“Managing Innovation”

Art Director M.A.D.S. MILANO Carlo Greco Interviewed “Managing Innovation”

By Dottoressa Chiara Burdo

1. Who do you think is an "entrepreneur"? How would you define him?

In the art world, the entrepreneur of today, if he does not fail before the first year of activity, doesn’t have to love art, he doesn’t have to be dominated by it. Doing business sometimes means betraying, doing business sometimes means being very selfish, it means always going ahead and it doesn't matter if I harm others. Clearly I do not agree with this " modus operandi". Personally, I think we can do business even if we love our project and at the same time we can also help others.

The best market is dictated by healthy competition based on the best product and service offered at the right price. I have never believed that low price is an excellent solution. So to sum up, the exact definition of an entrepreneur of today is: he is constantly evolving and indefinable, a chameleon that adapts to the territory according to market demand and society. He should have a futuristic vision and create valid alternative solutions with valid market projections, and then I would add a bit of courage.

2. Do you consider yourself an entrepreneur thinking of M.A.D.S.?

No, I only designed a variation, I consider myself as a creative and I place myself perfectly in the artistic direction.

The policy of M.A.D.S. can be adopted entrepreneurially in all categories. It is open source, it is flexible, malleable, but with a solid design structure, where possible problems have been anticipated before the gains and successes. It always responds to the society's request, is constantly updated and always tries to accommodate and to meet the needs of the parties. It is as fluid as a liquid and it arrives to get what it wants quietly.

3. What experiences have you had and lived before opening the gallery?

Photography, which allowed me to observe the world under a third eye, I have always given importance and beauty to what others considered ugly and insignificant. A challenge, a game that overcame boredom, I need continuous stimulation and the art gallery has taken care of me. At the end we are all suffering a little, some more than others, we all run away from something. I escape from boredom for example.

4. What is M.A.D.S. for you?

M.A.D.S. or Art Mediator, Advisor, Dealer, Seeker. It is a challenge, a bit of a provocation ...

We want to give, albeit in our small way, a guideline, an honest and professional vision of Art Gallery of 2020 based on the fundamental values that we consider essential, of which one of the most important is dignity for the artist and respect for her works. Now you will obviously say, “A Sicilian… on what can he appeal if not to the prehistoric concepts of dignity and respect that have characterized his DNA?" Well it’s partly like this and partly it isn’t. Valuing the artist, her story, her life, having the privilege of being able to touch her, seeing while she creates, her dialogue, being able to create a confront, are the greatest wealth that can be obtained for me, the greatest esteem that we can ever do in an art gallery. Culture passes simply through the art of our souls and this is priceless. So I give the respect for an artist, whether famous or not, in equal measure. Let's start from these foundations and then the format of the gallery is created.

5. How and when was M.A.D.S. founded? And with what purpose was the gallery created?

I won’t try to be repetitive.

It comes from the love of two people, who met by chance and left everything to live in a world carved one stroke at a time, and perhaps we will never see the work finished.

M.A.D.S. is spontaneous it has no objects, it generates them. Every day, our artists positively suffer the repercussions of our actions, of our movements. It's nice to know that emerging artists have quickly expanded their artistic career, it's nice to know that they are gaining more and more popularity, and that they manage to do business with their art. It's nice to know that what was a hobby, today is a profession. Perhaps the most beautiful thing of all is to believe, trust and make those stars grow... It is good to be part of this journey. M.A.D.S. is a constant and daily promise of our absurd feeling.

6. What differentiates M.A.D.S. from other Italian galleries?

I have a lot of respect for those art galleries that deserve to be called as such, so I can only talk about objective and obvious differences, and I am careful not to denigrate the work of others ...

I would then use a nice slogan: M.A.D.S. doesn’t hang artworks on walls.

7. How are creative and innovative ideas, and the themes of openings chosen? And who do these ideas start from?

We would like to be more creative and innovative, but we think we have taken a step into a black hole, we are a bit ahead. Just now we are beginning to be emulated as setups, from large and important spaces, albeit temporary, and this fills us with joy, since it means that we are on the right path.

