After opening locations in London and New York, Upsilon Gallery has set its sights on Milan. The German-Argentine dealer Marcelo Zimmler will open his first continental European space there on November 18, a 200-square-meter gallery just off Via Monte Napoleone, in the heart of the Quadrilatero—the city’s fashion and luxury nexus.
The move places Upsilon among a growing number of galleries testing Milan as it hopes to graduate from regional hub to global art capital, including Thaddaeus Ropac, Cardi Gallery, and Robilant + Voena. The city has long possessed all the raw ingredients—wealth, design, and history—but, as George Nelson wrote recently for On Balance, “Italy’s art scene has been here before, and it was a false dawn.”
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Zimmler insists this time is different. “Milan is a key cultural and financial hub—essential ingredients for a thriving art market,” he told me during a walk though of the Osvaldo Mariscotti show at his Upper East Side space. “With our growing base of collectors in Italy, and Milan’s proximity to Zurich and Paris, it’s a seamless choice for us.” He points to a pair of tailwinds that have altered the calculus: Italy’s surprise decision to slash VAT on art sales from 22 to 5 percent, and the influx of wealthy British residents fleeing the UK’s new tax regime.
Those macro shifts are hard to ignore. Rome rolled out the lowest VAT on art in the Eurozone in June; by August, estate agents were already touting Milan’s flat-tax advantages to disaffected London financiers. “They’ve been working on that reform for years,” Zimmler said, “and everyone expects it to have a positive effect on sales.”
The gallery’s debut exhibition—a Milan chapter of Osvaldo Mariscotti’s Valley series—will coincide with twin shows already on view in Upsilon’s London and New York outposts.
The three-part project, Zimmler said, “connects our cities in one conversation.” The Milan presentation includes four canvases and a bilingual catalogue edited by critics David Ebony and Alex Grimley.
If Ropac’s arrival signaled institutional heft, Upsilon’s may indicate entrepreneurial agility. Founded in 2016 as an online platform, the gallery has evolved into a hybrid operation—part dealership, part media venture. During our talk in New York, Zimmler described a business model that now depends as much on events, partnerships, and brand collaborations as on direct sales.
“Galleries are empty most of the time,” he said. “So we make the space available—for talks, wine tastings, even readings. It’s about creating experiences.”
That logic extends to Milan. The new gallery’s Ceppo di Gré flooring and marble detailing nod to the city’s architecture, while its location—steps from Prada and Bulgari—puts it in conversation with the luxury industry. “Art is a luxury good by definition,” Zimmler said. “It makes more sense for us to collaborate with other luxury categories than to open a café.” He plans to stage design-forward exhibitions during Salone del Mobile and is already developing projects with artists like Hanna Lim, whose ceramic work bridges craft and fashion.
Whether Milan will reward such optimism is unclear. The last time Italy looked poised for an art-market boom—when Gagosian opened in Rome in 2007—the enthusiasm outpaced the reality. But for dealers like Zimmler, the bet seems worth it. “We have a knack for opening when the macro conditions are not at their best,” he said with a laugh. “If you can make it work now, imagine when things actually improve.”