ArtRio 14: Consolidation of a young fair on the art market
Marta Inez Rodrigues Pereira
Roberta Okura
The fourth edition of ArtRio took place between the 11th and 14th September 2014; the venue was a set of warehouses at Píer Mauá, Rio de Janeiro. The fair has now established itself in the international art calendar, following the steps of SP-Arte in Sao Paulo and attracting galleries, curators and collectors from many parts of the world.
In addition to the success of the fair itself, receiving 48,000 visitors this year, ArtRio is becoming a means of attracting satellite events such as Artigo Rio – art fair with the majority of works not exceeding R$ 5,000 (approximately US$ 2,100); ArtRua – street art exhibition and fair; IDA – design fair; and, of course, the countless exhibition openings in galleries, museums and other art institutions which occur during this time.
Participating galleries
Most galleries present at the fair, from a total of 105, are based in Brazil (59). Next there was a significant participation of galleries from Spain (11), United States (7), United Kingdom (6) and Argentina (6). Among the 59 Brazilian galleries, the great majority was from the cities of Rio de Janeiro (26) and São Paulo (25), reflecting the polarized nature of the local market.
Of note is the presence of world renowned galleries such as: David Zwirner, Gagosian, Pace, Victoria Miro and White Cube; in addition to some Brazilian galleries with a relevant international presence: A Gentil Carioca, Fortes Vilaça, Luisa Strina, Mendes Wood and Vermelho.
Sectors
The fair was divided into four sectors:
Panorama: 78 well established galleries;
Vista: 18 young galleries with experimental curatorial projects;
Lupa: curated by Abaseh Mirvali, 8 galleries showed new large-scale works; and
Solo: curated by Julieta Gonzalez and Pablo Leon de La Barra, 15 galleries showed works based on the book “Visão do Paraíso” (Visions of Paradise, 1959), by Sérgio Buarque de Hollanda.
Some galleries were present in more than one sector and, as expected, Brazilian galleries were in greater number in all sectors.
Sales
The total value of sales negotiated during the fair is difficult to determine as many galleries do not disclose these values. However, it does seem the fair was successful in this aspect, especially when one considers the negative expectations due to the country’s low economic activity and the near-stagnation of the market consequent to the effects of the World Cup. The larger galleries, however, seem little affected by any crises. There were reports on the media of sales of a Monet for R$ 20 million (US$ 8.5 million) at Gagosian and a Damien Hirst for R$ 3.4 million (US$ 1.5 million) at White Cube, among others, in addition to reports that top Brazilian galleries such as Fortes Vilaça (São Paulo) and Luisa Strina (São Paulo) had sold more than half of the works taken to the fair on the guest-only opening day. More positive is the anecdotal evidence that medium-sized galleries had sales which exceeded their expectations, initially quite negative.
Curiosity
Paulo Herkenhoff, curator of Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR), spread “wish list” stickers throughout the fair indicating works of interest for the museum and suggesting options for donation by benefactors.
The event’s organization
The demolition of a flyover just outside Píer Mauá helped the fair – as expected for future events taking place at the same venue – giving more visibility to the warehouses and producing a much more pleasant environment, in addition to allowing the entrance to be made through the first warehouse – in 2013 the entrance had to be placed in the centre warehouse.
However, due to ongoing road works, there was no parking at the site. In order to guarantee easy access to the fair, the organizers arranged for a shuttle service to a nearby metro station and for taxis to be frequently available.
The weather was an addition to the fair and, with splendid sunny days, the event was a success. Let us now wait for the 2015 edition.
