Andrea Bellini's Autofiction Exposes Art World's Inner Dynamics

Andrea Bellini, director of Centre d'Art Contemporain Genève, has published "Storie dell'arte contemporanea" (Timeo, 2023), a collection of autofictional stories that blend real experiences with invented elements. The book originated from a lunch with a collector in Geneva in February 2020, after which Bellini began writing as a mental break from curatorial work. The stories depict the art world's power dynamics driven by economic, reputational, and relational capital, but Bellini insists his aim is literary rather than exposé. He acknowledges that such dynamics have always existed and that he adapts like everyone else. The book includes false leads and self-denunciation, questioning the boundary between author and fictional protagonist. Bellini notes that the art world is both worse and better than described, and that multiple art worlds exist, each chosen by individuals based on sensibility. He contrasts contemporary art curators favorably with anthropologists like Jacques Lizot and Kenneth Good, whose behavior among the Yanomami he calls horrifying. The book costs €20 and is available at timeo.store.