Ideas arise from countless sleepless nights and the constant arguments with the manager, my copartner and beloved Alessandra Magni, a woman of countless qualities and resources, my mentor and source of reason. A woman who knows how to dream and to turn dreams into life. We are an explosive two-components. So if someone decides to make M.A.D.S. fail, all she has to do is separate us, but it’ll be hard.

8. If you see that an idea doesn't work the way you wanted or planned, how do you proceed?

Clearly it happens, but they are always zero bets, we always do tests to understand the reactions, a bit like in chemistry or the stock exchange. It's a great school, being able to do mistakes means being able to offer the best tomorrow.

9. Is anyone else working with you?

There are collaborations with different Art Curators, there’s a lot of excitement.

10. What are the activities, both online and offline, you do at and for the gallery?

We are always in business as Mediator, Advisor, Dealer, and Seeker. You can answer this question by yourself with no doubt. However, we can add that the most important activities in addition to exhibiting and organizing an appealing set up etc., are the technical and purely curatorial aspect. It isn’t at all easy to decrypt an artist and even less her work, so we spend a lot of time in the analysis for a perfect quotation and consequently the relative creation of a realistic expertise. Review and criticism of the artworks will then find its natural location within the M.A.D.S. infrastructure, which is very articulated, composed of website, physical gallery in Milan, and web magazine ArtMadzine.

Our gallery must be seen as a showcase of high fashion with expert tailors, elegant stylists and creative set-designers. We hope to continue to be a point of reference in Europe and in the world.

11. How many artists and works do you have and how many sales do you have annually?

They are really many and they continue to grow. We are really satisfied.

As far as sales are concerned we should directly ask the artists. We have no percentage in sales, it is not a secret, we just make sure the two parties meet. Indiscretions, however, bring very interesting business data through our work.

12. Do you have any partnerships, networks and/or artists that you believe are important for the gallery?

Sure. It’s very important that there are collaborations or they’re constantly created. It’s a very private world, it isn’t easy to create collaborations with your other competitors. There’s still a lot of jealousy towards the artists, and this is clearly a disadvantage for the artist.

13. Were there times or situations when you no longer believed in what M.A.D.S. is? And why?

It’s possible to encounter difficult moments. I can’t deny fears in certain cases. Fear keeps you alert and in this magical and light world you have to keep your feet on the ground, especially for not causing harm to the lives of our artists. It seems silly and unlikely but their professional lives have been given into our hands and for us it’s fair to protect and safeguard them in the best way. So the fears must be there and must be overcome by facts, by professionalism.

M.A.D.S. is founded on a strong belief, there are no external factors that can affect its foundations.

International synergies and great motivation combined with an enormous desire to contribute as much as possible to the pages that will be written in art books are the masters.

14. In your opinion, what innovations could the art world bring in the future?

Art is the everyday. Exponential Innovation.

We still talk about art as if we were talking about little drawings done in elementary school, or about four psychopaths who make art therapy. We are still talking about art to indicate the great people of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and the rest is considered in secondary position.

It’s simply a problem of cultural prejudice that strangely facilitates the usual galleries and collectors, the same auction houses and the usual works. While we do not pay attention to the great artistic revolution of all the times we are living, we breathe, we live every day, we use it for everything. The design industry is in its splendor, many small works of art designed for our daily needs that will remain in history, a story that we are already writing, but that the books won’t have enough pages to be able to convey it. Every day, we innovate. It’s phenomenal and it’s so fast that we can hardly perceive it as such.

One day perhaps innovation will create an artistic and colorful way to recycle all this chaos and return to designing the earth with colorful vegetable gardens and fragrant flowers.

15. Is 2020 wanting any new improvements from the gallery?

It has already been presented and tested. We want 2020 to be today and we are doing something for those who can't. We have carved out a slice of revenue to create U (1st) 4 (Mads) a simple project that wants to reward art in its essence. We hope to be emulated in this too.