Auction results reflected the same considered momentum. With Brazilian lots achieving 100% sell-through rates at Phillips and Christie’s, and almost 90% at Sotheby’s, the tone was one of thoughtful curation rather than speculative fervor, a sign that the major houses have refined their strategy when it comes to Latin America’s largest market.
From fairs to auctions, one message emerges: Brazil is not chasing trends. It’s building legacy, artist by artist, sale by sale. Let’s now take a closer look at each sector shaping the presence of Brazilian art abroad this season.
Frieze New York 2025 Opens with Energy
After days of gray skies and drizzle, Frieze New York 2025 opened under bright sunlight and high expectations. This year’s edition feels more intense than ever, with just 24 hours separating it from TEFAF and a packed calendar of art events across the city.
Even in a market where collectors are proceeding with caution, private buyers, curators, and institutions showed up in full force from the VIP preview, driving early sales and keeping the aisles buzzing.
The fair coincides with major news: Frieze has been acquired by a consortium led by Ari Emanuel in a $200 million deal that includes all its fairs, Frieze magazine, and sister events. The fair was part of the Endeavor empire from 2016 to 2024, under Emanuel’s leadership, which saw it expand to LA, Seoul, and absorb events like Expo Chicago and The Armory Show. Then came 2024: Silver Lake, Endeavor’s main stakeholder, acquired the company for $25 billion. Emanuel stepped down, with a modest $175.8 million payout, according to Deadline. Soon after, he bought back Frieze for around $200 million, backed by Apollo and RedBird. Though the deal isn’t finalized, it has already sparked conversation and cautious optimism about the road ahead.
In this atmosphere of transition, the Brazilian art market is holding its ground, and gaining visibility. This year, 07 Brazilian galleries are participating in Frieze, a 16,7% increase compared to 2024. Among them, Mitre, Nara Roesler, Mendes Wood, Vermelho, A Gentil Carioca, Fortes D’Aiola & Gabriel and Central both established names and rising voices, reflecting a growing curatorial confidence and international interest in Brazilian art.
Mitre
The gallery dedicated its booth to the work of Luana Vitra, emphasizing her use of materials like iron and soot while delving into themes of spiritual resistance. The sales were impressive, including 10 drawings at $5.000 each, one sculpture for $26.000, two sculptures at $22.000 each, an arm cuff priced at $12.000, and an amulet for $5.000. Several institutional acquisitions were also reported, underscoring the artist’s growing recognition.
The rise of the artist, who is also a dancer and performer, is indeed remarkable: Vitra took part in the São Paulo Biennial in 2023, the year she won a pavilion dedicated to her work at Inhotim, one of Brazil’s most important contemporary art institutions. She then had a solo show at the São Paulo space of the aforementioned gallery, and is currently on display at the SculptureCenter in Queens, and is scheduled to take part in the next Sharjah Biennial (2025) and the Thailand Biennial in Phuket.
Nara Roesler
The Nara Roesler gallery’s prominent participation at two of New York’s most prestigious fairs, Frieze and TEFAF, underscores its dedication to promoting Latin American art and further cements its significance on the global art stage.
The gallery, which has had a physical space in the city for ten years, also played a prominent role: it sold a painting by Tomie Ohtake for $350.000, along with works by Sheila Hicks, Marco A. Castillo, Carlito Carvalhosa and Marcelo Silveira.
Mendes Wood
Mendes Wood has announced the sale of the work Sliced Stones, 2018, by Kishio Suga, inspired by an original installation from the 1980s. Priced between $200.000 and $300.000, the sculptural installation will go to By Art Matters, the contemporary art museum at the Renzo Piano-designed OõEli office complex in Hangzhou, China.
Fortes D'Aloia & Gabriel
Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel had an outstanding performance at Frieze New York. The gallery nearly sold out its booth on the first day, with works by Tadáskía, Wanda Pimentel, and Antonio Tarsis flying off the walls. By the end of VIP day, only one piece by Beatriz Milhazes remained available.
“Frieze was excellent for us. We sold nearly all the works on view, mostly to collections in the United States,” the gallery stated. “Tadáskía, Wanda Pimentel, Antonio Tarsis, and Beatriz Milhazes were the artists we presented — and we sold all of them.”
