{"id":3094,"date":"2025-04-03T19:40:19","date_gmt":"2025-04-03T19:40:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/04\/03\/inside-sp-arte-2025-brazils-art-market-flexes-its-power\/"},"modified":"2025-04-03T19:40:21","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T19:40:21","slug":"inside-sp-arte-2025-brazils-art-market-flexes-its-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/04\/03\/inside-sp-arte-2025-brazils-art-market-flexes-its-power\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside SP\u2013Arte 2025: Brazil\u2019s Art Market Flexes Its Power"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SP\u2013Arte at the Pavilh\u00e3o Ciccillo Matarazzo<\/span> opened to VIPs on April 2. Courtesy SP\u2013Arte<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SP\u2013Arte<\/a>, Brazil\u2019s leading art fair, opened yesterday (Wednesday, April 2) to VIPs in the iconic Pavilh\u00e3o Ciccillo Matarazzo designed by Brazilian master architect Oscar Niemeyer. Animated since the early hours by the packed crowd of mostly Brazilian collectors, dealers were busy with negotiations and conversations until late into the evening\u2014well after the fair closed at 9 p.m. This was mainly thanks to the thoughtfully designed arrangement of booths across the two floors, which provided the proper distance between them and created space for relaxation between browsing sessions.<\/p>\n

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Despite having to rein in its ambition to be the leading fair representing the entire South American region due to prohibitive import costs, SP\u2013Arte managed to solidify itself as the premier platform to showcase and discover the Brazilian art scene. The roster of artists presented at the fair was largely Brazilian, and the early sales results are a testament to a healthy market supporting its own scene. As the fair\u2019s founder Fernanda Feitosa told Observer in a recent interview<\/a>, the Brazilian art market and its infrastructure are solid. \u201cI can bet that the art market in Brazil is much better than if we look at the art market internationally,\u201d Feitosa said. \u201cOur artists are outstanding, and the collectors are very active. And global art market attention is now back on Brazil.\u201d<\/p>\n

The presence of several international blue-chip names at varying price points reflected the confidence and discernment of Brazil\u2019s collector base. Meanwhile, Brazilian artists continue to gain momentum abroad, driven by a renewed spotlight on the Global South and the afterglow of the most recent Biennale.<\/p>\n

As a Brazilian collector living in Munich and visiting for the fair told Observer, it\u2019s too limiting to describe the Brazilian market as \u201cregional\u201d\u2014given the country\u2019s vast scale and the diversity of its contemporary production, it could be considered a continent in itself. Though international visitors were few, those who came via the fair\u2019s well-orchestrated VIP program arrived with purpose and were committed to discovering the local scene, resulting in most making one or more purchases by end of day.<\/p>\n

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S\u00e3o Paulo-based gallery Almeida & Dale\u2019s booth. Elisa Carollo for Observer<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the entrance, a striking pairing between Tracey Emin<\/a>\u2019s neon and a gentle Pierre-Auguste Renoir immediately signaled the level of this year\u2019s SP\u2013Arte\u2014and the strength of the Brazilian market backing it. Local powerhouse Almeida & Dale presented both works in a booth that wouldn\u2019t have looked out of place at Gagosian or Pace in Basel, anchoring a presentation that also included pieces by heavyweights like Rudolf Stingel<\/a>, Stanley Whitney<\/a>, Wilfredo Lam<\/a>, Gabriel Orozco<\/a>, H\u00e9lio Oiticica and Tom Wesselmann<\/a>. A large Beatriz Milhazes<\/a> canvas was presented in conjunction with her current solo show at the Guggenheim.<\/p>\n

Just weeks before the fair, Almeida & Dale shook the Brazilian art world by acquiring the historic gallery Millan, taking over its three exhibition spaces in Pinheiros\u2014one of S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s most desirable neighborhoods\u2014as well as its entire artist roster.<\/p>\n

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Nearby, Recife-based Galeria Marco Zero, known for championing artists from Brazil\u2019s Northeast, presented a complex, large-scale work by Tereza Costa Rego<\/a>. Rich with ancestral symbolism and labyrinthine narrative structure, the painting led viewers through an epic that was both personal and mythic. Nearby, Gomide&Co delivered one of the most compelling booths of the fair, balancing sophistication with risk. Among the standouts was a powerful ceramic work by Paraguayan artist Julia Isidrez, whose organic, earth-channeling forms echoed her inclusion in the last Biennale by Adriano Pedrosa<\/a>. She shared the booth with Brazilian artist Maria Lira Marques<\/a>, currently featured in a joint exhibition at the gallery. A 2004 textile work by Louise Bourgeois<\/a>, shown inside a glass console, suggested a fragmented and decomposing body suspended in a moment of abandonment. Its quiet questioning of the limits between the physical and the sensorial came with a $2 million price tag.<\/p>\n

