ARTEBA: AT THE CENTER OF CONTEMPORARY ART

This year, the 34th edition of arteba reaches out to a younger audience. Beyond renewing its commitment to established art and the art market, the foundation has decisively embraced broader audience participation. With the aim of fostering encounters among artists, gallerists, curators, collectors, and diverse publics, the fair presented a selection of 67 galleries showcasing works by more than 400 national and international artists.

Dynamically arranged, thoughtful, and full of energy, the galleries are divided into the fair’s three traditional sections: Main Section, Utopía, and Dialogues Zone. The Main Section gathers established galleries renowned for their trajectory—a space where the familiar meets the contemporary, art that is present and resolute, firm in its proposals, never losing focus and always reinventing itself. Among its highlights was the work of Alexis Mikiewicz, presented at de Sousa Galería: a colossal sculpture that evolved into performance, acquiring an even more striking dimension.

Utopía, the fair’s young section, focuses on the most recent productions. Here, performers take over the microphones and loudspeakers of the fair to make themselves seen. They dance to their own music and speak directly to an audience attentive to their singular show. The proposals are political, attractive, dark, brilliant, popular, unusual. Whatever their form, they make a strong impact. One such example was the witty and entertaining presentation by El Castillo, which drew in everyone who passed their booth with a neon-filled, noisy, joyful, and unforgettable display.

With the goal of fostering collaborations and exchanges between Argentina and the international scene, the Dialogues Zone featured the participation of Galeria Vermelho (São Paulo), Carmen Araujo Arte (Caracas), Galerie Jocelyn Wolff (Paris), and Dot Fiftyone Gallery (Miami). The curatorial approach of the latter, led by Aimé Iglesias Lukin, ensured a fresh and dynamic space.

The Museum Acquisitions Program reaffirms the foundation’s commitment to Argentine contemporary art. Created two decades ago by arteba, it invites national and international museums to visit the fair and acquire works through an initial fund, with the aim of strengthening the presence of Argentine art on the global stage. Thanks to this initiative, acquisitions were made for the collections of MALBA, MAMBA, MACBA, the Museo Provincial de Bellas Artes Dr. Juan R. Vidal (Corrientes), among others.

The galleries awarded by Remax Collection for the best exhibition proposal clearly embody what the fair seeks to highlight: a dialogue between innovation, sensitivity, and artistic commitment. Ruth Benzacar expressed this through a collective, ever-evolving construction that unfolds over time with art, its forms, and its questions; while Constitución contributed a fresh, sensitive, and novel perspective, capable of resonating both intimately and contemporarily. Both, through distinct languages, embody the living spirit of the fair.

The fair will also announce the finalist for the EFG Latin American Award, which will be presented at Pinta Miami 2025.

*Cover image: Courtesy of arteba.