Rotas Brasileiras celebrates national artistic production in its 3rd edition

14 Aug 2024

Obra de Isabela Seifarth, que será apresentada na galeria RV Cultura e Arte, de Salvador (BA)

Press Images: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBAu3g

The art fair, which takes place from August 28 to September 1, features around 250 artists and over 60 exhibitors.

The third edition of Rotas Brasileiras is approaching. From August 28 to September 1 at ARCA in São Paulo, the fair promotes a complete immersion in Brazil through visual arts and becomes a staple in the city’s cultural calendar. It includes galleries, cultural institutions, and invited projects with curated booths that highlight new paths in Brazilian art. The event brings together over 250 artists (more than 40% of whom are women) and 66 participants from 15 Brazilian states: Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Federal District, Espírito Santo, Goiás, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, and São Paulo. It invites visitors to a more attentive experience, at a different pace than other art fairs.

“Rotas is a dive into Brazilian art. Each project is carefully thought out with galleries and their artists, resulting in a collection of distinct and in-depth perspectives on our identity. In this third edition, the power and immense cultural richness of Brazil become even more evident,” comments Fernanda Feitosa, founder and executive director of SP–Arte.

Artistic Direction

One of the great novelties is the artistic direction by Rodrigo Moura. A curator, editor, and art critic, Moura (Belo Horizonte, 1975) has served as chief curator at Museo del Barrio in New York since 2019. His career includes positions at Masp as an associate curator and at the Inhotim Institute as artistic director and curator. He was also the first curator of the Solo Sector at SP–Arte in 2014 and 2015.

“Rotas offers the possibility of creating dialogues around concepts and notions of identity and belonging, proposing questions, revisions, and affirmations,” states the artistic director. “For me, it has been an honor to collaborate with agents of the system and propose new dynamics of circulation and meaning for their programs in the context of the fair,” he says. Moura has collaborated in developing the galleries’ projects, encouraging solo, duo, or thematic presentations.

Mirante

A highlight is the debut of Mirante, a sector proposed by Moura, in an unusual format for art fairs. Featuring large-scale and rarely exhibited works, Mirante showcases pieces by renowned artists such as Tunga, Rivane Neuenschwander, and Adriana Varejão alongside names from the new generation, such as Rebeca Carapiá and Jota Mombaça. Below is the complete list of artists and galleries:

Adriana Varejão

Amelia Toledo
Galeria Nara Roesler

Artur Pereira
Galeria Estação

Chico da Silva
Galatea

Delson Uchôa
Gomide&Co

Emanoel Araújo
Simões de Assis

Emiliano Di Cavalcanti
Almeida & Dale

José Bento
Millan

Jota Mombaça
Martins&Montero

Montez Magno
Galeria Marco Zero

Mira Schendel
Pinakotheke

Sergio Augusto Porto
Central Galeria

Rebeca Carapiá
Galeria Leme

Rivane Neuenschwander
Gomide&Co

Rosângela Rennó
Vermelho

Tunga
Millan

Exhibitors

Among the participants are well-known names in the circuit, such as Almeida & Dale, Gomide&Co, Bolsa de Arte, Marilia Razuk, and Millan, as well as younger galleries like Mitre, HOA, Projeto Vênus, and Verve. Key galleries from the Northeast are also present: Lima (São Luís do Maranhão), Marco Zero (Recife), Paulo Darzé, Acervo, RV Cultura e Arte (Salvador), and Leonardo Leal (Fortaleza).

As customary at Rotas, institutes, collections, and galleries that preserve and promote the work of established Brazilian artists also participate. They include: Instituto Cultural Vlavianos, Caravana Farkas, Sertão Negro, Galeria Estação (celebrating 20 years in 2024), Instituto Mario Cravo Neto, Karandash, Bancos Indígenas do Brasil, and coleção moraes-barbosa – dedicated to the preservation of ephemeral works such as performance and postal art.

Debut Participants

Names such as Bianca Boeckel, Bolsa de Arte, Claraboia, Marcelo Guarnieri, Marli Matsumoto, Martins&Montero, Pinakotheke, Projeto Vênus, Ricardo Von Bruscky, Sandra & Marcio, and Via Thorey will be at the fair for the first time.

Check out the complete list of participants here.

Projects

Galeria Almeida & Dale will present an unprecedented project that brings together Pará artist Emmanuel Nassar, Goiás artist Mirian Inêz da Silva, and Paraíba artist Antonio Dias, whose works resonate with the dynamics of Brazil’s modernization process and Brazilian culture in the 20th century.

Gomide&Co will exhibit “Routes of Affection,” promoting a kind of ping-pong between the works of artist Lenora de Barros and her father, Geraldo de Barros. With meticulous curation by the artist, sculptures, paintings, and design pieces will make up the exhibition.

Paulo Darzé from Salvador will bring “The Messenger” to Rotas Brasileiras, a group exhibition centered on Exu, a deity worshipped in African-origin religions.

With works by artists Daiara Tukano, Gustavo Caboco, Jaider Esbell, and Joseca Mokahesi Yanomami, Millan emphasizes ancestral stories and the fight for the rights of Indigenous populations in the country.

