Piero Bisello and Philip Poppek, Photograph by Emile Rubino
Interview with Gauli Zitter by Tula Plumi
In the last few months, Daily Lazy has featured a couple of shows by the gallery Gauli Zitter; its programme quickly caught our attention. The thoughtfully curated shows take place in a very distinctive space with olive green wooden doors, cabinets and windows. The exhibited works range from contemporary to non-contemporary art and as the gallerists explain: they are interested in art that takes some effort to be grasped.
Gauli Zitter could be mistaken for a person but is in fact the combination of the names of the grandmothers of the two partners, Piero Bisello and Philip Poppek. The gallery is participating for the first time at Liste Art fair with a solo presentation by the artist Mona Fileul.
Tula Plumi: Gauli Zitter is a very new gallery which opened in Brussels last summer. It is not even a year old yet, but it already has a very dynamic programme, with five shows as we speak and three art fairs this year. This must be a very exciting time for you. Can you tell us about your decision to open a gallery together? What was the transition from your previous respective projects?
Gauli Zitter: Philip studied art and Piero is an art historian. Philip ran the project space The Tail and Piero worked for the gallery residency CFA in Milan. We both have some past experience working in or for galleries but never seriously thought of running our own. A few dear projects dedicated to emerging art have closed in Brussels in the last year (La Maison de Rendez-Vous, Kantine, etc.) and we thought it would be good to fill those new gaps in the local scene. Our exhibitions are varied: we don’t only show our friends, we don’t only show Belgian artists, we don’t only show contemporary art. We like art that needs some effort to be grasped. We think the extra work is worthwhile, especially in the long run.
TP: Do you think that living and working in Brussels has something special to offer to art professionals? What are your thoughts on the local art scene and how does the art market respond to it? Why did you choose Brussels and not Berlin for instance? Do you think attention is shifting away from the cities that have been the focus in Europe until now?
GZ: We chose to live in Brussels way before opening the gallery, although we are happy we opened it here. The city is relatively affordable compared to other capitals, smaller but full of art and art lovers. Its multicultural identity favors foreigners like us. The local scene is rich, divided by linguistic communities, established institutions, economic status, and more. We happily find a new scene here every other month. We don’t think attention is shifting away from cities like Berlin, although the German capital seems to have lost some of its fertile ground for art in recent years due to bad policies at a municipal level. There are simply more artists and art venues in the world than before: naturally one can, and should, find art elsewhere too.
TP: A very interesting aspect in your program is mixing contemporary artists with older or even historical artists, such as James Ensor. Can you tell us about this decision? How does this context affect both historical and contemporary work?
GZ: Apart from the sheer fun of looking for older artworks, we like how some artistic and political arguments of today are best illustrated when paired with those from yesterday. Showing only contemporary art feels monocultural; transhistorical exhibitions naturally offer extra stimuli.
TP: At Liste you are making a solo presentation of the artist Mona Fileul. Can you tell us a bit about her works, what attracts you to her practice?
We like the material complexity of her works, which include bas reliefs made of plant fiber and wax, but also building material, found objects, LED lights, MP3 players, and more. She mixes artisanal and industrial techniques with great wit. At the same time, her art is very personal, talking about pleasures and struggles of a trans person in Western Europe today. Her work is important and that’s why it needs to be shown.