Review
SP–Arte 2016
Held in São Paulo’s historic Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion, designed by Pritzker Laureate Oscar Niemeyer, the 12th edition of SP-Arte presented a dynamic mix of emerging and established Brazilian and international artists while the Fair’s curated sections continued to encourage cutting edge programs and artworks that challenged attendees.
SP-Arte/2016 welcomed 124 participating galleries (86 Brazilian and 38 international) and featured over two thousand artists across its six sectors: Main, Showcase, Solo, Design, Performance and Open Plan. This edition had 140 external events throughout the city which innovated and contributed to the Fair’s impact on the city.
SP-Arte Director, Fernanda Feitosa stated, “It was a beautiful edition with a positive atmosphere, excellent selection of works presented by the galleries, and a diverse public with a common interest in art. Our 12th edition was also notable because of the collective effort seen among professionals, institutions, art collectors and art enthusiasts working together to exceed expectations of the present moment in Brazil and help the country restore through art.”
new features
SP-Arte/2016 featured a new design sector entirely dedicated to the country’s leading furniture and lighting designers, highlighting the most renowned names in Brazilian design, such as Lina Bo Bardi, irmãos Campana, Carlos Motta, Oscar Niemeyer, Claudia Moreira Salles, Jorge Zalszupin, and Hugo França to name a few, among the selection of 23 exhibitors. “The design sector is now part of SP-Arte and São Paulo’s calendar. It was very enriching for the Fair to have the art world in dialogue with design and architecture”, says Feitosa.
Supported by Volvo and Heineken, Gallery Nights offered a unique opportunity for galleries to host guests over two lively and entertaining evenings. The Fair kicked off the week on the Saturday and Sunday prior to the Fair opening, with exhibitions by Haroon Gunn-Salie, Antonio Dias, Rene Francisco, Erika Verzutti and the launching of Luciana Brito’s new gallery. Luisa Strina and Casa Triângulo also held openings in new gallery spaces during the Fair week.
In addition to the gallery openings, there were also special museum openings at Masp – São Paulo Museum of Art (Histórias da Infância), Instituto Tomie Ohtake (Sebastião Salgado) and MAC-USP – Museum of Contemporary Art (Oswaldo Vigas).
After a huge success in 2015, Open Plan, a section dedicated to large works and installations, returned to exclusively present commissioned works by SP-Arte, organized and curated by XII Cuenca Biennial curator, Jacopo Crivelli Visconti.
highlights
A wide range of emerging and established Brazilian and international artists were featured at the Fair. Highlights among Brazilian galleries included Sergio Camargo at Almeida e Dale; Raymundo Colares at Ronie Mesquita and Antonio Bandeira & Mary Vieira at Pinakotheke. Other Brazilian names such as Hélio Oiticica, Lygia Clark, Lygia Pape, Waltercio Caldas, Tunga, Mira Schendel, Adriana Varejão and Beatriz Milhazes also exhibited important works at the Fair.
International highlights featured Michelangelo Pistoletto, Lucio Fontana and Jannis Kounelis at Cardi and Continua; Francis Picabia at Michael Werner; Giorgio Morandi, Oscar Murillo and Yayoi Kusama at David Zwirner; Damien Hirst at White Cube; Damián Ortega and Gabriel Kuri at kurimanzutto; David Shrigley at Stephen Friedman; Hamish Fulton at espaivisor and Henri Chopin at Richard Saltoun.
international visitors
Attendance reached a record 27,000 visitors over the five days of the Fair, including illustrious art world figures such as Ella Fontanals-Cisneros (CIFO – Cisneros Fontanals Art), Maxine and Stuart Frankel (Maxine & Stuart Frankel Foundation), Betty and Brack Duker, Franklin Sirmans (Pérez Art Museum Miami), Mari Carmen Ramirez (Museum of Fine Arts, Houston), Joan Weinstein (Getty Foundation, Los Angeles), Helen Molesworth (MOCA, Los Angeles) and Kimberli Meyer (MAK Center for Art and Architecture, Los Angeles). Strong works and high attendance were supported by a series of events, including openings, private collection visits, panel discussions, book launches, performances, and guided tours that made the week a success.