BOGOTA.- Throughout these 10 years, ARTBO has become the art fair with the best quality in Latin America, and also holds onto the title of being the best space for the dissemination and internationalization of gallery work, artists, curators and institutions in Colombia; and a catalyst for the dynamism and strength that the national artistic scene has gained. “ARTBO is a flagship program of the Bogota Chamber of Commerce, which has accomplished the promotion and positioning of Bogota as a cultural capital,” says María Paz Gaviria, ARTBO’s director. All of this has led to Colombia becoming one of the most attractive and interesting countries in the worldwide art market.

ARTBO is a fair that focuses its efforts in the quality of its exhibitions and the variety of its proposal, which has made it become a world-renowned fair for its refreshing and innovative character. For the 2014 edition, the Selection Committee: Elba Benítez (Galería Elba benítez, Spain), Eduardo Brandao (Vermelho, Brazil), Ignacio Liprandi (Ignacio Liprandi Arte Contemporáneo, Argentina), Alex Mor (mor∙charpentier, France/Colombia) and María Eugenia Niño (Galería Sextante, Colombia), chose the best quality proposals to offer a wide variety of modern and contemporary art, that responds to the current pulse of art worldwide.

Also, this version of ARTBO has the most internationally renowned and most important curators of the Colombian art scene, along with one of the most important curators in the world. With the curatorship of José Ignacio Roca in Projects, Jaime Cerón in Artecámara, Carolina Ponce de León and Santiago Rueda in Reference all ARTBO sections are focused in offering an unbeatable quality, which confirms this art space, in its tenth anniversary, as a pivotal point of the visual arts in Colombia and a model fair in the region.

Sections
ARTBO is part of the vision of Bogotá’s Chamber of Commerce for the promotion of cultural and creative industries, as a platform to boost national visual arts and strengthen its commercial networking and the dissemination of its offer, and to foster a place for inclusive education, cultural exchange and artistic appreciation for citizens. Thus, in its 10 years ARTBO has been established not only as one of the most important fairs in Latin America, but also as the most important visual arts showcase in Colombia.

Main – a showcase of the best quality
After a 30% increase in applications from galleries from the previous year, the Selection Committee chose proposals that contribute to achieving a balance between consolidated world renowned galleries and other emerging and cutting- edge galleries that are starting to be recognized within the art scene, so that this balanced and refreshing showcase keep ARTBO as a one-of-a-kind fair in the region.

The Main section has a solid offer, with the participation of galleries from Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, Slovenia, Spain, The United States, France, The Netherlands, Italy, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Switzerland and Venezuela, along with 14 galleries from Colombia.

ARTBO is constantly renewing its showcase, and for its 10-year celebration it makes an even bigger renovation with 10 galleries participating in the Main section for the first time. Furthermore, due to the positioning that the fair has achieved, some galleries that participated in previous editions have come back for this version.

This year some of the most prestigious galleries worldwide will participate in the Main section, such as: Galerie Christian Lethert from Cologne; Galerija Gregor Podnar from Berlin and Ljubljana; Galeria Luciana Brito, Galeria Luisa Strina and Galria Millan—from Sao Paulo; MaisterraValbuena and Travesía Cuatro from Madrid; Espaivisor from Valencia; Nogueras Blanchard from Barcelona; P420 from Bologna; OMR from Mexico City; Ruth Benzacar Gallery from Buenos Aires; Annet Gelink Gallery from Amsterdam; and Josée Bienvenu from New York.

Some emerging galleries with avant-garde proposals, which are starting to gain worldwide recognition will also be a part of this section, such as: MARSO and Yautepec from Mexico; DiabloRosso from Panama; Christinger De Mayo from Zurich; Galeria Jaqueline Martins from Sao Paulo; Document Art from Buenos Aires; 80M2 and Revolver from Lima; Johannes Vogt from New York; and NoMÍNIMO from Guayaquil.

Projects – artworks related to design, specially made for ARTBO
14 projects by artists and designers, with the commercial representation of a gallery, have been selected for this section. These projects have been specifically developed for the exhibition curated by José Roca and titled The aesthetic use of the object.

