The province of Salta, located in the northwest of Argentina, has had for many years an art scene anchored to its colonial past, due to its proximity to the Viceroyalty of Peru. Cusco painting, family portraits, and some European landscapes characterized this peaceful province of unique landscapes for decades. However, in recent years, a small but consistent circuit of galleries and art events is gaining ground and has transformed the perception of art in the region. The first art fair in the province, FAS, held last August, is a clear sign that the local scene is in the process of growth and consolidation. A change driven by new generations of artists and gallery owners who, with a renewed vision, bring new voices and perspectives to the Argentine art scene.
BAC
The BAC gallery, founded in 2016 by Matías Bassani and currently run in partnership with Rosario Cornejo, is a space that has managed to position itself as a benchmark within the Salta art scene. Its recent move to a historic mansion on 12 de Octubre 658, in the heart of the city, was a grand celebration, with the exhibition “Del amor la ardiente llama”, a collective exhibition dedicated to exploring the theme of the erotic from different perspectives, with works by Gabriela Aberastury, Lucrecia Orloff, Mariano Cornejo and Marcelo Catarinolo.
BAC seeks not only to exhibit and sell works of art, but also to create a space for exchange and encounter in the daily life of the city. «This house is a meeting place for all the people who manage culture in some way. It is not just a place to buy and sell art; it is a place where we seek to position ourselves as a region,» says Matías Bassani. In addition to being a gallery owner, Bassani was the curator of the exhibition «El viaje iniciático: Luis Preti», dedicated to a fundamental figure for the birth of the Salta scene in the 1940s. The exhibition, which was seen at the Museo de Bellas Artes in Salta, will come to Buenos Aires in an expanded version, to be inaugurated in November at the CCK.
«Until 1940, Salta had no tradition of its own painting. However, the meeting of a group of young artists in the 1940s, including Luis Preti, Carybé, Raúl Brié and Gertrudis Chale, marked a turning point,» says the gallery owner. This group, attracted by rural life and the indigenous traditions of the region, settled in Tartagal and began to capture the landscape and culture of northern Argentina in their work, challenging the conventions of academic and European art that dominated the scene.
BAC seeks to continue this tradition of artistic innovation, hosting contemporary artists and exhibiting works that span diverse disciplines, from painting, drawing and photography to sculpture, textile art and ceramics from the Wichí communities.
Remote
Founded by Guido Yannitto and Gonzalo Elías, Remota is another gallery that is shaking up the Salta scene. The motivation behind its creation arose during the pandemic, when both returned to their hometown and felt the need to develop an artistic project that reflected the contemporary moment.
«We wanted to meet the need for a broader projection, both nationally and internationally, of local artistic production,» explains Guido Yannitto.
“From the beginning we thought of the gallery as an intercultural project. We want to show that in Salta there is a vast cultural and artistic diversity. In this province alone, more than six languages are spoken, in addition to Spanish,” says Gonzalo Elías.
Through its exhibitions, the gallery seeks to showcase the diversity and complexity of Salta art, highlighting both modern and contemporary proposals. Its staff is made up of artists from northern Argentina — most of them from Salta — with different backgrounds and careers, including prominent figures such as María Martorell and Pajita García Bes.
In its short time of existence, Remota has participated twice in an art fair in Lima, in ARCOmadrid (Spain) and is preparing to land in Turkey for the 19th edition of the international fair Contemporary Istanbul (CI), which will take place from October 24 to 27 in the historic Rixos Tersane complex.
Contemporary art also plays a crucial role in the Salta scene. The gallery directed by Soledad Dahbar is a pioneer in disseminating, circulating and marketing the artistic production of the province. It was founded in 2015 with the purpose of integrating local contemporary art production into the federal map and recently opened its new space at Catamarca 481, in the capital of Salta.
“I started the project at first in my house as a studio. Turning to a gallery was more a need for circulation and visibility of the work, a demand from outside because local art did not yet have much projection,” says Soledad Dahbar, in her dual role as gallery owner and artist.
Over the years, La Arte has managed to sustain itself over time, become a point of reference, and has managed to get its artists into important public and private collections.
“From then until today everything has expanded. There are new galleries that have energized the scene and have come to play a fundamental role in the development of artists’ careers,” says the creator of La Arte, which brings together artists from different backgrounds in media such as painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, installation and performance. And she concludes that she does not agree with the label of “provincial artists”: “We are simply artists.”