ArtRio, The International Art Fair of Rio de Janeiro will take place from September 10th through the 14th, 2014 in five warehouses specially equipped at Pier Mauá. Arguably the most prominent art fair in Latin America, the event has everyone talking about the purchasing power, not only of Brazilians, but of also other Latin American collectors who flock to this city every year to explore the art market.

Fair organizers Brenda Valansi, Elisangela Valadares and Luis Calainho have separated the exhibition program into four sections: PANORAMA, VISTA, LUPA and SOLO. The fourth iteration of ArtRio expects to break last year’s attendance record. With more than 100 participating galleries and over 2,000 artists, this goal is easily within reach. “The growth and relevance earned by ArtRio during its first three editions have reinforced the demand for quality artistic events, as well as the existence of a public that appreciates and consumes art,” says Valansi.

Some of Brazil’s most-prestigious galleries such as Fortes Vilaça, Luisa Strina and Anita Schwartz will bring their best to ArtRio, as will do world-renowned art dealers like Gagosian, White Cube and David Zwirner.

ArtRio brings under the same roof the work of modern and contemporary European and North American masters–Picasso, Klee, Matisse, Lichtenstein–and presents them alongside great Brazilian artists like Tarsila Do Amaral, Candido Portinari, Alfredo Volpi, Hélio Oiticica or Lygia Clark.

But the fair refrains from self-congratulation with the inclusion of some of the most-creative talents from all over the world. As it could not be otherwise, Latin American artists predominate, but there is a great variety of nationalities and disciplines present in this year’s event. Some artists you may want to check out include to name a few Alex Katz (USA), Antoni Tapies, Juan Usle (Spain), Cildo Meireles, Anna Maria Maiolino (Brazil), Joaquín Torres García (Uruguay), Liliana Porter, León Ferrari (Argentina), and Ólafur Elíasson (Denmark).

The PANORAMA Section is dedicated to established galleries with a clear focus on art from the 20th and 21st centuries while the section titled VISTA becomes a forum for young galleries to exhibit experimental curatorial projects in booths designed exclusively for the show. On the other hand LUPA, under the curatorship of Abaseh Mirvali, showcases monumental works or unedited large format pieces that have been developed especially for the exhibition, and curators Pablo Leon de la Barra and Julieta Gonzalez are sharing curatorial duties to bring to life the special SOLO project.

To reflect the different visions held by artists, curators, dealers and the general public, the fair also features daily workshops and conversations about the status of the art object, constructing histories, legitimization, and early and final moments of the vanguard movements of the 20th century.

ArtRio fosters the creation of new collections with something for every taste, from neo concrete to conceptual art to minimalism or expressionism, presented in a variety of media: painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, video, performance, mixed media, street art, installations and interventions. And all this will happen in the beautiful city of Rio de Janeiro. This gorgeous metropolis, where nature and culture come together in harmony, will become an international cultural capital like no other. ■