MCMC Gallery
I was fortunate enough to be in Buenos Aires during ARTEBA, one of Latin America’s most significant art fairs. ArteBA brings Argentinian, Brazilian, Colombian, and Chilean art to the international market and vice versa. What I love about an art fair is that is is the perfect place to meet dealers, important curators, and artists. Hence it is easy to accomplish the entire purpose of my trip during a single event. What I found through speaking with these influential people in the art community was how powerful the arts movement is across Latin America.
Highlights outside the fair itself included a party at the residence of Alec Oxenford, one of Latin America’s top art collectors and a visit to the Chilean Embassy of Argentina for the opening of “Desórdenes Sistémicos”, a spectacular exhibition hosted by several of Chile’s top galleries.
Galleries not to be missed //
ARGENTINA
MAMAN Gallery
MAMAN Fine Art focuses on modern and contemporary art. The gallery exhibited a fantastically curated booth at ArteBA with artists such as Raul Lozza, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Norberto Gomez, Martin Di Girolamo, among others. In addition to Buenos Aires the gallery has a second location in the heart of the Design District in Miami.
If visiting Buenos Aires I recommend breakfast across the street at Cafe Tabac, a lovely French style street cafe. If you cannot make it all the way to Buenos Aires, a visit to the Miami Design District is a must, the area is an epicenter for culture, art, design, luxury brands and gastronomy. I recommend lunch at Mandolin, an Agean Bistro which will make you feel like you are having lunch in the Greek Isles.
Henrique Faria
Henrique Faria stands out as a beautiful contemporary art gallery with its cutting-edge exhibitions. The Buenos Aires flagship of Henrique Faria concentrates on geometric abstraction and the more conceptual Latin American art. Located in my favorite Buenos Aires neighborhood, Recoleta which is full of wonderful galleries. Palace Alvear would be my hotel of choice, located on the “Madison Avenue” of Buenos Aires. Faria has a sister location in New York.
Processed with VSCO with fp2 preset
María Calcaterra – modern & contemporary (MCMC), was founded in 2014 by María Calcaterra. The gallery represents a select group of artists and is an important gallery at the local and international level. The gallery hosts museum quality exhibitions and is not to be missed!
CHILE
Artist Catalina Swinburn at Isabel Aninat
The Chilean art scene is very unique as the contemporary art scene in the capital city is just beginning to flourish. Chile was under dictatorship until 1990 and in the years under Pinochet museums and galleries were strictly censored and couldn’t support contemporary artists. Isabel Aniant is considered to be one of the “oldest Chilean the art galleries” and was a pioneer in the Chilean and Latin American art scene often subtly exhibiting shows in opposition to the dictatorship regime. Aninat is dedicated to project contemporary Chilean and Latin American art, maintaining a special focus on the consolidation of a group of Chilean artists, both locally and internationally.
Aninat exhibited a very inspiring booth at ArteBA. In addition to visiting the gallery I had to privilege of meeting Isabel herself and her daughter, who graciously invited me to the opening of “Desórdenes Sistémicos” an exhibition at the Chilean Embassy dedicated to the movement to bring Latin American Art to a global scale.
(not at the fair, but was able to visit the gallery during my time in Santiago)
Tucked away on a side street in Vitacura, one of my favorite neighborhoods in Santiago is the most incredible gallery. The building itself is a an architectural masterpiece designed by architects Luis Izquierdo, Antonia Lehman, Mauricio Léniz and Mirene Elton. What I love about the gallery is the fact they pride themselves on having an open curatorial line, offering its space to young artists as well as to those who have already conquered a space in the national and international scene. Do not miss the wonderful cafe inside the gallery or its bookstore!
Other Links //
ArteBA // more about ArteBA Fair along with full list of participating galleries
Galeria Weekend Santiago // more about art galleries in Santiago
