The interviews of ProfessioneArte.it

They are Eleonora and Francesca Tega Gallery owners at Galleria Tega

Five questions to get a preview of the great art professionals, the daily challenges to face, the choices that have determined their path in the system and in the art market, the changes under the banner of digital and the advices for those who want to undertake the same career in collaboration with ProfessioneARTE.it.

When it is said to be daughters of art. Eleonora and Francesca Tega, inseparable sisters, share a great passion for art and dedication for their work.

The Tega Sisters are in fact gallery owners in the gallery of the same name, grown up studying art and attending artists, collectors, critics among museums and fairs all over the world.

Despite having inherited the family gallery, Eleonora and Francesca take nothing for granted: being young women and gallery owners in this sector is not simple, but determination, dedication and professionalism in them is not lacking, in the continuous search for increasingly important results.

Like the monumental white space of Lucio Fontana from 1960 exhibited in the Unlimited section of Art Basel 2019 or the latest exhibition inaugurated in the galleria in Via Senato dedicated to the great artist Achille Perilli. 

In this interview, they not only tell about their unique journey in the art market, the peculiarities that characterize today the management of an art gallery, but they reveal to us the novelties they have in store for collectors and enthusiasts...

1. How did your journey in the world of art begin?

Having been born into a family that has been working in the art world for generations, the approach was very early.

We grew up between our father’s gallery of Modern Art and our mother’s Contemporary Art gallery, thus attending artists, collectors, critics, journalists and other personalities in the sector.

Eleonora: Initially I didn’t want to follow in the footsteps of my parents, choosing to attend Modern Letters in Milan. Then, as always happens a little as a joke, I started helping my parents at fairs, getting more and more passionate until I understood that I also wanted to work in the art world. For this reason, in agreement with my sister Francesca, who joined me after her studies, we have been managing the Milan gallery since 2012.

Francesca: I’ve always wanted to do this job and follow in the footsteps of my family. For this reason, after finishing high school, I enrolled in the Parsons School in Paris, an academy where I studied Photography for a year. Subsequently, I graduated in History of Art at the American University of Paris, and after finishing my studies, I started to work alongside my sister Eleonora in the gallery.

2. How would you describe your profession today?

E&F: We are very lucky, because our relationship and shared vision allows us to work together in the same role.

In the gallery we take care of all the management aspects: the organization of exhibitions, the research of works, sales negotiations or participation in various fairs at an international level. Obviously there is no lack of maintaining relationships of trust with the artists and the various archives, without forgetting those with collectors that we have all over the world. We also deal with the supervision of transport and handling of the works, including the creation of catalogs: in fact nothing is left to chance, following all aspects with great attention.

This has been happening since 2012, when our father gave us the incredible opportunity to independently manage the Galleria Tega in Milan. Obviously he actively collaborates with us, often supporting us thanks to valuable advices and suggestions, also given his great experience in the sector.

We are a 100% female team. We have two fantastic collaborators who help us: Carola who follows the accounts and Costanza, always present in the gallery who coordinates everything about the Milan locations and also helps us during fairs.

Being young women in this environment is not easy, but we are convinced that our passion and determination help us to give our best to get better results.

3. How has your profession changed over time?

E&F: Although we have been working in the sector for almost a decade, we have witnessed a real change in our profession thanks to the advent of digital.

This has inevitably distorted relationships. Before the contact with customers and with the personalities of our sector was direct, and from that a relationship of working trust was generated, for example collector / gallery.

Now paradoxically it is the opposite. In fact, it has happened, more than once, that new collectors have shown interest in our works after seeing them on our digital channels and social profiles, often with sales negotiations started only remotely, knowing them only at the end of the process.

In addition, the advance of digital technology has allowed the whole art system to speed up some steps and make much more information accessible. The archives and foundations, for example, having digitized their archive have made the process of authentication and research for a given work faster and leaner.

The faster and faster connection has guaranteed auction houses to organize online sales, allowing the art world to expand its user base and reaping numerous benefits.

Finally, due to the COVID-19 emergency, large art fairs have become accessible only online, now individual galleries are also organizing inaugurations and digital projects on websites and social networks.

We too, after careful research in our Archives, have decided to develop on our Instagram profile @galleriatega a series of itineraries that will recount some of the most important exhibitions we have created over the years.

4. What impact is digital having on your sector?

E&F: As mentioned before, digital has completely revolutionized our world. The website to date is the first business card for our gallery. It allows us not only to show our work, but also to present the works for sale. In recent years it has given us really good satisfactions, in fact it was precisely through the website that we met new collectors with whom a lasting relationship was born.

With the advent of social media, things have further improved. In fact, social networks, such as Instagram and Facebook, are a fundamental tool, which allows us to share our work in the gallery and above all the works available all over the world, very quickly.

They are an incredible showcase, useful for dealing with our colleagues and also relating to museum institutions and foundations.

Furthermore, there are no borders on social networks, they shorten distances and this has helped us a lot in cultivating the already solid relationship with the American art market. In addition, the digital revolution has allowed many institutions to digitize their collections and make them visible online. At the same time, platforms for the sale of the works or for previewing fairs all over the world were born.

These are great growth opportunities for art galleries.

5. What would you recommend to a young person who wants to start your profession?

E&F: Honestly, it’s a very difficult path. We have been lucky, inheriting an already established and very solid structure, this has allowed us to skip many initial steps. Starting from scratch would have been extremely complicated. Many means are needed, a very precise idea of ​​what you want to convey with your work and a lot of determination.

At the expense of what you think, it is a very physical job, you travel often and there are no timetables, because in addition to carrying on the daily work at the physical location, it is also important to maintain contact with the sphere of relationships with the whole system.

In any case, as our grandfather said “Knowledge is bread” therefore we recommend studying, observing, knowing and attending as much as possible. It is a job that is based on relationships, which must be cultivated immediately. For us, competence always rewards, for this reason we think that the most suitable advice is to continue to inquire about the art system.