Six books dissecting the art system from aesthetics to collecting

A curated selection of six books published in 2019 examines different facets of the art system, excluding artists themselves. Giovanni Ferrario's 'Estetica dell’arte contemporanea' (Meltemi) revisits foundational concepts like taste and mimesis with contributions from Fulvio Carmagnola, Maddalena Mazzocut-Mis, Roberto Diodato, and Stefano Velotti. Gianni Romano's 'Become a Curator' (Postmedia Books) features essays by Massimiliano Gioni, Boris Groys, and Hans Ulrich Obrist, plus a closing piece by Adrian Paci. Alan Jones and Laura De Coppet's 'I galleristi di New York' (Castelvecchi) profiles 35 historic New York gallerists in first-person narratives, notably omitting Larry Gagosian. Bruno Bandini and Beatrice Buscaroli's 'Le 100 mostre che sconvolsero il mondo' (24 Ore Cultura) covers exhibitions from the 1863 Salon des Refusés to the 21st century. Irina Zucca Alessandrelli's 'Disegno italiano del XX secolo. Opere su carta della Collezione Ramo' (Silvana Editoriale) documents the Ramo Collection, founded by Giuseppe Rabolini (died August 25, 2018), with 560 works from Medardo Rosso to the 1980s. Antonello Tolve's 'Istruzione e catastrofe' (Kappabit) collects essays on art pedagogy from Giulio Carlo Argan to Leo Lionni, referencing the Venice Biennale and H-Campus.