GDA, Galeria de Artistas, focuses on Arab diasporas, featuring works by Mari Dagli, Rodrigo Lahoud, tintanamente, and Yara Osman, curated by Khadyg Fares. The works reflect identities, aesthetics, and the poetic and political developments that arise from this migratory transit: from the East to Brazil.

Cerrado presents a solo exhibition by artist Moacir. A resident of the Vila de São Jorge in Chapada dos Veadeiros, he has never left there and his life is steeped in mythical issues. Drawing is his form of communication with the outside world, and his paintings confront elements of distinct natures, creating figures loaded with symbolism and characters from popular imagination.

Marco Zero‘s project explores the concept of deviation as a powerful way to coexist in territory. Curated by Bitu Cassundé, the selection includes works by artists such as Advânio Lessa, Bozó Bacamarte, and Cícero Dias, aiming to reinvent landscapes and retrieve ancestral memories.

With three female artists, Kássia Borges, Kaya Agari, and Nara Guichon, Carmo Johnson Projects seeks to expand discussions around urgencies and recoveries of aesthetic, cultural, and socio-environmental manifestations that support sustainable practices and ecological connections.

This edition’s highlight from Lima is the long-standing artist Luis Carlos Lima Santos. With works made from babaçu, andiroba, and tamburi seeds, typical of Maranhão, his pieces range from organic forms to abstraction.

At Marcelo Guarnieri, there will be a selection of works produced between 1962 and 2024 by artists Maureen Bisilliat and João Bez Batti. Through photography and sculpture, both develop a practice interested in manual processes, such as analog photographic development or sculpting basalt.

Martins&Montero presents a solo project by artist Davi Rodrigues from Recôncavo Baiano. His new series of paper paintings, “Memory and Present of My Paraguaçu” (2024), features the river as the main character. Rodrigues depicts the flora and fauna, serving as a warning about the importance of environmental preservation and the safeguarding of cultural memory.

Program

Starting August 31, Casa SP–Arte will host its first international exhibition. The space will be occupied by the gallery kurimanzutto, with locations in Mexico City and New York. This will be the first solo exhibition of Colombian artist Oscar Murillo in Brazil, featuring works that dialog with fundamental names in Brazilian art, such as Lygia Clark, Hélio Oiticica, and Cildo Meireles.

Rotas Brasileiras offers thematic audio guides available on Spotify. They provide an immersive tour of Rotas, with indications and commentary on the poetics of artists present at different booths. In this edition, the audio guides were developed by Felipe Molitor, public programs coordinator at SP–Arte, and independent curator Lucas Albuquerque, addressing themes such as religious expressions and transatlantic diasporas.

Talks

The talk program for the third edition of Rotas takes place on August 30 and 31, Friday and Saturday, in various formats.

On Friday (30), the panels feature artists and curators discussing specific issues in contemporary Brazilian art.

On Saturday (31), the conversations happen in partnership with Bravo!, with the presence of important Brazilian artists presenting their research and trajectories.

August 30 (Friday), 1:00 PM

From the Top of the Mirante
Rodrigo Moura presents the new sector and the development of the participating galleries’ projects. He will also discuss contemporary Brazilian art, both locally and internationally.

August 30 (Friday), 3:00 PM

Digital Cosmogonies
A reflection on how artificial intelligence and electronic media are transforming artistic creation – or at least the traditional circuit of visual arts, without losing sight of the critical possibilities of articulating the present with ancestry and the future.

Gabriel Massan and Guerreiro do Divino Amor / moderated by Felipe Molitor

August 30 (Friday), 5:00 PM

My Place in the World
A discussion around the participation of artists with non-hegemonic identities in the art system: how have Indigenous artists been operating in the market and institutions without losing the power of affirmation of their identities?

Gustavo Caboco and Kassia Borges / moderated by Luciara Ribeiro

August 31 (Saturday)

Laís Franklin, editor-in-chief of Bravo!, interviews:
3:00 PM: Ayrson Heráclito (Paulo Darzé)
4:00 PM: Nádia Taquary (Verve)
5:00 PM: Thiago Martins de Melo (Lima Galeria)

Tickets are on sale on the website and in the SP–Arte app. Free, the app is available for iOS and Android and provides access to all fair content, as well as the cultural agenda in São Paulo during the event.

Sponsorship

SP–Arte Rotas Brasileiras is master-sponsored by Itaú, Vivo, and Iguatemi, and sponsored by Kinea, Rede, Chandon, Blue Moon, Unipar, and Finarte.

Service

Rotas Brasileiras
August 28 – September 01, 2024
ARCA: Av. Manuel Bandeira, 360 – Vila Leopoldina (São Paulo – SP)

Hours
August 28: Guests only
August 29–31: 12 PM to 8 PM
September 01: 12 PM to 7 PM

Tickets
R$ 80 (full price)
R$ 40 (half price)
Online ticketing

Official Hotels
Tivoli Mofarrej
Rosewood São Paulo
Radisson

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