AFFAIR #4 brings 34 galleries to Retiro through November 1

A fair with 34 galleries in Retiro

AFFAIR #4, the fourth edition of the contemporary art fair, takes over the mezzanine of Galerías Larreta, in Retiro, home to Central AFFAIR, the permanent gallery venue. It opens its doors there through Sunday, November 1. Thirty-four spaces, galleries and projects, take part, based in four countries: Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Brazil. Each one presents a selection of works by its artists.

The fair lands in the middle of Buenos Aires' Art Week, while arteba presents its new edition. According to Clarín, which is a media partner, there are three nearly simultaneous fairs, and Central Affair is among the newest proposals on the circuit.

The spaces exhibiting include AnTnA, Nilo Galpón de Arte, Vasari Sur, TIEMPO Galería, Espaço Escada, Casa Equis and ODA arte. Fondo Fluido joins as a guest project. Everything on display can be browsed and also bought.

How this association of galleries works

The gallery owners from Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Rosario who drove it founded AFFAIR in 2023 as a nonprofit civil association. The idea was to build a meeting point where galleries work as a network and do not only compete with each other for the market.

Since last year, the fair has used a format of residents plus guests: one gallery invites another to share the venue. That is how ties are built among galleries, artists, collectors and the public.

Executive production of this edition is by Oficina de Proyectos. Curatorship is signed by Marcelo Dansey, and the artist Aili Chen designed the space.

Talks on making, circulating and buying

The conversation program revolves around the conditions in which art is made and sold. The talks started on Thursday, October 29 with a debate on the resources needed to produce work and on what it means to work from the Global South.

On Friday, October 30, at 4 pm, the conversation on circulation, networks and scenes has Mariana Jasper and Lucie Haguenauer as guests, together with Ruth Geoffroy and Paola Junqueira. On Saturday, October 31, also at 4 pm, the topic is market, collecting and value: Maxi Jacoby and Elena Tavelli speak, along with Gimena Pino and Matilde Campodónico.

For people who have not yet bought a work, the fair offers Mi Primer AFFAIR, an advice service with galleries and specialists. The selection includes works priced from 300,000 to 1,500,000 pesos.

What collectors who toured it say

According to Clarín, which spoke with seven collectors during the preview, several return to AFFAIR edition after edition. The couple of Freddy Suárez and Luis Ayala said this is their fourth visit, and their collection totals 1,300 Latin American pieces.

Suárez advises newcomers to choose what they like and not to buy for signatures or big names. Ayala suggests supporting young and emerging artists.

The architect Javier Iturrioz singled out Ramiro Pasch, an artist who shows at the Almacén de Arte gallery and of whom he already owns "8 works". Gabriel Levinas, who founded El Porteño and also Cerdos y Peces, called the fair one of the most interesting routes of the moment, according to Clarín.

The psychologist Andi De Tomaso explained that she first lets a work seduce her and only then does research, and she mentioned Leo Mayer. Jorge Correa, who leans toward Argentine art of the 1960s and 1970s, stopped near the Tokonoma gallery, where there are works by Antonio Viggo.