+ imáges of arteBA'09
'09 CATALOGUE
see online
COMPLETE INFORMATION
+ information
JUNE 25 - 29 . LA RURAL
19 CONTEMPORARY ART FAIR . BICENTENNIAL EDITION
19 CONTEMPORARY ART FAIR . BICENTENNIAL EDITION
Over 125,000 people; 18,000 square meters; 5 days. These are just some of the figures that reflect what according to specialists, critics and the media was the best edition of arteBA Contemporary Art Fair. This edition was a clear sample of an event that combines the highest exhibition quality, a massive flux of visitors and a great opportunity for successful sales.
arteBA’09 has closed its 18th edition and has definitely established itself as the most important cultural event in the region, an annual meeting point for curators, critics, directors of museums and other institutions, gallery owners and Latin American artists. arteBA also works as a trigger for a number of shows, events, exhibitions and acquisitions that take place all year round through the whole region.
arteBA’ 09 received more than 300 foreign guests: important collectors and patrons, directors and curators of collections and international museums, critics and representatives of the most influential institutions in the field of the visual arts. Among the most important collectors that participated in the VIP Program we can mention: Stuart and John Daniel Evans (London); Humberto and Rosalía Ugobono; Alberto and Mari de la Cruz (Puerto Rico); Ella Fontanals-Cisneros (Miami) from Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation; Patricia Phelps de Cisneros (New York); Kai Loebach (Los Angeles-CA); Barbara Ruben (Chicago); Carlos Chateaubriand (Brazil), among many others.
The Fair’s undeniable protagonists were the art galleries, which showed the highest quality and daring art projects. ArteBA’s 09 Selection Committee --Fernando Farina (president); Alfons Hug (Brazil); Rodrigo Quijano (Peru); Ana María Battistozzi; Andrés Duprat; Inés Katzenstein; Diana Wechsler and Horacio Dabbah— was responsible for the selection of the participant galleries. An important number of foreign galleries participated, mainly from Latin America, offering a wide panorama of the best of contemporary art in the region. Although it was a year signed by economical turbulences, scepticism and uncertainties, arteBA09 showed that it was also a great opportunity for the acquisition of artworks.
One of the highlights of the Fair was the Auditorium Program, developed and coordinated by Andrea Giunta (Latin American Art, Professor, University of Texas, Austin; Professor, U.B.A.; Researcher at the CONICET and independent curator in Argentina) which had as its central topic Museums and Collectionism. A large audience assisted to the fruitful debates at the different roundtables with curators, architects, museums’ directors such as Guillermo Alonso, director, MNBA-Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (Buenos Aires, Argentina); Florencia Braga Menéndez, director, Dirección General de Museos de Buenos Aires (Buenos Aires, Argentina); Graciela de la Torre, director, MUAC-Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporáneo, UNAM (D. F., Mexico); Bartomeu Marí, director, MACBA-Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Barcelona (Barcelona, Spain); Beverly Adams, curator of the Diane and Bruce Halle Collection of Latin American Art (Phoenix, United States); Gustavo Bruzzone, Bruzzone Collection (Buenos Aires, Argentina); Rodrigo Moura, curator, INHOTIM – Instituto Cultural (Minas Gerais, Brazil); Gabriel Pérez-Barreiro, director Cisneros Foundation / Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Collection (New York, United States; Caracas, Venezuela); Tatiana Cuevas, Contemporary Art Curator, Museo de Arte de Lima (Lima, Peru); Ursula Davila-Villa, Latin American Art Curator, The Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art (Austin, United States); Julieta González, Latin American Art Curator, Tate Modern (London, England); architect Giuseppe Caruso, Caruso-Torricella Architetti (Milan–Paris); architect Martín Fourcade, Atelman / Fourcade / Tapia; architect Jorge Silvetti, Machado and Silvetti Associates (Boston); Professor, Harvard University; Gustavo Diéguez (Universidad de Belgrano and Universidad de Buenos Aires) and Lucas Gilardi (Universidad de Palermo). Estudio a77 (Buenos Aires, Argentina).
Barrio Joven Chandon (Chandon Young Neighborhood) was a total success, with 18 spaces from different provinces in Argentina and other Latin American countries. Daniel Abate (gallery director, Daniel Abate Gallery, Bs. As., Argentina), Helmut Batista (artist and manager, Capacete, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Javier Villa (art critic and member of Rosa Chancho, Bs. As., Argentina) formed the Selection Committee. The second edition of the EN OBRA (Under Construction) Award took place. The Jury of Collectors, coordinated by Roxana Sucari and Alejandro Ikonicoff, gave the first prize to Juan Cruz Coronado from Costado Gallery (Mendoza); while the second prize was awarded to Salames al futuro, a collective of artists that also belong to Costado Gallery. And the third prize went to Traffix Gallery from Chile. The EN OBRA Award was established by Juan Cambiaso who created a trusteeship with the necessary funds for this award. Giesso, Pedro Stier and Alejandro Ikonicoff joined this initiative.
With its sixth edition, the arteBA–Petrobras Visual Arts Award, more and more controversial every year, has established itself as a solid platform for the younger artists. This year it was under the direction of Laura Buccellato, and the First Prize (acquisition) of $ 40,000 was awarded to Tomás Espina’s installation “(Habitación quemada) la furia de Léucade” (Burnt Room, Leucade’s fury). The Second Prize was awarded to Leandro Tartaglia’s “Todos los días” (Every day), while Juliana Iriart received a mention with her work “Usted está aquí” (You are here). The selection process took place once the in situ installation of the artworks was completed given that originally the artists had only presented their outlines. As the previous year, all the country’s museums were simultaneously appointed in order to decide which one would exhibit the awarded artwork and the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (Fine Arts Museum) from Neuquen was selected. Thanks to this Award the artwork awarded with the first prize will be a part of the exhibition circuit of Argentinean Contemporary Art.
