detail. Registration is free, although those more seriously into collecting or investing in art, may wish to take out one of artprice’s subscription plans .

artprice is very useful for discovering how well established an artist is, in that the service can provide information about individuals, their work, and for how much examples of their work are selling.

Should an artist listed on Italy is in not be found lurking within artprice’s huge databases, then this is not necessarily a bad sign. Indeed, quite the opposite, in that Italy is in is living up to its raison d’etre, which is to help people discover artists and their work.

If you happen to be someone who has searched for an artist featured on Italy is in within artprice because the works of an artist on this site have piqued your curiosity, then congratulations! You too have come across an artist who is not yet well known at an international level, and the fact that you searched means that you considered that this artist could be within artprice’s databases, and if the artist is not, then your search indicates that most probably the artist concerned deserves to be.

Another advantage of not finding an artist within artprice is that his or her work may be purchased for commissioned for a more reasonable price.

However, should this site help artists find their way into artprice, then this will be good for the artist, who will be then be encouraged to produce more, and thus increase their contribution to the art world in general.

Popularity arising from this site may also help sway the opinions of art critics, both outside and within Italy. Again, this can be beneficial to the artist concerned.

If enough people like and acquire the works of a particular artist, then the standing of the artist will increase.

This is what Italy is in ’s aim is – to encourage people to discover artists, spread the word, and develop interest, and in doing so, encourage artistic endeavour.

If you help us to achieve this aim, then thank you!

Contemporary art, on the other hand, is generally considered to be any work produced from the late 1970’s to the present. Furthermore, if the artist concerned is still living, and was born after 1980, then his or her work is probably considered as being contemporary art.

At times it can be difficult to decide whether to label items as being modern or contemporary art, as there is some overlap of the periods to which the definitions refer.

Here are some commonly used terms:

acquerello –watercolour
acquerello su carta — watercolour on paper
acrilici — acrylic
autentica dell’autore –authenticated by the artist
bronzo –bronze
carta — paper
cartoncino — card
cera –wax
datato — dated
firmato — signed
inchiostro — ink
matita –pencil
olio su tela — oil on canvas
pastelli –pastel
pennarello –felt tip pen
rame — copper
smalto –enamel
tecnica mista — mixed technique
terracotta –earthenware/terracotta
titolo –title
titolo ed anno al retro –title and year on rear
valutazione –valuation or estimate