Argentine art shines at the ArPa fair in São Paulo

Six Argentine galleries are participating in the Brazilian fair, a significant showcase for the Latin American and global art scene, which runs until Sunday.
Works by Argentine artists such as Ad Minoliti, Max Gómez Canle, Chiara Baccanelli, and Eduardo Mac Entyre are also exhibited at international stands at the ArPa fair in São Paulo, broadening the visibility of Argentine art beyond the spaces managed by Argentine galleries. Six galleries from Argentina are participating in the fourth edition of this contemporary art event, which runs until Sunday, June 1, at the Mercado Livre Arena Pacaembu, an emblematic space of the city's architectural and cultural heritage.

Since its first edition in 2022, the ArPa fair has established itself as one of the most prominent events on the Brazilian and Latin American art scene. The current edition brings together nearly 50 galleries from Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Spain, the United States, Mexico, and Portugal, and is characterized by rigorous curation, high-level infrastructure, and programming that encourages the exchange of perspectives among guest curators.

The Argentine presence is distributed across several sections curated by the fair's organizers. In the Main Sector, the COTT gallery presents a solo show by Lucila Gradín, who explores traditional dyeing techniques with native species such as Brazilwood (Paubrasilia echinata) and Logwood (Haematoxylum campechianum). These works address the impact of European colonization on the highly biodiverse territories of the Americas, showing how these processes radically transformed life and the environment of the continent.

In the same sector, the Isla Flotante and Calvaresi Contemporáneo galleries share a stand exhibiting works by Pablo Accinelli, Valentín Demarco, and Alfredo Spampinato. For its part, the Sendros gallery is exhibiting works by Mauro Agustin Cruz and Itamar Hartavi, adding diversity to the Argentine representation at the fair.
The UNI section, curated by Ana Sokoloff, also features Argentine participation. The Ruth Benzacar gallery is presenting a solo show by Florencia Rodríguez Giles, consisting of a series of drawings—some of which have already been exhibited at The Drawing Center in New York—and masks used in performances held at institutions such as the Museo Reina Sofía, the Institut d’Histoire de l’Art in Paris, and the Palais de Tokyo. The artist is also scheduled to participate in a group exhibition at the Tomie Ohtake Institute.
In the same section, the Constitución gallery is exhibiting mobile sculptures by Antonio Villa, made with precarious and recycled materials, which refer to the domestic, the touristic, and the artisanal. As part of the cultural internationalization strategy promoted by the Argentine Agency for Investment and International Trade (AAICI), guided tours and promotional activities are being organized.

Among these, two tours of Argentine galleries stand out: one with Fernanda Ingletto Vidigal, curator and art consultant in Brazil for the 2.artlovers platform, and another coordinated by Gonzalo Lagos (Meridiano) and Mariana Ron, head of Creative Industries at the Agency.

Lagos' guided tour also includes international stands exhibiting works by Argentine artists, such as Agustina Ferreyra (Mexico), Casa Triângulo (Brazil), and Coral Gallery (United States). These initiatives seek to strengthen ties between Argentine collectors, gallery owners, curators, cultural entrepreneurs residing in Brazil, and diplomatic representatives, with the goal of expanding commercial opportunities for Argentine art. Argentina's participation in ArPa is part of a strategic agenda for the international promotion of contemporary art, coordinated by AAICI together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship, the National Secretariat of Culture, the Consulate General and the Argentine Promotion Center in São Paulo and Meridiano, and the Argentine Chamber of Art Galleries.
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