MIAMI.- When it opens its doors at the Miami Beach Convention Center on Friday, March 28th through Monday, March 31s t, Merrill Lynch arteaméricas, the premier fair of art from Latin America, will be showcasing a broad variety of exhibits that will give visitors a true appreciation of the evolution of Latin American art. In addition to the galleries that will showcase the latest trends in paintings, sculpture and multimedia from contemporary artists and renowned masters, Merrill Lynch arteaméricas counts with the participation of some of the area’s best museums, several spaces curated by leading art experts, exhibits by promising talents developing in Miami’s local art schools, various interactive displays, and a series of lectures covering a range of topics of relevance to the world of Latin American art.

The 2008 edition of Merrill Lynch arteaméricas will welcome the return of many
galleries from previous years, as well as many new additions, all carefully selected by an Advisory Committee of art experts. In total, 71 of the best galleries from 14 countries will be in attendance this year. With them, they will bring works by internationally celebrated artists, including Fernando Botero, Lygia Clark, Wifredo Lam, Armando Reverón, Jesús Soto, Rufino Tamayo and Joaquín Torres-García. Vanguard contemporary artists including José Bedía, Tony Bechara, José Pedro Costigliolo, Eduardo Chapela, Bastón Díaz, León Ferrari, Carmen Herrera, Kcho and Hugo Zapata will also be represented at the 2008 edition of Merrill Lynch arteaméricas.

Six of the most prestigious museums from the United States will participate in this
sixth edition of arteaméricas. Among them: Bass Museum of Art, the Patricia & Philip Frost Art Museum / FIU, Lowe Art Museum, and California’s Museum of Latin American Art (MoLAA). The Museum of Contemporary Art / MOCA (North Miami) will present enchanting marionette sculptures by legendary Miami artist Pablo Cano, which are made from discarded objects. In addition, it will also present its new photographic advertising campaign, Join Us!, featuring portraits by renowned Miami photographer Betty Rosado. Miami Art Museum / MAM will exhibit the model of its new building designed by the well known architects Herzog and De Meuron, and also MAM’s most recent photography acquisitions.

Several leading experts in the field of Latin American art will have curated spaces
at Merrill Lynch arteaméricas. “Synchronies”, curated by María Iovino, an independent curator from Colombia, focuses on lines of work and creative exploration aimed at highlighting and strengthening the fields of video art, drawing and the re-interpretation of technological languages. It features pioneer talents from Colombia, Brazil and Mexico who might well be responsible for developing the most lucid proposals in the coming years.

Milagros Bello, Ph.D., an independent curator from Miami, will curate a space called
“Trends”, which presents more than twenty artists that interpret the spirit of contemporary times. The artists show their creative impetus and prove their accomplishment through diverse approaches to Post-Contemporary art, including Installation, Digital Photography, Video Art and Performance.

Three of the most important Latin American art collections will also have curated
spaces at the 2008 edition of arteaméricas. Cecilia Fajardo-Hill, Director and Chief
Curator of the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation (CIFO), will present a selection of artists who have been awarded CIFO Grants and Commissions since the year 2006, including artists who will participate in the coming 2008 CIFO Grants and Commissions show, Interrogating Systems. The Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros from Venezuela will present a collection of works that seek to materialize some of the numerous points of contact that can be found between the most representative artists from Latin America and the broad artistic traditions of Europe and the United States. Finally, Félix Ángel, Director and Curator of the Inter American Development Bank (IDB) Cultural Center in Washington DC will display art in a variety of techniques, trends and tendencies representing the talent of the artists from the member countries of the IDB, with emphasis on Latin America and the Caribbean and its economic and social reality.