News - Latin American Art Fairs

The fifth edition of the São Paulo International Art Fair took place at the Ciccilo Matarazzo Pavilion located in the Biennial Foundation building. It is no coincidence that the Fair¿s Director chose this space, as it has been the headquarters of the São Paulo Biennial since 1951. Another recurring factor in the 5 years of the Fair's existence is the high quality of the presentation of the stands. More than 80 modern and contemporary art galleries participated in this edition. In 2005, only 40 galleries participated in the Fair. Galleries from neighboring countries such as Argentina (GC Estudio de Arte, Teresa and Isabel Anchorena), Uruguay (Galería Sur), and Colombia (Galería El Museo), as well as galleries from Europe, including Mario Sequeira from Portugal and Horrach Moya, Fernando Pradilla, and Joan Guaita from Spain, presented works by contemporary artists, as they sought the attention of local art collectors who have perhaps erroneously been regarded as nationalistic and conservative. On the other hand, one key reason for the success of the event has been the participation of galleries from several geographical points in Brazil. The participation is increasing year to year with galleries from Brazilian cities such as Recife, Belo Horizonte, and Nova Lima, as well as galleries from São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, with a long-standing trajectory and participation on the international art circuit. All of these institutions have progressively increased their support for the project of professionalizing the national art market through a highly competitive fair. According to São Paulo gallerist Daniel Roesler from the Nara Roesler Gallery, "this last SP-ARTE edition was much more successful than what I had anticipated, given these economic times (...), and it is definitely the most successful in the history of the event." Pedro Mendes from the young and innovative Rhys Mendes Gallery (Belo Horizonte-L.A.) thinks that "while importing artworks into Brazil remains a challenge for international galleries, this is a very well attended event for international galleries, given that sales in São Paulo have reportedly quadrupled in comparison to previous years, confirming that 2009 has certainly not been a recession year in São Paulo." The cultural program of conferences that included the participation of international curators complemented the artwork offered by the galleries. Because of these cultural presentations, many visitors felt compelled to attend the event daily in order to acquire maximal benefit. The conference series was held at the Lina Bo Bardi Auditorium of the São Paulo Museum of Modern Art, which was designed by Oscar Niemeyer. The group of selected speakers included Emma Lavigne and Joel Girard from the Centre Pompidou, who spoke on the international program of exhibitions in France and its relationship with Brazil; Rodrigo Moura, current curator at the Centro Inhotim in Belo Horizonte; and Mireya Escalante, curator of the Coppel Collection in Mexico. All these individuals represent private collections with unique attributes that have demonstrated a willingness to assume a role at the public level. Independent curator Sarina Tang also participated in this series, addressing the conditions of the growing art market in China and its recent projection into the epicenter of the art world. In addition to the conference series, several gallery stands, as well as Cosac Naify -a São Paulo publisher whose premises are located inside the Fair- hosted the presentations of art books. While the Fair has never professed ambitious goals from its beginnings in 2005, the event has gradually become more established as time passes. It has succeeded in centralizing the Brazilian art circuit in order to attract the attention of important national and international collectors, who now travel to São Paulo specifically to visit the Fair and to purchase artworks for their collections. It is important to take into account Brazi...