Interview with Alberto Marinelli
Stepping into Arte è Kaos in Alassio is not just entering a gallery. It feels like opening a secret chest without knowing what treasure might lie inside: a glimmer of light on a golden canvas, the bold red of a pop artwork catching you off guard, or the elegant shadow of a glowing sculpture quietly observing you.
Art director Alberto Marinelli welcomes you with a knowing smile: “From chaos are born the dancing stars,” he says, quoting Nietzsche. And suddenly, the space comes alive.
For Marinelli, chaos is not empty disorder but a fertile ground for life and possibility. That’s why his gallery brings together metaphysics, Pop Art, hyperrealism, figuration, signed prints and posters—everything coexisting freely, without imposed hierarchies. “I don’t want to dictate a path,” he explains. “I want to offer visual sparks and let everyone create their own journey.”
He calls himself a “gallerist by chance.” Trained as an architect, he once sketched spaces and studied proportions. That discipline gave him a precious gift: the ability to read an environment and turn it into experience. A professional collaboration unexpectedly led him into the art world—and what seemed at first a temporary detour became his life’s road. Today, he sees himself not just as a dealer but as a bridge between artists and audiences, a facilitator of encounters, a storyteller.
His first memory of art? Michelangelo’s Doni Tondo at the Uffizi, seen as a restless child in long lines. An unpleasant experience, yet one that planted a seed: the desire to make art accessible, engaging, never intimidating. “Not trivial, but able to amaze without putting distance,” he says.
If forced to choose a single artist to exhibit forever, he might lean toward Damien Hirst—the “rock star” who can move from the delicacy of cherry blossoms to the brutality of sharks in formaldehyde. But in truth, the very idea of only one artist feels limiting to him. Art, for Marinelli, thrives on variety and the unexpected.
The visitors of Arte è Kaos are just as diverse: seasoned collectors, investors, first-timers, the simply curious. “What I’m looking for is curiosity—the desire to be surprised, to find a companion for the journey you can hang on your wall.” Because for him, art is above all a motionless journey: a shift of the soul that can happen in front of a painting at home as much as in a museum halfway across the world.
Looking ahead, Marinelli sees the future in crossovers—with design, hospitality, unconventional spaces. Fewer art fairs (too repetitive, too noisy, the works get drowned out), more projects that bring art closer to people: an artwork in a hotel lobby, an exhibition in a private home, an installation in an olive mill.
His advice to young artists is simple but uncompromising: study, live, make mistakes. “Technique is vital, but without life it’s sterile. Travel, read, love, hate. And don’t give up—this road is long, but full of rewards.”
Alberto Marinelli doesn’t just want to be a gallerist. With a touch of irony, he calls himself a “prophet” of a radical yet simple idea: art is not a luxury for the few, but nourishment for the soul.
“From chaos are born the dancing stars,” he said at the beginning. As he closes the gallery door, his gaze lingers on that small universe. He smiles: tomorrow, chaos will dance again.