ArtRio opens with 76 galleries ahead of Brazil election
Dealers were already closing sales over dinner the night before ArtRio opened in Rio de Janeiro.
The 16th edition of the fair, a large marketplace where galleries offer works for sale, held its preview on Wednesday, 16 September and runs until 20 September, according to The Art Newspaper. It brings together 76 participating galleries, largely Brazilian. Sales started early. Galleries made deals at the pre-preview dinner on Tuesday night, before the preview had even begun.
The preview is an invitation-only opening held before public days. The fair’s main sales section is called Panorama. It includes Mendes Wood DM, Nara Roesler and Galleria Continua, alongside dozens of other dealers.
Most exhibitors this year are from Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. The list also reaches beyond those two cities, with galleries from Brasília, Vitória and Belo Horizonte taking part. The fair’s artistic director is Maria Luz Bridger.
There was a high-profile visitor in the room before the opening. Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad Al Thani, chairperson of Qatar Museums, attended ArtRio ahead of the pre-opening dinner.
The opening falls just weeks before Brazil’s presidential election in early October. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is standing for re-election. One of the candidates is Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro. The former president is serving a prison sentence for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 election.
For visitors, this means a Brazilian fair with a strongly local line-up opening during a noisy political season. What makes this stand out is the trade behind it. Brazilian dealers reported a 21% year-on-year rise in sales in 2025, according to the UBS and Art Basel Global Art Market Report.
ArtRio has shifted in size over time. Its 13th edition in 2023 featured 80 participating galleries. The 2026 dates are 16–20 September in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, according to Rio Times Online.
