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Rio Blames It on Taxes

September 9, 2013 by Marion Maneker

John Chamberlain from Guggenheim

The Associated Press uses ArtRio as an occasion to bring up the tax issue in Brasil:

The wealthy connoisseurs flocking to the Rio show are complaining about steep import tariffs on fine art that can almost double the price of pieces bought abroad, leading many collectors to simply leave their top works outside the country.

“A friend bought a (John) Chamberlain sculpture for $400,000 at the latest Basel show in Europe and couldn’t wait to bring this cool piece back to Brazil,” said Gouvea, an owner of the Arte57 gallery in Sao Paulo. “Then he found out what the import taxes would be. Today, that sculpture sits in a home he has in the U.S.”

Lowering art taxes for super-rich collectors doesn’t rank high on the government’s list of priorities, especially following recent nationwide protests over the woeful public hospitals, schools and infrastructure average Brazilians get in return for sky-high income tax rates.

But proponents of lowering the tariffs say it’s not just an issue for the wealthy, but for all art lovers of more modest means. That’s because far fewer of the world’s best works are getting into Brazilian museums. Museums worldwide rely on loans from private collectors, loans especially important in nations like Brazil, where a culture of charitable support for the arts is virtually unknown and government investment lacking.

Art world pushes for changes in Brazil’s import taxes as dealers, collectors gather at ArtRio (AP/Washington Post)

A Quick Tour of ArtRio

September 4, 2013 by Marion Maneker

Adriana Varejao
Alighiero e Boetti
Calder at Pace
Franz West & Sherrie Levine
John Chamberlain at Zwirner
Sergio Camargo
Yayoi Kusama at Victoria Miro

At least one fair-goer remarked that the galleries attending seemed to assume the locals would not be able to discern the relative merit of the works on offer and how that quality might relate to price. In other words, dealers were hoping to move inventory but also make a healthy margin.

ArtRio and the Ascendance of the Global Art Circuit

September 4, 2013 by Marion Maneker

Vik Muniz, Rio de Janeiro Postcard

The opening of ArtRio serves as a reminder of the expansion of the art market to economies that are breaking out. The rapid growth of the fair and alacrity with which newly wealthy Brazilians are coming to art underscores the global growth of the art market. But why? Is it simply a matter of  the rich liking art? Or has art entered a new position in global culture.

Our take has been that art is the touchstone that unites the international class of business owners. To call them middle class is misleading. Art buyers tend to be owners of enterprises that generate considerable amounts of cash. These owners are using their cash to participate in a global language where art works are the nouns and verbs. This view was echoed in Artsy’s interview with ArtRio director Brenda Valasi:

Indeed, we saw a significant increase of new collectors these past years. The economic growth was undoubtedly one of the factors for the emergent countries to gain more attention worldwide, and consequently our institutions are now taken seriously by the art scene opinion-makers.

Collecting art has become a way to communicate in this post global era. It is much more a way of bringing people together and supporting the community who share a common interest than to segregate cliques. We always work with the distinguished profile of our collectors, “collectors-to-be”,  and visitors in mind, and it is essential to give them an ample panorama of today’s art circuit.

ArtRio Director Brenda Valansi on Brazil as the Art World’s Hotspot (Artsy)

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