Theboomofgalleriesinthecity

Until the end of the 1940s, the few galleries that emerged in the city were art spaces that also carried out other commercial functions – framing, book publishing, buying and selling works. Starting in the 1960s, this situation changed completely with the emergence of galleries whose commercial profile was linked to a proactive approach to exhibitions and critical intervention in the local art scene.

Some of the city's leading galleries were born back in the previous decade, such as the fundamental Petite Galerie, opened by painter Mario Agostinelli on Avenida Atlântica, Copacabana, next to the old Cinema Rian. Some years later, Franco Terranova takes over the gallery and, after a period of difficulty, moves with new partners to Praça General Osório, Ipanema. There, he gives it a profile that is at once modern and experimental, featuring artists such as Milton da Costa, Di Cavalcanti, and Rubem Valentim alongside young artists living in Rio de Janeiro, such as Rubens Gerchman and Roberto Magalhães.

Image description: The image is a black-and-white newspaper page, dated August 4, 1959. It is from the "Diário de Notícias" section of Rio de Janeiro. The main headline highlights the inauguration of the Galeria Macunaima on Rua México. The text mentions the Diretório Acadêmico of the Escola Nacional de Belas Artes at the Universidade do Brasil and announces the exhibition "30 Anos de Arte Brasileira." The artists represented include Segall, Portinari, Guignard, Di Cavalcanti, Iberê Camargo, Carlos Scliar, Volpi, Heliot dos Prazeres, Djanira, Tarsila, Pancetti, and Milton Dacosta. The prints are attributed to Goeldi, Abramo, Fayga, and Grassman. Sculpture is represented by Bruno Giorgi, Mário Cravo Jr., and Brecheret.

Still in the previous decade, the important Dezon galleries emerged, on Rua Almirante Gonçalves at the corner of Sá Ferreira, and the Macunaíma Gallery (created by students of the Escola Nacional de Belas Artes), and, in 1960, the Bonino Gallery, on Rua Barata Ribeiro, Copacabana. The latter, founded by Alfredo Bonino and run by Giovanna Bonino, deserves special mention for having been the city's first gallery designed specifically to display works of art. It was one of the city's most enduring and solid galleries devoted especially to visual art exhibitions, besides creating an important flow with other galleries in New York and Buenos Aires. For more than two decades, it exhibited the great names of Brazilian art of its time, balancing figurative artists, informal abstractionists, and geometric artists – the three great Brazilian trends of the 1950s. As an example of its importance, back in October 1960 Lygia Clark exhibited her Bichos for the first time, revolutionary hinged sculpture works that would become world-famous.

Image description: This is a black-and-white photograph of a social event. In the central area, we see two people prominently featured: a woman with short hair and a white dress, and a man in a black suit. They are interacting with a square object, possibly a book or a frame, which is open in front of them. In the background, there are several other people, some with their backs turned, forming a group. The spatial arrangement is dynamic, with the two main figures at the center and the audience in the background.

In 1961, another important open space in the city was Galeria Relevo, on Avenida Copacabana. Relevo's importance in the city's cultural scene has to do with the presence of one of its owners, Jean Boghici, a Romanian who went through countless adventures before arriving in Rio de Janeiro and, together with partners, opening the gallery. Its major difference from the city's other galleries, such as Bonino, was signing on as exclusive artists the young Rubens Gerchman, Antonio Dias, and Wanda Pimentel, the first two with great prominence at the time.

Image description: This is a black-and-white photograph of five men gathered around a table. On the left, a man leans over the table, supporting himself with his hands. In the center, two men are seated at the table, talking and smiling. Behind them is a decorative panel with geometric and human figures. On the right, two men are standing, looking at the table. The table has the number "57914" written on it in large, bold letters.

Other galleries from this period worth highlighting were Sobradinho, on Rua Leopoldo Miguez, and Galeria Gea, on Rua Barão de Ipanema, both opened in 1962; Galeria Goledi, opened on Rua Prudente de Moraes in 1964; and Galeria G-4, on Rua Dias da Rocha, Copacabana, in 1966 (which held Hélio Oiticica's only solo exhibition in Brazil), in addition to several others that, even if they did not have greater significance in the city's cultural life, definitively broadened and diversified the Brazilian and Rio art market.