SAO PAULO.- Central announced the relocation of its São Paulo space. Founded by Fernanda Resstom in 2016, the gallery will occupy, starting September 2nd, the property at number 362 of the vila on Rua Minas Gerais. This change of address marks the gallerys entry into the cultural circuit of Avenida Paulista. The new space will be inaugurated with a solo show by Gabriela Mureb, presenting her recent research.
The new gallery represents a strategic step in strengthening Centrals activities and expanding its relevance in the art circuit, just before celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2026. Located in one of São Paulos main cultural hubscharacterized by public and political manifestationsthe space connects to a corridor of institutions such as MASP and Instituto Moreira Salles, as well as several galleries nearby, including its neighbor Vermelho.
Central has been at the IAB for about eight years, but this building has been part of my life for 18it is a place full of memories and atfection. At the same time, the gallery is about to turn ten, and looking back on this journey, this new step makes a lot of sense. Leaving downtown is an important change, but being so close to Paulista still gives me the feeling of staying connected to the heart of the city. Central has always been a space of movement, reflection, and transformationand this move reflects exactly that. The new space is much larger and has made me rethink not only the gallery but also the market itself. Its time to experiment with a new format, and Im excited about everything to come, comments Fernanda Resstom about the relocation.
The nearly 400m² space expands the visibility and diversity of the gallerys program, allowing for two simultaneous exhibitions, as well as an outdoor area for performances and installation projects. The 2007 building is part of the expansion of the old residential vila, renovated by Paulo Mendes da Rocha, José Armênio de Brito Cruz, and Sérgio Kipnes in 2002 to house the exhibition spaces of Vermelho gallery.
Since 2018, Central has been located in the basement of the Instituto dos Arquitetos do Brasil (IAB SP) and focuses on artists orbiting the universe of architecture, developing practices based on the relationship between subject and urban landscape. The new location reinforces the gallerys commitment to fostering practices that reflect on the city and the tensions between public and private spaces.
Occupying downtown São Paulo was an important growth move for the gallery. We spent eight years understanding and engaging with this lively and vibrant region, fostering dialogue between artists, curators, and the surrounding urban space, alongside our partnership with IAB, an institution committed to advocating for a more plural city. As the gallerys 10th anniversary approaches, we understand it is time to reach new horizons within the artistic program we present. This growth goes beyond just a change of neighborhood, comments Guilherme Tavares, Centrals institutional director.
The solo show Horsepower by Mureb occupies both floors of the gallery with installations, sculptures, and a film. Crash (2023), made by Mureb during a residency at Salta Art, will be shown for the first time in Brazil. The film follows the BMW Recycling & Demontage Centre (RDZ) in Unterschleißheim, the metropolitan region of Munich. Mureb is one of the gallerys first represented artists, and presenting her solo show at this moment of relocation confirms our long-term commitment to the careers of our artists, says Resstom.
Featured in the New Museum Triennial in 2021 and the 13th Mercosul Biennial in 2023, Gabriela Mureb develops in her work noises between the body, technical objects, and machines, in pieces that sometimes appear as overlapping gears and other times as functioning systems.
Mureb deepens her research through the mixing of hard, sotf, fluid, thermal materials, smoke, rust, and grease. From these assemblages, the artist otfers sensory experiences to viewers through heat, smell, and machine rhythms, comments curator, researcher, and artist Natália Quinderé, who authored the exhibitions critical text.