Also in the Gomide&Co booth was another work by Beatriz Milhazes, whose presence at the fair felt almost omnipresent\u2014her bold, patterned compositions echoed throughout SP\u2013Arte, bolstered by her solo exhibition at the Guggenheim New York and new acknowledgment of the role she played in bringing painting back to the Brazilian art scene. One of her monumental works took over the entire exterior wall of Danielian\u2019s space, its vibrant energy matched only by its $2 million asking price.<\/p>\n

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Galeria Marco Zero\u2019s booth. Courtesy SP\u2013Arte<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Beatriz Milhazes was also featured prominently in the booth of Rio de Janeiro\u2013based gallery Flexa, shown alongside a commanding lineup of work by acclaimed international women artists. Among them: an extraordinary Infinity Net<\/i> by Kusama, a new work by Golden Lion recipient Cecilia Vicu\u00f1a<\/a> and a delicately charged gouache by Marlene Dumas<\/a>. Elsewhere, Galatea\u2014a fast-growing gallery working confidently across both primary and secondary markets\u2014mounted one of the fair\u2019s most attention-grabbing centerpieces: a monumental, Picasso-inspired painting by Emiliano Di Cavalcanti<\/a>, offered at 7.8 million reais (roughly $1.3 million). Nearby, Rafael Moraes dedicated his booth entirely to works on paper by Cavalcanti. The presentation highlighted not only the lasting imprint of Western modernism but also how Cavalcanti reinterpreted its legacy through a distinctly Brazilian lens\u2014imbued with mysticism and a connection to the natural world.<\/p>\n

In a more accessible register, Carbono, known for its focus on editioned works, presented a thoughtfully curated selection of new multiples. The booth featured editions by some of the most institutionally validated Brazilian and international artists, including Julio Le Parc<\/a>, Iv\u00e1n Navarro and a newly released special edition by Ai Weiwei<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Sim\u00f5es de Assis\u2019 booth. ERIKA MAYUMI<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Also recurring across the booth were names associated with Brazil\u2019s geometric abstraction, spanning from Concretism to Neo-Concretism, including, importantly, Lygia Pape<\/a>, Lygia Clark<\/a> and H\u00e9lio Oiticica. Works by masters of Latin America\u2019s kinetic movement, like Jes\u00fas Rafael Soto and Carlos Cruz-Diez, were also present in several booths, with a standout being the over three-meter-long work by the latter, presented by longtime Brazilian dealer Sim\u00f5es de Assis with a multimillion price tag. Alongside works by other Brazilian masters like Sergio Camargo, the gallery also brought work by emerging names such as Z\u00e9h Palito, Thalita Hamamoui<\/a> and Djambe<\/a>. Sim\u00f5es de Assis\u2019 presentation featured a group of international artists as well, including another multimillion red Infinity Net<\/i> by Kusama, a large-scale sculpture by Jean-Michel Othoniel<\/a> and works by Mexican artist Gabriel de la Mora<\/a>. Sim\u00f5es de Assis recently began co-representing both Othoniel and de la Mora with Perrotin. Established in 1984 in Curitiba by Sim\u00f5es de Assis Filho, the gallery now operates alongside SIM Galeria\u2014founded by Guilherme and Laura Sim\u00f5es de Assis\u2014focused on contemporary art. In 2018, the two galleries expanded by opening a shared space in S\u00e3o Paulo, consolidating their programs and establishing themselves among the leading galleries in the country.<\/p>\n

