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In an elegant apartment-turned-gallery in the centre of Milan, just a stone’s throw from the Duomo Cathedral, a jewel of 20th century art history is currently on show at Galleria Tommaso Calabro. In an exhibition titled Casa Iolas — Citofonare Vezzoli that debuted earlier this year, homage is paid to a distinguished Greek gallerist, the late Alexander Iolas. Curated by Italian art star Francesco Vezzoli with scenography by his longtime collaborator Filippo Bisagni, it tells the story of success, fame and tragedy that followed Iolas through the work of several major artists who surrounded him up until his death. The exhibition is the second installation of Calabro’s ongoing series in dedication to great, forgotten gallerists of the 20th century – with the first honouring Italian gallerist Carlo Cardazzo in 2018. Much of Cardazzo’s work was responsible for the growth & development of Spatialism, while Alexander Iolas helped usher in the genre of Surrealism.

As one of the most influential art dealers of his time, Iolas created one of the first international networks of galleries: a platform which eventually helped introduce Surrealism to the United States and gave Andy Warhol his first solo show in 1952 —  Fifteen Drawings Based on the Writings of Truman Capote. After years of growing affluence through his work and friendship with some of history’s most important artists like Pablo Picasso, Man Ray, and Max Ernst among others, Iolas closed all his European galleries in 1976, keeping a solemn promise to do so upon Ernst’s death. Later he returned to his native Greece to construct a mansion in Athens in which to stage his vast collection of art. Dubbed Villa Iolas, the house was a 1300 square meter villa in the suburbs of Athens entirely covered in white marble, with a collection of antiquities displayed with some of the most iconic paintings and sculptures of the era. In 1987 Iolas passed away at the hands of the AIDS epidemic. Following his death, and due to the lack of a will, Villa Iolas was eventually subject to vandalism and theft, and not long after his legacy was soon forgotten.

The new exhibition Casa Iolas — Citofonare Vezzoli is a condensed re-imagining of the Athenian mansion, with a curation of art that acts as a cultural road map of Iolas’ journey and his influences. Revealing the exhibition’s origins, gallerist Tommaso Calabro explained, “Francesco Vezzoli and I started to think about this show about three years ago, after we worked together on the exhibition Metafisica da Giardino at Nahmad Projects in London. Many of the [Giorgio] de Chiricos on display belonged to Alexander Iolas at some point. I became intrigued by this figure and started checking the provenance of all paintings I came across to see whether his name appeared. In these three years, I’ve worked with private collectors, archives and foundations to trace works that were once in Iolas’s hands.”

Each room of the exhibition is curated to recall the multiculturalism that Iolas’ work and life embodied, with influences from ancient European culture, classic surrealism, and a rich body of contemporary genres. Throughout the exhibit, viewers are treated to glimpses of ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt through sculptures and antique furniture which appear alongside a visual medley of the works of the original artists that inspired Iolas, each carefully acquired or borrowed by Calabro in the past few years. “I was able to include works by artists such as Victor Brauner, Giorgio de Chirico, Paul Klee and Max Ernst, which were once exhibited at his galleries. I also put together a collection of almost one hundred original catalogues and posters produced by Iolas. The collaboration with the Studio Eliseo Mattiacci was key to include in my show. It is a spectacular installation from 1980-1981 made of aluminium ‘volutes’. Iolas had about twenty from this series in one of the rooms of his house in Athens,” explained Calabro. Not only dedicated to male European artists, the show branches out – following Iolas’ love of works from the likes of Leonor Fini, Niki De Saint Phalle and Dorothea Tanning to Edward and Nancy Kienholz or Ed Ruscha.

In honouring the Greek gallerist in Milan, Calabro depicts one of the many cultural crossroads of Iolas’ journey that included his love for Italian art as well as the city itself. “Italy was very important to Iolas. He had two galleries there, one in Rome and one in Milan,” recounts Calabro, who’s own space rejects the white cube in favour of a stately ‘house museum’ aesthetic. “The one in Milan was originally located in Via Rossini and later moved to Via Manzoni 12 – right where the Poldi Pezzoli museum is. Iolas did not rent an apartment, as he usually did in other cities, but used to live in the gallery, right in the back. Iolas felt at home in Milan. He loved the city because he adored going to the Teatro La Scala to enjoy the opera, one of his greatest passions. Milan was also the place where he organized his last exhibition in 1987: Andy Warhol’s Last Supper at the Palazzo delle Stelline, which is a five-minute walk from my gallery. I feel there would have been no better place to pay homage to Iolas if not in one of his favourite cities, where he exhibited some of the most relevant Italian masters of the twentieth century.”

Iolas’ work with these art stars not only guaranteed his success but assured him a complicated dance with fame that ultimately ended in betrayal. His death was followed not only by the loss of his collections but also to a certain extent the loss of his legacy. As one who has long studied the complexities of fame, curator Francesco Vezzoli explores what he describes as Iolas’ legacy in a befallen era of gallery culture that was based on friendship, trust, and mutual esteem, all of which are communicated throughout the exhibit that also features a few touches of Vezzoli’s own art practice, including some never-before-seen sculpture.

For a more detailed account on the process, scroll below for question time with Francesco Vezzoli interviewed by Jordan Anderson.

The exhibition’s title Casa Iolas — Citofonare Vezzoli (transl. Iolas’ House — Buzz Vezzoli) is a play on words that implies Vezzoli’s repossession of Iolas’ house with a roster of key names in residence. The show is currently on view until January 16th, but temporarily closed due to coronavirus restrictions. A full 3D tour of the exhibition is available online at www.tommasocalabro.com

Words by Jordan Anderson

Discover more of Francesco Vezzoli’s work inside A Magazine Curated By Delfina Delettrez (2014), where the artist created the series Hollywood Antiquities that was printed on pearlescent golden paper.

Order back issue of A Magazine Curated By here.