SALVATORE GIORGIO DINO TALKS ABOUT ART BASEL MIAMI

A month after the world premiere of D'ORO D'ART, Salvatore Giorgio Dino talks about Art Basel 2021, in a Miami that radiates new vitality.

Salvatore, is it possible to define Art Basel in three words?

SGD. It is certainly very difficult, for all people Art Basel represents the art world. But if I had to use just three words I would definitely start by saying epic. And I think everyone can agree with that definition, especially in this year's edition. Then I'd like to use two terms that apply to me closely. I would call it an achievement and at the same time a starting point for a new cultural revolution.

For D'ORO Collection it was the first time in Art Basel and Salvatore personally presented D'ORO D'ART on November 30, 2021. A date you won't easily forget... What did you feel about the American public's approach to art?

SGD. Impressive. We're talking about a highly anticipated, world-class event. I saw a fair that was swarming with people eager to add to their collections accompanied by their trusted broker. A real buzz, a revival atmosphere that at times seemed like a race against time to purchase something unique. In some moments it felt like being in the stock market more than in an art fair, I’m saying this with great admiration. High level of expertise. A very high level of the works exhibited and of the public.

The greatest emotion?

SGD.The greatest emotion, but above all satisfaction, was the first day, the official unveiling of Arabesque, which coincided with the presentation of the D'ORO D'ART project to the whole world. For me, it was the crowning achievement of my 22 years with D'ORO Collection. I wanted my publishing house to do something unique and to do this I invested 5 years in research and development. And today here is a book that has truly become a work-of-art. It wasn't until the first day at the fair that I realized that I actually had it and we had done it...I was right alongside Picasso and Basquiat.

You and Barbara London: after two years of working remotely to create D'ORO D'ART finally side by side for the presentation. Can you tell us how meeting this great artist in American and international video art was like?

SDG. Barbara is simply an icon, you can tell this by the reverential expression of the people she meets. For everyone she is ethereal, there is a shared admiration that I can only confirm. Barbara and I saw each other for the first time in Miami, after 2 years of working together... a situation that no one could have imagined until a few years ago... but it was like we had known each other forever, we hugged and burst out laughing. We even managed to make time for dinner, like old friends, me, her, my wife and her partner talking about books and the 1960s New York art.

What about Dara Birnbaum?

SDG. Dara deserved to be the first artist in the D’ORO D’ART project, it had to be her. She was one of the first women in the United States to graduate with a degree in architecture. She is a woman who has always fought and worked to put her art at the center of everything. In working with her I discovered a very professional side, a careful control over everything that I kind of saw myself in.

How did the Birnbaum's collectors react to Arabesque?

SDG. Dara has a very heterogeneous audience, collectors, supporters, women, men, each with a different love for her, for her elegant and reactionary way of communicating. On the second day, one lady even burst into tears upon seeing our book open. Talking to them was like accessing an inexhaustible source of information about Dara and her art from different points of view.

Finally, since we are only a few days away from 2022, how will the collaboration with Marian Goodman Gallery develop, can you already give us some anticipation?

SDG. Art Basel has turned the spotlight on D'ORO D'ART and now we just have to finalize the collaborations with the next artists. I can't reveal the name of the second and third artist yet, but be ready for other big international names.