Arteba, the largest art fair in South America

Arteba, the emblematic South American art fair that looks out at the world from Buenos Aires, kicks off
Buenos Aires, August 29 (EFE) - Arteba, the largest art fair in South America, kicked off a new edition this Friday in the city of Buenos Aires, where 67 galleries from different countries in the region are exhibiting works by more than 400 artists, with their gaze turned towards the world from the Argentine capital in search of new markets and prominent figures.

The fair presents its 2025 edition as a "vindication of art as a singular form of thought, a profoundly human experience that cannot be automated or replicated," and seeks to contrast with the "reconfiguration of our lives" by artificial intelligence and constant technological advances.

The event, held in an 11,000-square-meter space near the Río de la Plata, will welcome thousands of people until Sunday and is intended as a meeting place for artists, gallery owners, curators, collectors, institutions, and diverse audiences, with a strong commitment to the local scene but with an eye toward greater international reach.

"I think it's a very local fair for the region, but one that has raised the bar for quality very sharply, and there are some very good works," Orly Bencazar, a long-standing Argentine gallery owner, told EFE in front of her exhibition stand.

In her opinion, Argentine art faces an "unsolvable" problem geographically, as it is far from the centers of global influence in northern countries, forcing it to redouble its efforts to export its production: "You have to open up in a very complex and highly competitive jungle."

The acquisitions program promoted by the current edition of Arteba will feature the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona, both in Spain, as well as the Guggenheim in New York and the National Museum in Lima, Peru, among others.

A bridge between the local, the regional, and the global
Juliana Sorondo is Venezuelan, but her gallery is located in Barcelona. Her opinion contrasts with Bencazar's: "From Latin America, we believe that perhaps the European market is a much more dynamic and lively one, but I have always championed the power that Latin Americans have in acquiring art."

Sorondo points to a particular talent among South American audiences: "We understand political art, precisely because of our socioeconomic conditions and problems. We have the sensitivity to seek refuge in art, reinforcement, a search for identity, a way to demonstrate who we are."

Both she and her compatriot Carmen Araujo, also a gallery owner at Arteba 2025, highlight the "extremely difficult process" that the Venezuelan art scene has undergone in recent decades.

"Our institutions have closed or maintained a very specific program; galleries and private spaces have had to do a tremendous amount of work to continue supporting and promoting art," she comments.

At the same time, Araujo highlights a quality inherent to the relationship between Venezuela and art: "We have a DNA connection with art in our gut, and surprisingly, it continues to be produced, whether by artists who are in diaspora around the world or those who decided to stay."

In this edition, where an extensive list of awards will be presented, the fair features not only a main section but also a "young" section called "Utopia" and another called "International Dialogue Zone," focused on fostering collaboration and exchange between Argentina and the international scene. It will host a program of talks on "the challenges, tensions, and possibilities of contemporary Argentine and Latin American art in the new global context."

Juan Eyheremendy, Arteba representative of the Vermelho Gallery in São Paulo, offers EFE a diagnosis of the progress of the commercial and influence movement he promotes from his space: bringing Latin American art closer to the Brazilian market.

"Although Brazil is obviously Latin America, there is this separation between Brazilians and Latin Americans," he notes about that invisible border within the continent.

"Collections are becoming Latin American. Argentines buy Colombian art, Brazilians buy Argentine or Mexican art. I see a kind of intersection," he concludes.
Source