Robert Nieves explains why the CIRCA Puerto Rico International Art Fair is a mandatory stop on the global art circuit.
Hispanic Magazine
When Luis Rafael Sánchez wrote his famous essay La guagua aérea (“The Air Bus,” 1983), the playwright and novelist painted a portrait of working class Puerto Ricans traveling between their two worlds: the island and Nueva York. Now a new Puerto Rican set is boarding a better appointed “air bus” and jetting about the world’s art circuit, from New York to London and Paris, and all the way to Beijing in pursuit of the world’s most valuable and moving works of art. For the past five years, that journey has begun at the CIRCA Puerto Rico International Art Fair in San Juan, running from January 29 through February 1. Because those dates fit nicely between two giant global fairs—Art Basel Miami Beach in December and the Armory Show in New York City in March—CIRCA promises to be a mandatory stop for international artists, gallery owners and art collectors. Hispanic talked with CIRCA director Robert Nieves about the fair and Puerto Rico’s growing role on the global art scene.
HISPANIC Magazine: Would you characterize CIRCA as a Puerto Rican or a Caribbean art fair?
Robert Nieves: CIRCA is an art fair in the Caribbean, but we are not a displaying Caribbean or even Latin American art exclusively. There are galleries from all over the world.
HM: So how does CIRCA help expose the work of Puerto Rican or Latin American artists?
RN: We have a section called SOLO where we feature five or six artists from the region who are not represented by a gallery. We always ask them to create a project specifically for the fair, something fresh. For example, Colombian artist Alex Rodriguez is putting together a series of paintings based on the advertisements for art galleries in magazines such as Artforum. Those ads have a particular style, their own set of clichés, which the artist is recreating.
HM: How has CIRCA grown since it was founded in 2005?
RN: The growth has been relative; with the global economic situation, the galleries have been hit hard. However, the private corporations and collectors have grown more interested in CIRCA. CIRCA attracts collectors from Europe, China and the United States, as well as from Latin America. The collectors have seen Puerto Rico as a nice destination.
HM: How active are Puerto Rican collectors on today’s global circuit?
RN: Puerto Rican collectors are constantly traveling. They all know each other. They travel in groups; one collector will invite the rest. I’ve never seen anything like the solidarity they share.
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