Bananas and oranges. It's been hard to top the media frenzy of recent weeks surrounding the sale of a banana duct-taped to a wall for $37 million—namely The Comedian, by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan—only to be eaten by its collector, a cryptocurrency entrepreneur, in a spectacle staged for the world to see.
But every fall auction season in New York soon gives way to Art Basel Miami Beach, the glitzy event in one of the most dazzling seaside cities in the United States. It's a magnet for the jet set, social-media-hungry celebrities, and gallery owners racing to pull the next "banana" out of their hats.
The real game-changer, however, may be closer to oranges. Many credited the unexpected success of Manhattan’s auctions to Donald Trump’s victory in the White House race, citing anticipated tax cuts and lower interest rates—both factors that put ultra-wealthy collectors at ease with splurging on multimillion-dollar bananas.
Not far from Mar-a-Lago, Trump's Florida residence, Brazil is riding this wave, bringing some of its brightest stars to the fair. This year, 19 Brazilian galleries are represented, with more than a third of the event's 286 total exhibitors hailing from Latin America.
High-caliber works are already on the table, including a painting by Beatriz Milhazes—who will have a solo show at the Guggenheim next year—priced at $1.6 million (R$9.6 million), and a cornerstone piece of concrete art, Superfície Modulada, by Lygia Clark, listed at $2.2 million (R$13.1 million), both presented by São Paulo’s Gomide&Co.
Another Brazilian gallery with broad international reach, Almeida & Dale, is negotiating a surrealist sculpture by Maria Martins for $1.7 million (R$10.1 million) and a rare painting by Ismael Nery for $1.8 million (R$10.7 million). Riding the momentum of the Tunga exhibition currently on view at the Latin American Art Museum of Buenos Aires, the gallery is also offering an installation by the artist for $325,000 (R$1.9 million).
Other Brazilian galleries have placed their bets on artists recently catapulted to prominence by the Venice Biennale, such as Anna Maria Maiolino with works from her historic Fotopoemação series, offered by Luisa Strina; the collective MAHKU, featured on the façade of the Biennale’s main pavilion and represented here by Carmo Johnson Projects; and Claudia Andujar, celebrated for her work with the Yanomami people, a highlight of Paris Photo, presented at Art Basel by São Paulo’s Galeria Vermelho.
At Luciana Brito, Marina Abramović—dressed by Riccardo Tisci—channels Maria Callas in a photograph capturing her dramatic leap into an abyss. The fall comes with a $1.1 million (R$6.6 million) price tag.
