WOMEN CREATORS OF TIME
Our story continues by celebrating Kindness, an essential value of Peserico woman.
A timeless value of which art historian Cristina Giopp is the spokesperson, through images and videos in this story. Founder of @thegirlinthegallery page, Cristina shares exhibitions and art events from around the world with her audience, describing the works of artists from every era. Her gaze observes beauty, guiding her followers through an immersive experience in the art world, promoting international art heritage in a new way.
The Girl in the Gallery project was born out of a love for art-historical research and the desire to share it.
Conveying art requires awareness, a delicate but decisive nature to create a direct contact with the audience through the values and emotions contained in each artwork.
In a word: Kindness.
Discover the interview to Cristina Giopp.
Cristina, what is the story behind the name 'Girl in the Gallery'?
The name of the page was born with her and reminds me, each time, where I took my first steps in the art world. I was 20 years old and worked in a Milanese art gallery as an assistant, or 'Gallery Girl'. At that time, I used to keep a journal in which I wrote down my studies about artworks, exhibitions not to be missed or my impressions of a museum I visited, always paying special attention to the communication aspect. Then, one day, that journal put on the social outfit and The Girl in The Gallery opened the door to a bigger project aimed at promoting and enhancing our artistic heritage.
What has been your path to become an art influencer?
It all comes from a love for art-historical research and the desire to share it, which over the years was combined with an awareness of the fundamental importance of digital and social media to bring different audiences, from visitors to collectors, closer together. Over the years, after my studies in Economics and History of Art and various work experiences in the sector, I have gradually given life to a dynamic project, which changes its rules every day but always gives me the opportunity to pursue my passion and collaborate with prestigious cultural institutions, both national and international.
What is your relationship with Art?
I have an 'Odi et Amo' relationship with Art. If, on the one hand, there are works that I can easily get to know, study and understand, on the other hand there are some that do not speak to me easily, that are reluctant to reveal their history and secrets. So, it takes a lot of care, kindness and patience but, most of the time, those ones turn out to be, for me, the most fascinating and interesting.
Is there an artistic movement you especially love?
At the end of my university studies, I was captivated by a professor's lectures on Earth Art or Land Art, so I decided to devote my research studies to this subject and set out to discover its origins. Like true romantic travellers, land artists explore the prairies, deserts, canyons, great salt lakes and act on the landscape, transforming and modifying it, leaving traces, sometimes permanent, sometimes ephemeral. What I find terribly fascinating about these works is that: 'The work is not in the territory, the work is the territory’.
Is there a direct relationship between Art and Fashion?
Art and fashion are intimately linked, they are both complex systems that have always related to each other in different ways. Just think of how many artists have influenced and still influence the fashion system, from Piet Mondrian and Tom Sachs to Andy Warhol and Vanessa Beecroft. But also the fundamental role that fashion plays in the art world, through foundations, sponsorships and several kind of cultural projects. Then, as an art historian, when I think of Art and Fashion, I always imagine Boldini's paintings and the dresses of his ladies, with those delightful draperies and the meticulous details.
Women and Art: Muses or Creators of their Time?
When I started working in the art world, my female references were very few. There were in fact, and still are today unfortunately, very few women in the art world. In the past, with very rare exceptions, we were mainly inspirational muses painted within works of art (5% of works in museum collections are by women but 85% of nudes are female). The numbers do not comfort us but, more than numbers, I have always been interested in stories and it was the stories of extraordinary women that moved and guided me. Women who were intelligent and brave, who sharply critiqued the prejudices of their time, who kindly carried out their ideas and proudly 'created their time’.
There are also women like you who work successfully in this sector. Do you feel satisfied?
I am deeply grateful to be able to do, every day, a job that allows me to discover, study and tell what I love most... the stories of Art History.