Oscar Niemeyer’s Bienal Pavilion, which hosts the SP-Arte art fair, has more than a quarter million square feet of space, which meant that the booths of most of the 141 exhibitors at the fair, which ended Sunday, felt remarkably spacious. Those booths filled the first two floors of the building, with the gargantuan top level given over to a new section for the 11-year-old fair called Open Space, which was devoted to large-scale and site-specific works. It was organized by Jacopo Crivelli Victonti, the curator of the 2014 edition of Ecuador’s Cuenca Biennial. The quality was uneven, which is to be expected when you’re relying on galleries to provide the work, but it amounted to a fairly impressive display, with strong pieces by Neïl Beloufa, Django Hernández, and Fred Sandback (even if it was awkwardly tucked away in a corner.) Below, a few highlights.
Works by Daniel Buren and Mona Hatoum.
Mona Hatoum, Turbulence (Barcelona), detail, 2012, presented by White Cube.
Daniel Buren, A Cabana explodida, obra in situ, Homenagem a Oscar Niemeyer. Daniel Buren, abril 2015, São Paulo, 2015, presented by Galleria Continua and Galeria Nara Roesler.
Diango Hernández, Flavor Orbit / Orange Curtain, 2014, presented by Galerie Barbara Thumm.
A detail of Hernández's work.
Fred Sandback, Untitled (Sculptural Study, Triangular Corner Construction) and Untitled (Sculptural Study, White Wall Relief), presented by David Zwirner.
James Lee Byars, Two in a Hat (Breath), 1969, presented by Michael Werner Gallery.
Julio Le Parc, Sphère bleue, 2001/13, presented by Galeria Nara Roesler.
Neïl Beloufa, Happiness Bleecher, Communities, Growing Up and Consumption, 2014, presented by Mendes Wood DM.
Attila Csörgő, How to Construct an Orange II, 1993–2006, presented by Galerija Gregor Podnar, Berlin.