Beyond the Booth: Antoine Levi on Ciaccia Levi Gallery, Artissima, and Redefining the Art Fair Experience
Antoine Levi
MS – Antoine, together with Nerina Ciaccia, you founded Ciaccia Levi Gallery over a decade ago in Paris, and recently opened a new space in Milan. How has the gallery evolved over the years, and what role has Italy played in this journey?
AL – When Nerina and I founded the gallery in Paris more than ten years ago, our idea was to create a space that could act as a platform – not just a place to show artworks, but a context where artists, curators, and ideas could meet.
Over time, the gallery has evolved quite organically: we’ve followed the practices of our artists closely, expanding our programme as their work developed. What started as a small, almost domestic space in Belleville has become a more structured, international gallery with two distinct but connected identities – one in Paris, one in Milan.
Italy has always been part of the story, not only because of Nerina’s background, but also because of the kind of dialogue we wanted to build. The Milan space allowed us to reconnect with a country that has a very rich cultural fabric, and where a younger generation of artists, collectors, and curators is bringing new energy. It’s a way to build a bridge between two contexts that we both love and understand deeply.
MS – You are also part of the selection committee of Artissima. In your view, what makes this fair stand out from others, and how do you see the current art scene in Turin and in Italy more broadly?
AL – Artissima has always stood out for its curatorial depth and its capacity to remain faithful to experimentation. It’s not a fair that simply follows the market; it sets a tone. The selection process is careful and conceptual, and the fair has managed to keep a kind of integrity that is rare today.
The art scene in Turin – and in Italy more broadly – is very alive right now. There’s a new awareness, and many initiatives are happening outside of the traditional centres. Of course, Italy still faces structural challenges when it comes to institutional support, but the level of artistic quality and enthusiasm is remarkable. There’s a real sense of community and collaboration that keeps growing year after year.
MS – When we met in Paris, you mentioned that this year at Artissima you will present a “non-booth” featuring works by Garance Früh, Chalisée Naamani, and Kenny Dunkan – three artists who perfectly embody the spirit of the gallery. In what sense do you define it as a “non-booth”, and why do you think it’s important to move beyond the traditional fair format, with installations like the one Kenny Dunkan presented at Paris Internationale and will recreate at Artissima?
AL – The idea of a “non-booth” came from a desire to rethink what a gallery presentation at a fair can be. Instead of a conventional stand with walls and a display, we wanted to propose an installation that breaks down those physical and conceptual boundaries.
With Garance Früh, Chalisée Naamani and Kenny Dunkan, we’re showing three practices that question identity, space, and materiality in very different ways – and that, to me, perfectly represent the gallery’s spirit.
Calling it a “non-booth” is a way of saying: let’s not reproduce the same format every time. Let’s make the fair a place for real encounters and experiences, not only transactions. Kenny’s installation at Paris Internationale was a good example – immersive, physical, generous – and we wanted to bring that energy to Artissima as well.
MS – Living between Paris and Milan, what differences do you observe in the way contemporary art is understood and supported in Italy and in France? Is there something one could learn from the other?
AL – The two contexts are very different, but that’s what makes it stimulating. In France, there’s a stronger institutional system – museums, regional funds, public support – that allows artists to develop in a more stable way. In Italy, there’s less infrastructure, but more spontaneity and risk-taking. There’s also a very strong sense of personal relationships, and a deep connection to history that often influences how art is made and shown.
I think both countries have a lot to learn from each other: France could sometimes be more flexible and open to informal dynamics; Italy could benefit from stronger long-term institutional strategies. For us, working between the two means trying to combine the best of both worlds.
MS – You are one of the founders of Paris Internationale, a fair that has established itself as a young and experimental alternative to the traditional model. Next year, you’ll bring Paris Internationale to Milan for the first time, in April. How did this decision come about, and what kind of project do you envision for the Italian edition?
AL – Paris Internationale was born in 2015 from a shared frustration with the traditional fair model – too commercial, too formatted, too expensive. We wanted to build something more open, where galleries and artists could take risks again.
Bringing it to Milan felt like a natural next step. Many of us are already connected to the Italian scene, and there’s a real appetite for something fresh – a platform that speaks to a younger generation and creates a dialogue between local and international energies.
The Milan edition will not be a copy of Paris Internationale; it will have its own rhythm, shaped by the city’s context and spaces. The idea is to build a project that feels specific to Milan – experimental, inclusive, and rooted in its own cultural landscape.
MS – In recent years, art fairs have multiplied, and many are questioning whether there are now simply too many. As both a gallerist and a fair organiser, do you think art fairs still make sense in 2025? And what, in your opinion, can make a fair truly necessary today?
AL – Yes, but not all of them. There are too many fairs, and many of them repeat the same logic. But when a fair has a clear vision, a real reason to exist, it still plays a crucial role.
Fairs are where people meet, where conversations start, where artists gain visibility. The problem is when they become purely transactional. What makes a fair necessary today is its capacity to create meaning – to curate, to take risks, to build a community.
That’s what we try to do both as gallerists and as fair organisers: to create contexts that matter, that bring something new, and that make the art experience a little less predictable.
