A Conversation with Fawz Kabra, Co-Director, Global Art Forum, 2019 Art Dubai, by James Scarborough
A Conversation with Daniah Al Saleh, Winner of the 2nd Edition of the Ithra Art Prize, 2019 Art Dubai, by James Scarborough

A Conversation with Fernanda Brenner, Co-Curator, Residents Programme, 2019 Art Dubai, by James Scarborough

Established in 2007, Art Dubai is the world’s leading platform for Contemporary and Modern art from the Middle East - North Africa - South Asia (MENASA) region, aka the Global South. This 13th iteration of the fair will feature 500 artists from around the world represented by 90 galleries in 40 countries. Its Artistic Director is Pablo del Val. Featuring Global Arts Forum, the Residents Program, and Campus Art Dubai, programming will include talks, tours, workshops, special performances and an after-dark music program. The Fair runs from March 20 - 23.

Art Dubai’s Residents program consists of curated exhibitions produced by artists after a four to eight week residency in Dubai. Familiarizing themselves with and adapting to the UAE art scene, they create work that incorporates their experience in Dubai into their artistic practice. 

Co-curated by Fernanda Brenner (Brazil) and Munira Al Sayegh (UAE), this second Residency focuses on 12 Latin American artists:

Nicanor Aráoz (Argentina)
Rodolpho Parigi (Brazil)
Luiz Roque (Brazil) 
Alexandre da Cunha (Brazil) 
Laura Lima (Brazil)  
Luis Enrique López-Chávez (Cuba)  
Luciana Lamothe (Buenos Aires) 
The collective known as Mazenett Quiroga (Colombia)  
Jerry B. Martin (Colombia)  
José Manuel Mesías (Cuba)  
IFlora Rebollo (Brazil) 
Verónica Vázquez (Uruguay)  

Below is an interview with Fernanda Brenner. An independent curator based in São Paulo, she founded and serves as artistic director at Pivô, a nonprofit contemporary art space.  Brenner curated So Far So Good at White Cube in São Paulo (2015), Neither at Mendes Wood DM, Brussels (2017), and, most recently, Caixa Preta (2018) at Fudação Iberê Camargo in Porto Alegre, along with Bernandode Souza, Veronica Stigger and Eduardo Sterzi. Brenner is listed by Artsy as one of the 20 most influential curators in Latin America and was included in the 2017 Apollo Magazine 40 under 40 Global ranking.

(Follow the links for other 2019 Art Dubai interviews. Fawz Kabra, Co-Director, Global Art Forum. Daniah Al Saleh, winner of the 2nd Edition of the Ithra Art Prize. Adeela Suleman, Bawwaba artist. And Reena Lath, Co-Founder, Akar Prakar Gallery

JS: What’s the genesis of Residents exhibition? What came first, the premise or the art? Had you been thinking about such a show even before the Residents opportunity came along? What was the criteria by which you chose these particular artists?

FB: Residents came to me as a curious challenge, I never emphasised territorial identity prior to the quality of artistic production and in this case the idea to work only with Latin American artists was a precondition, I see Residents as an opportunity to try to demystify any idea of a homogenous production in Latin America. It is vast and so are the differences between each artists work. I understand the concept of dissonance as an important criteria, taking care to make sure we listen to different voices.

JS: Is the way that these twelve artists show the singularities of their experience of Latin America any different from the way a similar deconstruction of the homogeneity of artists from, say, the United States, from the European Union, from the Middle East? In other words, is it possible to make general statements about this complexity, other than it’s complex? Or is it fair to say that art is now truly globally homogeneous?

FB: The artists’ work is not necessarily about their experience in Latin America, they are all based in this territory but their work is crossed by many different thematics and an important aspect to be considered is the dislocation, the fact that these artists were in residence at the UAE and how this opportunity affects or not their production. I do not believe art is truly globally homogenous but we have to deal with specificities and context.

JS: A pragmatic question. Given the many and various working methods of artists, how conceivable is it that an artist could absorb and then transmit their experience of another place in a scant four to eight weeks?

FB: We do not work with artists for them to speak necessarily about another place, we work with them considering where they come from and where they are, the most important thing is that they are able to have the means of production to communicate their artistic practices.


Luiz Roque -  O Novo Monumento 2

Luiz Roque, O Novo Monumento, 2017, HD video, 5’30"
Photo courtesy of Joana Luz

Rodolpoho Parigi - Olive Blanka Volumen- CASA TRIANGULO

Rodolpho Parigi, Olive Blanka Volumen, 2018, oil on linen, 140 x 283 cm
Courtesy of Casa Triângulo

Nicanor Aráoz. Unitiled  2017. Sheet metal  plaster  polyurethane foam  laser printing. 244 x 122 x 126 cm - BARRO

Nicanor Araoz, Untitled, sheet metal, polyurethane foam, laser printing, 244 x 122 x 126 cm
Courtesy of Barro

Mazenett Quiroga - Selva Intervenida - INSTITUTO DE VISION

Mazenett Quiroga, Selva Intervenida II, 2018, impresión digital y pan de oro / digital print intervened with gold leaf, 125 x 86 cm
Courtesy of the Instituto de Visión

Alexandre da Cunha - J.B. Foote (drum XV)

Alexandre da Cunha, J.B. Foote (drum XV), 2013, cement mixer, 78.74 x 116.84 x 71.12 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Galeria Luisa Strina

Flora Rebollo - Untitled 2017 - PILAR

Flora Rebollo
Untitled, 2017, graphite, marker, colored pencil, pastel, spray and oil bar on paper, 210 x 200 cm
Courtesy of Galeria Pilar

Jerry B. Martin - Ruta Silencia - REVOLVER

Jerry B. Martin, Ruta Silencia, 2017, typeset drawings with transcription of texts on paper, 200 x 250 cm
Courtesy of Revolver Galeria and the artist

Luciana Lamothe - Cortina - RUTH BENZECAR

Luciana Lamothe, Cortina, 2017, Iron, 270 x 140 x 44 cm
Courtesy of Ruth Benzacar Galeria de Arte

Luis Enrique Lopez Chavez - Scene# 10. Tokonoma

Luis E. López-Chávez, Scene #10. Tokonoma, 2013, oil on canvas, 2x2m
Courtesy of the artist

Fernanda

Fernanda Brenner