Central Galeria
Central participated in Frieze New York with dddecay, a solo project by artist C.L. Salvaro featured in the Focus section curated by Lumi Tan, which highlights young galleries and emerging artists. The exhibition marked a new phase in Salvaro’s work, presenting an immersive installation of sculptures made from a mix of natural and synthetic materials like resin, fiberglass, sand, and nylon mesh. Geometric structures floated along the walls, suspended between layers of taut mesh with sand grains creating delicate webs, challenging gravity and transforming the space into a suspended, ethereal environment.
The gallery had previously presented a solo show by Salvaro at Art Basel Miami Beach in past editions, receiving excellent public response and sales. Three works were acquired by the Chinese institution By Art Matters, in Hangzhou, and one piece also entered a public collection in China.
Brazilian Art at TEFAF New York 2025: Strategic Placements in a Shifting Market
Held from May 9 to 13 at the Park Avenue Armory, TEFAF New York reaffirmed its position as one of the most refined art fairs in the global calendar, bringing together 91 exhibitors from four continents, including 13 newcomers, at a particularly delicate moment for the art and antiques market. New import tariffs announced by President Donald Trump cast uncertainty over international logistics and pricing.
On April 2, Trump introduced sweeping tariffs: 10% on all imported goods and 20% specifically targeting the European Union, directly affecting the transport of artworks and design pieces. A temporary 90-day suspension followed days later (excluding China), but the lack of clarity on which categories are exempt leaves many TEFAF staples, antiques, furniture, and contemporary works made with unconventional materials, in a regulatory gray zone.
Despite macroeconomic pressure and a 9% contraction in U.S. art market sales in 2024 (bringing global sales to $57.5 billion), TEFAF New York saw an 11% rise in attendance. Early reports of “strong sales” underscored the market’s appetite for works with historical weight and more accessible price points, a dynamic Sophie Su Art Advisory also observed directly on site.
For Brazilian galleries, the moment was particularly strategic. By focusing on historical Brazilian artists with long-term value potential, they not only drew the attention of curators and connoisseurs, always precise and encyclopedic in the TEFAF context, but also achieved significant placements.
Let’s take a closer look at how this prestigious fair contributed to the growing internationalization of the Brazilian art market.
Luciana Britto & Mayor Gallery
Among the 2025 newcomers, Luciana Brito Galeria from São Paulo made its TEFAF New York debut in collaboration with The Mayor Gallery, both presenting a solo booth dedicated to Italo-Brazilian artist Waldemar Cordeiro.
The exhibition celebrated Cordeiro’s legacy through a chronological presentation, from his first geometric drawing in 1949 to rare Neo-Concretist works from the 1950s, moving through the “sensitive geometry” phase of the late 1960s, and culminating in his pioneering computer-based experiments from the 1970s. These works not only reflect the enduring conceptual rigor of Cordeiro’s practice but also underscore his profound impact on the evolution of global visual arts from the mid-20th century onward.
Nara Roesler
Curated by Luis Pérez-Oramas, the booth featured a presentation of four bronze sculptures by Maria Martins, considered the most significant Surrealist sculptor from Brazil. Martins lived in the United States between in the 40’s and famously exhibited at the Valentine Gallery alongside Piet Mondrian, from whom she purchased Boogie Woogie a reversal of today’s collecting patterns. During the fair, the gallery opened key dialogues with international museums interested in revisiting the artist’s career.
In homage to this historical exchange, Vik Muniz created a reinterpretation of Mondrian, setting the tone for the curated presentation titled The Unexpected Encounter of the Surreal and the Concrete. The selection also included works by Abraham Palatnik, Amelia Toledo, and Julio Le Parc, weaving Brazilian narratives into a refined, international visual language.
A veteran of the New York scene, Galeria Nara Roesler also used the occasion to signal forthcoming shifts in its international strategy. The gallery is considering establishing artist residencies in the U.S. as a way to navigate rising freight costs and ongoing logistical uncertainties.