The Tribute to the Great Masters, sponsored by the Sívori Museum and its Friends’ Association, was devoted to artists Rómulo Macció, Luis Felipe Noé and Alejandro Puente. Under the curatorship of Ana Martínez Quijano, tribute was paid to the creativity and talent these three vanguard artists who built up a set of art works essential to the history of Argentinean Modern Art and whose activity has not at all ceased but continues with plenty of energy.
Prior to arteBA09’s opening, the fifth edition of Matching Funds arteBA-Zurich Program was launched with great success. This program is a vital resource that helps three important museums to increase their collections with artworks selected at the Fair. The
Museo Provincial de Bellas Artes Franklin Rawson at San Juan chose Carlos Gorriarena’s “Costa Azul” (Blue Coast) (1996) that belonged to Consorcio de Arte Gallery. Malba – Costantini Foundation chose a sculpture by Artur Lescher, “Sin título” (Untitled), (2003) in nylon, 200 x 10 cm, that belonged to Ruth Benzacar Gallery. And finally, MAC -Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Salta chose “Costurera” (2008) (Seamstress) lamda print by Nicola Costantino, that belonged to Blanca Soto Arte Gallery and “Rojo con él” (2005) (Red with him) by Liliana Porter, the fifth of a series of 5 photographs, from Ruth Benzacar Gallery.
It is worth mentioning that during arteBA09, the Museo de Arte de Lima (MALI) purchased five photographs of the series “El Siluetazo” (The Silhouette Stroke) by artist Eduardo Gil. The photographs were shot on September 21 and 22,1983 in Buenos Aires.
For the third consecutive year, the Program “American Express / + arte para el bellas artes”, (American Express/ + art for the Fine Arts) was put in motion with the goal to increase the Museum’s collection. The selected artwork was “Friso” (Frieze) by Nicola Costantino, 2008, edition 1 of 3, exhibited at Animal Gallery and “Chancho bola” (Ball Pig) also by Nicola Costantino, 2006.
For the first time, Mercedes Benz purchased an artwork during the Fair to be added to the company’s collection, one of the most important corporate collections in the world, with artists such as Jeff Koons, Andy Warhol, Max Bill, Walter de María and Nam June Paik. The selected artwork was “Pampa 1” (2009) by Marcela Moujan, exhibited at Zavaleta Lab Gallery.
La Rural destined for the first time USD 9.000 for the acquisition of seven art pieces, launching “Impulsarte” its Incentive Awards Program for the Visual Arts. The selected artworks were “#11”, by Bruno Dubner (2008) exhibited at VVV Gallery; “Recital” (Concert) by San Poggio (2008) from Jardín Oculto Gallery; “Sin titulo” (Untitled) by Lola Goldstein from Dabbah Torrejón Gallery; “Le reve” (The dream) by Estanislao Florido (2008) exhibited at 713 Contemporary Art; “Traeme gente me las comeré y las devolveré renovadas (serie)” (Bring people, I will eat them and give them back all renewed) by Florencia Rodrigues Giles (2009) from Ruth Benzacar Gallery, and “Sin titulo” (untitled) by Florencia Rodriguez Giles (2009) also from Ruth Benzacar Gallery.
Chandon once again purchased the first artwork behind closed doors, and the chosen piece was “Serie la caída del sistema” (“The fall of a system”) photo 3, 2005 by Charlie Nijensohn from Daniel Maman Gallery. The photograph will be added to the Company’s collection at the winery’s premises in Mendoza.
For the first time, the Dirección de Museos de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires purchased an artwork for the Mamba (Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires). The selected artwork was “Materia prima” (Raw Material) by Miguel Harte (2004-08) exhibited at Fernando Pradilla Gallery (Spain).
As an unprecedented event, the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (National Museum of Fine Arts), chose during arteBA09 an important piece of art in order to decide if it could be purchased for the museum’s collection. The chosen artwork was “Pesadilla de los injustos” (The Unfair’s Nightmare) (1961) by Antonio Berni, exhibited at Sur Gallery (Uruguay). The Selection Committee was formed by Guillermo Alonso, MNBA director; Adriana Rosenberg, director, Proa Foundation; Silvia Fajre and Sergio Baur, Minister, Cultural Department of the Foreign Affairs Office.
ARNET invited cartoonists Sendra, Caloi and Tute to participate in its space presenting works by talented young illustrators and cartoonists, in which they will exhibit their own views on contemporary art. Another highlight was Proa Press Room, intervened by artist Gachi Hasper. As the previous year, arteBA’s visitors were able to use Lan’s audio-guide service, aimed at offering the public the opportunity to get acquainted with the creative expressions by different artists, while walking together different circuits specially chosen by professional curators. Citi was the host at the Fair’s Pre-Opening, with the presence of an exclusive group of collectors and premium clients of the Bank. Citi also had a space at arteBA09 where it showed photographs. The Banco Ciudad had two stands: one for kids, intervened by artist Nora Iniesta; and the other one, where the bank’s artistic holding was exhibited during the series of talks “Charlas de living” (Living Room Talks). Lee celebrated its 120 anniversary with a space at the Fair created by artist Marina de Caro, under the curatorship of Ruth Benzacar Gallery. Patio Bullrich sponsored artist Marta Minujin, who showed her iconic work Galería Blanda (Soft Gallery), exhibited for the first time in Argentina. The artwork was built with 180 mattresses provided by local company Piero, meant to be donated to different Children’ s Hospitals through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
At the time the Fair was coming to an end, arteBA’s staff was already planning the new challenge for the next edition: arteBA10, the Bicentennial Edition.