Continuity, positivity, and community are at the core of  the gallery’s success, says co-founder Márcio Botner

Rio de Janeiro’s A Gentil Carioca keeps the celebratory spirit alive, 15 years after its inception

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Clément Dirié:&nbsp;Could you first explain your gallery’s name?Márcio Botner:&nbsp;Certainly! I think it defines our approach to art very well. All three of us&nbsp;–&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/7286/Ernesto-Neto" target="_blank">Ernesto Neto</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/10193/Laura-Lima" target="_blank">Laura Lima</a>, and I&nbsp;–&nbsp;are artists. The A stands for the feminine article in Portuguese, meaning that if art had a gender, it would be female. Gentil means gentle or kind. Carioca is what we call someone who was born in Rio de Janeiro. Together they suggest being from a specific place, being progressive, and being caring and positive.CM: The three of you founded&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1054/A-Gentil-Carioca" target="_blank">A Gentil Carioca</a> 15 years ago, in 2003. What are your first feelings when you look back?MB: Our desire to work together at that moment in the early 2000s comes first. What mainly led us to open the gallery was the need to have a space that had artists’ eyes behind it. The idea was to be an independent gallery and put works of art out into the world. I’m so glad to see that we have not only survived and managed to remain independent, but that we are now part of the global art conversation. It was clear from the beginning that I would be the one to manage the gallery, its public face&nbsp;–&nbsp;something I’m now doing with Elsa Ravazzolo, our business partner and my life partner. I used to say that we started the gallery on September 6, 2003, which is one day before Brazilian Independence Day. We were born independent! This freedom, this liberty, is very important to us. We manifest it through social and public projects like Parede Gentil / Gentle Wall; our Education T-shirts; by organizing shows like our landmark exhibition Education, Look! in 2005, which was the first of our education driven projects; and by calling our open call group show Abre Alas, which is the name of the first car of the Carnival’s official parade. This program is open to young artists from all over the world. This year we received 400 applications and chose around 20! All these projects have come with time, relationships, behind the gallery.&nbsp;

I know for sure that many galleries have artists behind them, but I don’t know any other gallery that can do these kinds of projects and participate in the most important art fairs around the world. This kind of bridge really defines our specificity. I think it brings a lot of fresh air while&nbsp;constantly renewing our desires and inspirations. To answer your question, I think of one word when I look back, and that is “continuity.” This word is very important when you think about art,&nbsp;about cultural issues, about Brazil’s political instability even. For instance, we have been running this Gentle Wall program for 14 years now. For each of the 30 projects we have organized&nbsp;so far, we have invited an artist to propose an artwork for our facade. When I think about putting a piece of art on a wall, of course I’m thinking about how it will help our gallery and lead to doing other exhibitions, but at the same time I’m also thinking about the kinds of culture and content I’m putting out into the world. Over time, we understand much better how we want to influence people around us. We are able to see how art can really affect people.CD: Did you open in 2003 because you weren’t happy with the other galleries or because you didn’t have proper representation?MB: Not at all! We opened it as a project. For instance, we don’t represent Ernesto. The point was really to create a program for young artists, and I think this is why we have been and still are recognized&mdash;for bringing young Brazilian artists to the scene. Several artists have begun working with us, others have left, others have joined us&mdash; that is the rule of the game&mdash;but many of them are still with us. When we started it was a totally different moment in the Rio art scene. The scene was very strong, but there weren’t many galleries around. We didn’t know where to begin, because we had never worked in a gallery before. I remember when someone asked me for the first invoice, I had no idea what it was. We had to create our own ways of doing things.

CD: Can you tell us more about your gallery space?MB: The gallery is located downtown, behind the biggest open market in South America that was founded at the beginning of the 20th century by immigrants. Today there are still many immigrants in the area. This location is very symbolic for us. Brazilian culture is mixed. Being in the downtown area, seeing people from different backgrounds getting along, fits with the gallery’s melting-pot philosophy. Whatever you do there, you really reach an audience. In the early years I remember people saying: “What are you doing here?” “This is crazy!” “What is this about?” “Are you mad wasting money on that?” But with time, some really deep questions were answered. They saw why; they compared what we were doing with other projects; they wanted to know more. It means a lot to us&mdash; this question of education and how art can get to people on a day-to-day basis. We are located in two old buildings, which belong to Brazil’s national heritage. They have both been renovated and look like houses. It requires a totally different approach being based there and doing exhibitions there&mdash; it is completely different from the classic white cube. For us it is important to be in Saara, in the historic center of Rio de Janeiro. You feel the history&mdash; a very local Carioca. We like to bring people there, to take them around.&nbsp;When a curator or a collector comes for the first time, they are totally fascinated that we have the opportunity to be there.&nbsp;CD: When did you first participate in Art Basel Miami Beach?MB: It was 11 years ago, in 2007. The first art fair we did was NADA in Miami in 2005. NADA means nothing in Portuguese. So when they invited us to participate we thought: “What is this fair? It’s nothing, that’s a good start!” It was a very nice moment because many good galleries were arriving on the scene at the same time. They all now exhibit at Art Basel. For me Art Basel in Miami Beach is very special. I still remember our first years when we exhibited in the containers on the beach. I have been on its committee for some years now, and we are all trying to make this fair stronger every year

This interview was first published in Art Basel | Year 49.Top image: A Gentil Carioca's three founders&nbsp;Márcio&nbsp;Botner, Ernesto Neto, and Laura Lima, celebrating the gallery's 15th anniversary in 2019.&nbsp;Courtesy of A Gentil Carioca, Rio de Janeiro.

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