We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Luca Zuccala a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Luca, thanks for joining us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?
Listening, studying, ambition, determination, vision, passion. These are the ingredients that, in these 16 years of work, have allowed me to grow and become Editor-in-Chief of one of the most important art magazines in the world. The key to success, if we can call it as such, has been to tell interesting and fascinating stories from a world as specialised and detached from reality as the art market. It is a closed and elitist sector that hardly opens up to the general public, except in the occasion of big events, big prices and big numbers. The successful idea of my venture, from its beginning, has been to illustrate the art market’s history, details, beauty, and its many internal enticing facets, through the use of comprehensible language, going beyond simple data analysis and rigid numbers. Instead, the approach has been to tell fascinating stories: the lives of collectors and their immense collections; the history of artworks ending up at auction; the hidden secrets of paintings which make their prices rise and fall; the attempt to explain the logics and dynamics of this industry through simple but precise narratives. ArtsLife has grown from a blog into an international magazine. As such, over the past 10 years, collaborations have expanded both with established institutions such as auction houses, art fairs and museums, but also to new and historical magazines that have grasped our importance and believed in our work ethic.
Luca, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a journalist specialized in art criticism and the art market. I run a magazine specialized in the art market named ArtsLife, for which I cover all kinds of art-related events (fairs, auctions, exhibitions, conferences, biennials – from Los
Angeles to Seoul, from Paris to New York); I write every week in one of the major Italian and international newspapers,
Corriere della Sera, as well as for several Art World and non-Art World magazines (The Voice of New York, ICON, The
Ducker); I have a weekly rendez-vous on Italy’s state radio (RAI RADIO 1) where I tell stories and vicissitudes of the
art market. I have been teaching in Italian universities for 8 years now, and for the past 5 years I run classes about the
Art Market and Art Journalism in the postgraduate master’s program at ‘RCS Academy’, an institution linked to
Corriere della Sera. In addition, I am the Director of Galleria Indice, a commercial and exhibition-based platform which
specializes in contemporary Italian photography, where I curate about ten exhibitions a year, in both private and
institutional spaces.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Study, seriousness, accuracy, application, adaptability. And quality of work. The most important key is, in my opinion, to always pursue the highest quality standards and working hands-on in the field, by getting your hands dirty every day
and travelling to the places where things happen. I seek and choose quality, even if it costs more effort and time, from
writing to selecting editors and contributors. Another key element is to have a strong and sincere identity that people
continue to appreciate in time. It is also important to differentiate yourself and having an open mind and vision, always
thinking ahead in the future. Have resilience and insights to try to conceive the world of tomorrow, not looking at one’s
current situation, but thinking about what it could be like in the future. Finally, develop relationships, cultivate empathy,
and work with new and different solutions in mind. Open up, maintain a strong identity, and listen and understand the
wants of your target audience, while changing and experimenting – be in a state of constant becoming.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The constant interaction with different lives, modes of living, worlds and cultures, from America to Asia; putting yourself at play every day in search of something that can enrich you; constantly unearthing the genius and talents of
human beings in their multitudes of languages; traveling, learning and seeing beauty in all possible ways and places:
from a curated exhibition to a unique Persian miniature, from wandering slowly in Paris to rushing through Central
Park. In terms of recent events, I can mention two particularly touching ones: being the first journalist officially invited
and sponsored by TEFAF art fair in New York, one of the world’s largest kermesses; and receiving emails with sincere
gratitudes of students, even years later, to whom I have been helpful in their educational and professional journeys
Contact Info:
- Website: https://artslife.com/author/luca-zuccala/
- Instagram: @luca.zuccala
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/luca.zuccala/ https://lavocedinewyork.com/author/lucazuccala/ https://www.theducker.com/author/luca-zuccala/ https://www.finestresullarte.info/1724p_luca-zuccala.php https://www.iconmagazine.it/autori/luca-zuccala/