Happy New Year and Goodbye!

 
I’m constantly amazed by the diversity, depth and creativity of the artists in Buenos Aires, especially when I look at ArtInfo and scratch my head wondering at the taste and sanity of those participating in the international art market.

Two words: Damien Hirst.

Here in Capital Federal, I keep wondering why Buenos Aires doesn’t get more global attention, other than for its street art.

Perhaps it’s because, for the most part, artists here have gone their own way, even from each other. Sure, there are microtrends but they really don’t last long and no one pays them too much attention.

I remember a conversation I had with Cesar Menegazzo of Wussmann Gallery about this subject. Without going into detail, he simply concluded that the art and artists of the Rio de la Plata were maybe too idiosyncratic to be understood by norteamericanos or art investors from the European union. All to the better, I thought. Better to grow your own way.

To understand how provincial the traditional market is, you have to step outside of it. I’m glad I did, else I wouldn’t have discovered Santiago García Sáenz, Alejandro Bovo Theiler, Gabriel Grún, Carlos Huffman, Alfredo Srur or street artists Pol Corona, Mart and Roma, just to name a handful of my favorite artists here in Buenos Aires.

In tribute to the spirit of Argentine independent art and to mark the last regular posting here on Juanele AR, Spanish-language editor Gabriela Schevach and I have curated two small best-of galleries to commemorate the occasions. We’ve culled the images from our Weekend Portfolios and they by no means present an exhaustive list.

Gabriela Schevach’s selections:

 
Rick Powell’s selections:
 

 
Finally, I would like to thank all the artists we’ve worked with over the past year and a half+ but especially the freelancer writers I’ve had the pleasure to edit and talk to: Carla Harms, Paul Katz, Kate Sedgwick, Gretchen Gardner, Ariel Authier, Kristen Moreau, Helen Morgan and our much-missed photographer, Andy Donohoe, among others. It’s been wonderful and inspiring to witness your enthusiasm and your lack of pretension as well as get drunk with you on occasion.

Thanks also to all the artists and art-lovers who have championed our work: Neurorama, Eduardo Gil, Lisa Goldapple, Max Paarlberg, Skye Brannon, Kate Sedgwick and Pol Corona, in particular.

Special thanks and kudos to my Spanish-language editor, Gabriela Schevach, whose seriousness, humor and kindness I appreciate in equal measure. I’ve frequently been awed by Gabi’s ability to craft an elegant sentence out of a complex idea and in a language not native to her. Gabi, good luck on your next projects.

Juanele AR may continue to publish irregularly — and who knows what else we may have up our sleeve — but today is definitively the last day of regular publishing.

Suerte y nos vemos!