Born in Italy, as a child Carlo was never exposed to African art, however being the son of art dealers, he has always had a passion for art. Joining Pace in 1984, he started working in the Print department dealing in Western art. On the same floor as the Tribal Art department—then run by Bryce Holcombe—Carlo became exposed to African art and very quickly jumped into ‘tribal art’ pool.

Completely self-taught, with a career spanning more than three decades, and now at the helm of Pace Primitive, Carlo Bella has never looked back. In this ‘Dealer Spotlight’, we speak to Carlo to find out ‘why Africa’, his experience to date in dealing in classic African art, and how he believes the market has evolved, and will continue to evolve over the next five years.