Fortes D\u2019Aloia & Gabriel is another key player in internationalizing Brazilian contemporary artists, with a consistent presence at major international fairs. At SP\u2013Arte this year, the gallery presented one of its strongest lineups, including a large-scale gestural abstraction by Janaina Tsch\u00e4pe, who recently had a solo show at Kasmin in New York. The booth also featured works by other Brazilian artists now well-established on the global stage, such as Ernesto Neto<\/a>, Erika Verzutti<\/a>, OSGEMEOS<\/a>, Leda Catunda<\/a> and Yuli Yamagata<\/a>. \u201cWe had a very exciting first day at SP\u2013Arte. Sales were strong, and our booth remained busy throughout, reinforcing the public\u2019s keen interest in our program and artists, both emerging and established,\u201d Luiza Calmon, one of the gallery\u2019s partners, told Observer. \u201cThe city is buzzing with curators and collectors from Brazil and abroad, many of whom are visiting our two new exhibitions.\u201d The morning after the fair\u2019s preview, the gallery hosted a crowded brunch to open Manifesta\u00e7\u00e3o<\/i> by Beninese artist P\u00e9lagie Gbaguidi\u2014featuring works developed during her residency at Piv\u00f4 Salvador earlier this year\u2014and Um Lugar Para a Cabe\u00e7a<\/i> by S\u00e3o Paulo-based Gokula Stoffel, showcasing a new series of paintings and sculptures.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Mendes Wood DM has also established itself in the international art world over the past decade, emerging as a major force in promoting Brazilian artists abroad and often appearing alongside Fortes D\u2019Aloia & Gabriel at top-tier fairs. While one of its locations in S\u00e3o Paulo is currently showing a solo exhibition of Italian artist Guglielmo Castelli<\/a>, the gallery\u2019s SP\u2013Arte booth was focused on Brazilian talent. The selection included a painting by the highly sought-after Marina P\u00e9rez Sim\u00e3o, now co-represented with Pace, as well as works by Antonio Ob\u00e1, Paulo Nazareth<\/a>, Sonia Gomes<\/a>, Rosana Paulino<\/a> and Adriano Costa<\/a>. The gallery also presented internationally recognized names such as Lucas Arruda<\/a>, Julian Creuzet<\/a>, Paul Taburet<\/a>, Kishio Suga<\/a> and Alvaro Barrington<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Mendes Wood DM at SP\u2013Arte, 2025. GUI GOMES<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Beyond the blue-chip and established names, there was no lack of discoveries and space for experimentation at the fair. Among the more compelling propositions, in the booth of VERVE Galeria, Brazilian artist Mayara Ferr\u00e2o presented a new series of vintage-looking A.I.-generated photographs of LGBTQ couples from the past, each encased in antique frames. Using A.I. as a tool to question archival structures and the way history has been written\u2014often with many stories erased\u2014Ferr\u00e2o engages with technology as a method of rewriting the past. The works, each priced at R$6000 (around $1,000), offered a strikingly intimate and poetic revision of memory. In the same booth, VERVE also presented a group of captivating new paintings by the young and promising Victor Fidelis, each priced around R$25,000 (approximately $4,500).<\/p>\n

Slightly higher in price range but with a similarly promising trajectory, Galeria Luisa Strina was showing work by Panmela Castro<\/a>, a Brazilian artist who began her career in graffiti and is now increasingly sought after for her richly textured and sensually charged paintings. Medium-sized canvases remained priced under $20,000. Castro recently entered the P\u00e9rez collection following a residency last year at Jorge P\u00e9rez\u2019s private museum and incubator El Espacio 23<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The strong interest in younger and emerging artists translated into immediate results. Dealers reported multiple early sales, especially at S\u00e3o Paulo-based Mitre Galeria, whose dynamic program nearly sold out by the end of the first day. The booth featured works by Wallace Prato<\/a> and Marcos Siqueira<\/a>, as well as a series of enigmatic portraits by \u00c9der Oliveira, all priced under $15,000. Oliveira is also currently the subject of a solo exhibition at the gallery, timed to coincide with the fair. \u201cWe had great confidence in the strength of our presentation at this edition of SP\u2013Arte and the public and market reception confirmed it,\u201d Fl\u00e1via Cardoso, assistant director of the gallery, told Observer. \u201cThis was our most successful first day in terms of sales since we began participating in the fair.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mitre also reported sustained interest and additional sales for Luana Vita<\/a>, who will soon open a solo exhibition at the Sculpture Center in New York. The gallery is also preparing to present her work in a solo booth at Frieze New York in May.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, another S\u00e3o Paulo-based gallery, Luis Maluf, reported several sales by early afternoon, including a more ambitious interactive spiritual sculpture by Netherlands-born and Brazil-based artist Janet Vollebregt<\/a>. The Quartz Rose Diapason Portal<\/i>, conceived as a tool for sound bathing aimed at producing alignment, stood out among the booth\u2019s offerings. \u201cWe are always amazed by the exchanges and the performance we experience at SP\u2013Arte,\u201d rep Paola Greco<\/a> told Observer. \u201cIt is always a pleasure to present the gallery in our country.\u201d Other smaller works by Vollebregt were also presented and sold, alongside pieces by Aline Moreno<\/a>, Antonio Bokel<\/a>, Korola Braga<\/a> and Shizue Sakamoto<\/a>, among others.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe opening was a day to be celebrated,\u201d Feitosa told us at the end of the day. \u201cWe saw an engaged audience, celebrating Brazilian art and design and doing business. It was a great start to the four days of the fair ahead of us!\u201d<\/p>\n

The quality and activity level at this edition of SP\u2013Arte has certainly confirmed the strength and dynamism of the Brazilian art market, despite the ongoing political and economic challenges faced by the country and its dealers. While Brazil\u2019s punitive tax system continues to be a significant obstacle to further internationalization\u2014both of the fair and of the country\u2019s art ecosystem\u2014SP\u2013Arte\u2019s opening day demonstrated how the market has cultivated a sense of reliance and self-sufficiency, anchored by a strong and highly committed base of collectors.<\/p>\n

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Celebrating its 21st edition, the fair reaffirms its place not merely as a commercial platform, but as a dynamic ecosystem where ideas, markets, and creative practices intersect and evolve. FELIPE BELTRAME<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\t\t\t\t\"With<\/p><\/div>\n