José Roca, Estrellita B. Brodsky Adjunct Curator of Latin American Art at Tate, London and Artistic Director of FLORA ars+natura, an independent space for contemporary art in Bogotá, will be in charge of curating this section that gathers projects from artists and designers related to the fields of design and applied arts. Some of the most renowned artists and galleries in the world participate in this section, among them are: the Cuban duo Los Carpinteros, represented by Galerie Peter Kilchmann from Zurich; Chilean artist and designer Sebastián Errázuriz represented by Cristina Grajales Gallery from New York; the French artist Mathieu Mercier represented by Ignacio Liprandi Arte Contemporáneo from Argentina; and the Dutch collective Atelier van Lieshout represented by OMR from México.

Reference – one of the novelties in ARTBO on its 10th anniversary
This new section in ARTBO was created as a tribute to great artists. Reference will exhibit the work of renowned art masters who, due to their historic importance, have become definite guidelines for artists nowadays and starting points to what is defined as contemporary art today. This space will work as an exhibition space and all the artworks will come from galleries participating in the Main section of the fair and therefore they will be for sale.

Reference is curated by Colombian curators Carolina Ponce de León (former Art director at the Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango, curator of El Museo del Barrio in NY, and director of Galería de la Raza in San Francisco); and Santiago Rueda (National Critics Award from the Colombian Ministry of Culture and Art Essay Award from IDCT). This section wants to provide the audience with a historical context that will allow for a broader outlook over the artworks and the artists that will be seen in other sections of ARTBO.

Artecámara – grows to support young artists and to welcome artist-run spaces for the first time
Throughout these 10 years Artecámara, a section dedicated to circulate and showcase the work of promising young Colombian artists, has become the only space dedicated to young art that remains on the Colombian scene. This year the section is curated by Jaime Ceron (Manager of Arts at the Culture Institute of Bogota and advisor of Visual Arts of the Ministry of Culture, teacher and curator) and will present works by 48 artists, including artists who make part of the curatorship proposals from 3 artist run-spaces in Colombia, that participate for the first time in this section.

The selection and participation of 3of these spaces – La Agencia (Bogotá, 2010), La Mutante (Bucaramanga, 2006) and La Nocturna (Cali, 2013) – is of great importance, due to the fact that in the last decade artist-run spaces have become stronger within the circuit of art in Colombia and have gained strength as new mechanisms for the circulation of artistic practices that escape the commercial or institutional art scenes. The inclusion of these spaces in Artecámara is proof of the vocation of the fair, for being a platform that brings together all the manifestations of the art scene in Colombia. This way, ARTBO celebrates in its 10 years the emerging Colombian artistic scene, with the most compelling and ambitious show it has had so far.

The change of everything that remains is the name of the show that will have as a central topic the recurring reference to deteriorated and stifling urban environments, as well as to evocative and disquieting natural environments.

Articularte – space for experimentation and creation
This year The Artist’s Workshop will be the theme of this educational and interactive space, to bring kids, young people and the general audience closer to art. Art collective Manila Santana (with Manel Quintana and María Camila Sanjinés) will be in charge of this section.

Articularte seeks to provide the audience with an opportunity to walk through ARTBO in different ways, and to absorb the fair through new perspectives and understand the different concepts within contemporary art practices, through didactic and participatory activities. With this in mind, a group of six artists will create tailor made workshops and laboratories for the ARTBO audience to take part in throughout fair days. Also, they will put together a Playlist of their 10 essential recommendations and references, from the last book that impressed them, their favorite band, a particular philosophical theory, a cooking recipe they love, their favorite blog to the botanical history of the fern; to share with the audience.

Forum – discussions on contemporary art
This year Forum will be focused on reflecting upon the future of the exhibition and production of contemporary art.

Forum is a space for learning and discussing contemporary art related topics, in which important art world personalities participate, such as curators, art
collectors, academics, artists and directors of museums and institutions, among others.