Review
SP–Foto 2019

The 13th edition featured 44 exhibitors and national and international newcomers. Zielinsky (Spain) took part for the first time and presented the Italian photographer Antoni Abad and the Uruguayan Yamandú Canosa – both have been featured at the Venice Biennale. LAMB Arts (United Kingdom) exhibited emerging artists such as Tinko Czetwertynski
, Gleeson Paulino, Kate Bellm, Ruben Brulat and Fabricio Brambatti. Another national newcomer was Almeida e Dale Galeria de Arte, that, together with Leme/AD, presented over fifty works by Jean Manzon and Luiz Braga.

Veteran Vermelho exhibited works by Marcelo Moscheta and Cinthia Marcelle, and also the work “Airshaft para Piranesi X”, from the series “Tautorama”, by Ana Maria Tavares – one of the most important sales of the 13th SP-Foto. With works by Brazilian and international artists, such as Paulo Nazareth, Anna Bella Geiger, Sofia Borges and Francesca Woodman, whose photographs were sold on the first day of the event, Mendes Wood DM had a great performance at the Fair. German photographer Helmut Newton was another international name highlighted in this edition. Presented by MaPa, a photograph the artist took of David Bowie was acquired at the opening of the event.

For years now SP-Foto has been promoting a professional immersion trip. During it’s span, the programe has received names such as Sarah Meister, photography curator at MoMA, Jeff Rosenheim (Metropolitan Museum), Brett Rogers (The Photographer’s Gallery), Artur Walther (The Walther Collection), Malcolm Daniel (Museum Fine Arts Houston) and Michael Famighetti (Aperture Magazine). Through visits to cultural institutions, galleries and studios, SP-Foto has created means for these museums, publications and international collections to further their knowledge of Brazilian art.

In 2019, curators of five different countries took part in the professional immersion programe. Margot Norton (New Museum), Simon Baker (Maison Européenne de la Photographie), Tanya Barson (MACBA), Julieta González (Jumex), Barbara Tannenbaum (Cleveland Museum), Elizabeth Cronin (New York Public Library) and Sophie Hackett (Art Gallery of Ontario) landed in São Paulo by invitation of SP-Foto and visited galleries such as Nara Roesler, Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel, Mendes Wood DM and Lume, and also various artist’s studios, both of gallery-represented artists as well as independent ones. Among the cultural institutions visited were MASP, IMS and MAM-SP.

The international curators also shared their professional experiences with the public at a free programming at SP-Foto. In conversation with Brazilian specialists, Margot Norton (New Museum), Barbara Tannenbaum (Cleveland Museum) and Julieta González (Jumex) took part in the 13th SP-Foto Talks.

Architect Guilherme Wisnik and curator of the New Museum Margot Norton talked about the impact digital transformations have on images and, consequently, on photography as we know it. Barbara Tannenbaum (Cleveland Museum) and gallery owner Mario Cohen talked about the evolution of photography in the art market, and it’s subsequent increase of financial value. In another Talk, Julieta González (Jumex), together with journalist Ronaldo Entler, analyzed the intersections between photography and contemporary art.

Meet the Artists has returned for a second running in 2019, with the goal of bringing the public even closer to the production of Brazilian photographers. Mauro Restiffe, artist that holds works in important public collections, such as Inhotim, MAM-SP and Tate Gallery, talked with the public on the last day of the event. Bárbara Wagner & Benjamin de Burca, who have represented Brazil in important international exhibitions, such as Skulptur Projekte Münster (2017) and the 58th Venice Biennale (2019), along with Pedro Sotero, photography director that works with the duo, also took part in an intimate conversation with the Fair’s visitors.

In an all-new partnership, SP-Foto launched with Escrevedeira a cycle of encounters centered on the issues between photography and literature. In these conversations, professionals of the publishing industry invited renowned photographers to speak about authors and books that have influenced their artistic production.

The three encounters promoted conversations between Alberto Martins and Maureen Bisilliat; Matinas Suzuki Jr. and Bob Wolfenson and, last, Noemi Jaffe and Cristiano Mascaro. The encounters took place at the headquarters of Escrevedeira, at Vila Madalena, and SP-Foto, at JK Iguatemi.

For the first time, SP-Foto has built a sector dedicated to the main publishing houses that focus on photography. The sector hosted publishers that offered prints and special books with prices that are accessible to the public. Publishers with a strong presence in the market, such as Cobogó and Taschen took part in the 13th edition of SP-Foto alongside BEĨ Editora, Editora Madalena, Fotô Editorial, Lovely House, Terra Virgem, Vento Leste and YOW. Through a careful selection of publishers, SP-Foto offered books that collaborate with the formation of the public that visits the Fair.

MASP debuted at the Fair with catalogues of its main exhibitions, such as “Foto Cine Clube Bandeirante: do arquivo à rede”. And MAM returned to the event with its traditional Photography Club, an annual subscription to limited editions of important Brazilian photographers.

The 13th SP-Foto offered themed visits catering to a public interested in getting to know the stories behind the works and artists presented at the Fair. Created and guided by experts Paola Fabres, Isabella Lenzi and Gustavo Colombini, the four exclusive itineraries – a brief history of photography, photography and modernity, cities and nature, bodies and identities – invite the visitor to an immersion in the world of photography and the reflexions that surround this language. The guided visits happened free of charge every day during the Fair and received over 350 people.