This year, the largest art fair in the southern hemisphere turns two decades old. With the participation of galleries, design studios, cultural institutions and publishers, SP-Arte reaches its 20th edition celebrating the milestone it established in the country’s cultural scene. Between the 3rd and 7th of April, the event promises to bring excitement to the Biennale Pavilion, in Ibirapuera Park, with more than 190 exhibitors, in addition to an extensive program of conversations with artists, launches and audio guides.
SP-Arte, 2023 Photo: SP-Arte/Disclosure
More than a fair that displays and sells works, SP-Arte has become, year after year, a catalyst for the growth and recognition of the art market in Brazil. Since its foundation in 2004, it has served as a meeting point for the artistic community, standing out for its pioneering spirit and inventiveness. Since then, big names in contemporary production have attended the event – artists such as Ai Weiwei, Jeff Koons, Lynda Benglis and Olga de Amaral – and many of the works presented at the fair were later incorporated into the collections of important museums and collections.
Boosting the national and international market, SP-Arte has established itself as a platform that favors exchange between galleries, artists, curators and researchers by providing space for a series of programs that engage different agents in the system. The “Curatorial Laboratory”, by Adriano Pedrosa, was one of these projects with the aim of encouraging young curators to develop exhibition projects.
SP-Arte, 2023 Photo: SP-Arte/Disclosure
For the 2024 edition, modern and contemporary art galleries, cultural institutions and autonomous spaces will be concentrated on the first and second floor of the pavilion, in addition to the Iguatemi Arena, which hosts Talks SP–Arte. International highlights include Continua (Italy, France, China, Brazil and Dubai), Galería de las Misiones (Uruguay), Galería Sur (Uruguay), Gallery Nosco (Belgium), Herlitzka & Co. (Buenos Aires), La Balsa Arte (Colombia), Papai Contemporary (Norway), Piero Atchugarry (Uruguay), RGR Galería (Venezuela), Ricardo Fernandes (France), Salar Galería (Bolivia) and Zielinsky (Barcelona).
SP-Arte, 2023 Photo: Sp-Arte/Disclosure
On the ground floor, there will be publishers and design stands, with emphasis on the exhibition “Tactile: materials in contemporary design”, curated by Livia Debbané. Composed of 25 pieces by different designers, the collective emphasizes the investigation of raw materials and presents a sensorially diverse production of design linked to the domestic environment. Teo, a store and gallery created by the brothers Lis and Teo Vilela Gomes, a reference in sustaining the relevance of modernist design from the 1930s to the 1970s in Brazil, will be present with a preview of the exhibition “Dar forma à Forma”.
Cultural institutions such as MAM, Instituto Inhotim and IAC participate in SP–Arte with their respective art and design object stores. Among the highlights is MASP’s contemporary design selection, which features objects developed by Brazilian designers and artisans, as well as items from its editorial line, such as catalogs and postcards. Curated by Adélia Borges, the set provokes a non-hierarchical look by bringing together pieces created by designers, communities of artisans and indigenous peoples, using different materials and techniques. They range from design masters, such as Sergio Rodrigues, Flávio de Carvalho and Paulo Mendes da Rocha, to unprecedented works in three-dimensional printing by É Pedra Ateliê, made of bioplastic.
MASP Loja, 2023 Photo: SP-Arte/Disclosure
Autonomous spaces such as Solar dos Abacaxis, Casa do Povo and Pivô will also be present. The Desapê project will present 20 new woodcuts by Edgar Calel, an indigenous Guatemalan artist who participated in the 35th Bienal de São Paulo and was mentioned in the 2022 and 2023 editions of the Power 100 list of ArtReview, one of the main international contemporary art magazines. The full fair agenda can be accessed via the SP–Arte app (available in iOS and Android versions) and via the website.
Service
SP–Arte
Date: April 3 to 7
Location: Biennale Pavilion – Ibirapuera Park, gate 3
Timings: April 3: guests; April 4–5: 1pm to 8pm; 06–07 April: 11am to 7pm
Tickets: R$80 in full; R$40 half price