THE INSTINCT OF ART
ROBERTO SPADA ART COLLECTOR
The SPADA PARTNERS institutional headquarters is located in the historical center of Milan, at Corso Italia 22, in a building designed at the beginning of the 1960’s by Luigi Caccia Dominioni, namely one of the most prominent interpreters of the spirit of Lombardy and specifically of Milan.
The current offices were designed in 2016 by the architects of Locatelli Partners, in full respect of the original context.
Born in Cuneo and Milanese at heart, Roberto Spada, founded Spada Partners in 1989. He mainly works on corporate restructuring transactions. He practices as an expert on fiscal and corporate matters and on international taxation issues as well as on business valuations.
Roberto Spada’s passion for art has been growing and growing through the years.
One of his dreams for Italy, if he was the Minister of Culture, would be to build a big contemporary art museum at Castello di Rivoli, that he considers as one of the most fascinating places in his country.
How did you end up with this passion for Art?
The great passion for art was passed on to me, many years ago, by two great friends, Claudia Gian Ferrari, one of Italy’s most important gallery owners, and Giuseppe Iannaccone, a famous lawyer and above all a great art collector.
We started travelling together around the world in search of new galleries and young artists, and through them I breathed in the great passion for beauty, the new and the thinking of artists.
How and when did you start being an Art Collector?
I started about 25 years ago with a stroke of lightning at an art “Biennale” exhibition in Venice, where I bought a photograph by a Spanish artist called Cristina Rodero. So that’s where my collection began.
Could you name some of your favorite artists and pieces of art you could not live without?
Most surely my favorite artists are Charles Avery, I bought about 6 or 7 of his works, Ibrahim Mahama and his large jute-sack tapestries, Kiki Smith, and Shirin Neshat.
Do you consider yourself as an aesthete or a connoisseur?
I think I am a connoisseur, but in particular I consider myself a bit of a “finders’ keeper” who falls in love with the works and then has to buy them.
How do you see the future of Art?
I think the future of art will be important, as it is necessary for the growth of culture and the pursuit of beauty, and for these reasons it will certainly help people to live better. In my opinion, contemporary art is a wonderful synthesis of the times in which we live.
By: Mário de Castro
Kiki Smith Eve 2004 porcelain
Tony Fiorentino bust in bronze on the floor Luca de Leva pony on the floor
Charles Avery Untitled (Solipsist) 2009 Pencil & gouache on paper,on plaster and wood paper.
Davide Monaldi 365 ceramic figurines Table & chairs by Osvaldo Borsani, Tecno. Lamps by Caccia Dominioni, Azucena
Claire Fontaine Dignity Before Bread 2011 suspended neon
Chiara Camoni Sister #03 2021 Polychrome terracotta iron unique