Turin.
Photo: via Forbes.

Artissima, the northern Italian art fair, kicks off on Thursday in Turin. But the stunning Italian city, home to the national automobile industry and cradle of Arte Povera, has more to offer beyond the white walls of the fair.

Artissima 2014.
Photo: Edoardo Piva.

Indeed, while the most savvy international collectors and art lovers descend on the city to enjoy the latest edition of the fair, Turin’s wealth of museums and galleries put on their best shows to celebrate the busiest week in the city’s art calendar. artnet News spoke to two key players in the scene, über-collector Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo and Artissima curator Fatos Ustek, to discover the best city haunts and exhibitions that fair visitors may enjoy.

Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo.
Image: Courtesy www.collezionedatiffany.com.

Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo is the grand dame of Turin. Since becoming a collector in 1992 and launching her dynamic foundation in 1995, her status and engagement in the international art scene has only kept growing. Sandretto Re Rebaudengo told artnet News what not to miss this week in Turin:

November offers a wide range of possibilities and events in Turin. This year, I suggest you visit the first solo show in Italy by Argentinian artist Adrian Villar Rojas at Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, which opens on November 4.

Adrián Villar Rojas, Los teatros de Saturno (The theaters of Saturn, 2014).
Photo: © Michel Zabé. Courtesy the artist and kurimanzutto, Mexico City.

Also, every museum in town presents new and interesting exhibitions. At Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Torino (GAM) and Castello di Rivoli, you’ll have the chance to visit “TUTTTOVERO,” a Francesco Bonami-curated exhibition that unites the collections of four contemporary art museums in Turin (GAM, Castello di Rivoli, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, and Fondazione Merz).

A special place to see is the Museo Casa Mollino, where the famous architect and designer Carlo Mollino used to live.

The house of Carlo Mollino.
Photo: via All Items Loaded.

At Artissima, take the time to visit the In Mostra section, a project curated by Stefano Collicelli Cagol inspired by the desire of showcasing Piedmont’s contemporary art collections and artistic institutions. Also, the Contemporary Art Night takes place on November 7, with galleries, museums, foundations, and unusual spaces opening late and staging exhibitions, performances, and special art events.

In terms of galleries, I recommend Galleria Franco Noero, which will show Darren Bader’s “Rocks and Mirrors,” Norma Mangione, which will exhibit Bernd Ribbeck’s “Monument Valley,” and Guido Costa, which is staging Paul Etienne Lincoln’s “Glover’s Repository.”

In terms of restaurants, I recommend Spazio7 at the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo and the historic Del Cambio at Piazza Carignano 2.

Le Roi dance hall in Turin, designed by Carlo Mollino.
Photo: via Le Roi.

If you want to enjoy Turin’s nightlife, you should definitely go to the dance hall Le Roi, designed by Carlo Mollino.

Go to the Caffé Al Bicerin (Piazza della Consolata 5) for a cup of their traditional coffee-and-chocolate, and to Caffé Mulassano (Piazza Castello 15) for a quick lunch. The famous tramezzino (half sandwich) was invented there in 1926!

For food shopping, check Peyrano (Corso Moncalieri 47) for the chocolate, Pastificio De Filippis for the agnolotti, which comes in travel packs, and the big food hall at Eataly (Via Nizza 230/14). Amazing perfumes can be found at L’Olfattorio (Piazza Bodoni 4), where you can also visit the Museum of Powder, which was invented by Italians and later brought to Paris.

Altissima Present Future curator Fatos Ustek.
Photo: via Culture Whisper.

We also asked curator Fatos Ustek to give us her best tips. Ustek is based in London, where she is currently at the helm of the curatorial tour de force that is fig-2, which involves a staging a new exhibition every week for a full year at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA). But Ustek is also one of the four curators of Artissima’s Present Future section, devoted to emerging artists, who then compete for the Illy Present Future Prize.

“Artissima is such an exciting fair with a vision and proven dedication to visual arts, which renews itself every year in response to the international arena,” Ustek told artnet News about the fair, before recommending us not to miss the four following exhibitions below.

1. Ed Ruscha “MIXMASTER” at the Pinacoteca Agnelli.
The exhibition, curated by Paolo Colombo explore ideas about collecting, and places works by the legendary American artist alongside historical objects from public collections in Turin and Ruscha’s personal collection.

Ed Ruscha, Standard Station Study (1986).
Photo: Courtesy of the artist.

2. Boris Mikhailov “Ukraine” at Camera Centro Italiano per la Fotografia.
An extensive retrospective dedicated to the work of Mikhailov, featuring over 300 works in which the artist explores his homeland: Ukraine.

3. Christian Boltanski “Dopo” at Fondazione Merz.
Curated by Claudia Giola, the exhibition was conceived as a total installation in which several works by the renowned French artist are placed in dialogue across the gallery space.

4. “Vanità/Vanitas” at Museo Ettore Fico.
This ambitious group exhibition about the transience of life gathers 50 works from old masters—including Bartolomé Esteban Murillo and Guido Cagnacci—and confronts them with works by 36 international contemporary artists, such as Carol Rama, Danh Vo, General Idea, Tomas Saraceno, and Santiago Sierra.

Ustek also tipped us off about the Fluo Night party taking place on Saturday November 7 at Toolbox, in which the artist Pawel Althamer will give a concert, and recommended us to visit the Museum of Oriental Arts and the Palazzo Madama Museo Civico d’Arte Antica.

And if all this museum and party hopping happens to makes you hungry, Ustek suggests a pit stop in the restaurant Al Gatto Nero.