Gomide & Co
Gomide & Co returning to TEFAF in 2025, presented a thoughtful dialogue exploring the poetic connection between Mira Schendel and Amelia Toledo, highlighting the relationship between their creative processes and experimental approaches. The presentation emphasized the traces of long, meditative experimentation, a deep dedication to art, and a deliberate economy of means. It was a project imbued with spirituality, microcosmic visions, and a sense of inner connection.
The response was remarkable: all of Amelia Toledo’s works sold out, and six works by Mira Schendel were placed with collectors, another one already reserved.
Lisson
Lisson Gallery presented a curated selection that included a historical work by Olga de Amaral, an artist who has played a key role in building the international visibility of Latin American art, alongside several prominent international names. The booth also featured two significant Brazilian artists: a Metaesquema on Eucatex by Hélio Oiticica grupo Frente from 1955 and a painting by Dalton Paula, priced at $200.000. Paula, who officially joined the gallery’s roster on April 15, marked his presence as a key figure in the new generation of Afro-Brazilian voices. Out of the seven artworks on display, two were by Brazilian artists, representing approximately 30% of the booth’s total selection.
Hélio Oiticica
Untitled (grupo Frente), 1955
Gouache on Masonite
38 x 42 x 06 cm
Leon Tovar
Leon Tovar Gallery presented a wooden sculpture by Brazilian artist Saint Clair Cemin, who is currently the subject of a solo exhibition at the Rosewood Hotel in São Paulo. Curated by Marc Pottier, the show is organized in partnership with Almeida & Dale and Bolsa de Arte (Porto Alegre) galleries.
Cemin’s work resonates with the legacy of prominent Latin American artists such as Wilfredo Lam, Diego Rivera, and Fernando Botero, sharing a deep engagement with cultural identity, hybrid forms, and a dialogue between tradition and modernity. Like these masters, Cemin blends diverse influences to create sculptures that challenge and expand the boundaries of Latin American artistic expression.
I-54
The 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair returned to New York from May 8 to 11, 2025, marking its eleventh edition and celebrating a decade in the city. For the first time, the fair was held at The Halo, 28 Liberty Street, in Manhattan’s financial district, providing a spacious and dynamic new venue for around 30 exhibitors from 17 countries across five continents.
The fair showcased over 70 artists working across diverse media, reaffirming its role as a vital international platform for contemporary African and diasporic art. That year, it expanded its curatorial focus on the Caribbean, building on the 2023 initiative Sparkling Islands by spotlighting Caribbean perspectives, identity, migration, and cultural hybridity through the Caribbean Spotlight exhibition curated by ATLANTIC ARTHOUSE.
The fair’s importance lay in its commitment to fostering global dialogue and exchange around African and diasporic art, positioning itself as both a commercial and cultural hub that bridged continents, generations, and artistic narratives.
Karla Osorio
The gallery has dedicated its booth to Matheus Abu, a young painter from Rio de Janeiro who is part of a unique school of black artists. His works combine classical composition with profound themes, such as state violence and the vulnerability of black boys who fly between herons, skies and mountains. His painting balances drama and transcendence, revealing a baroque aesthetic that brings the figurative closer to abstraction and invites the viewer to see everyday life in a renewed way.
The gallery was the sole Brazilian representative at the fair and reported an excellent performance. The audience was highly specialized and engaged, and the gallery sold nearly all the works exhibited, including two significant sales to major institutions in New York, as well as to vibrant private collections.
Brazilian Art at Auctions
This spring, Brazilian artists accounted for 25 lots across the major New York auctions, representing 2.8% of the total offerings, a figure that aligns proportionally with Brazil’s current share in the global art market, which remains under 5%. Yet beyond the numbers, what stood out was the sharp curatorial direction taken by each auction house.
Phillips led the season with a focused, market-savvy approach, removing historical works entirely to concentrate on its specialty: 21st-century names with proven liquidity. Christie’s stood out with a strong selection of Brazilian lots, thanks in large part to the consignment of one private collections, those of Tiqui Atencio and Ago Demirdjian. Meanwhile, Sotheby’s delivered the most institutionally weighted offer, anchored by Riverside Village, a masterpiece by Dutch-born Frans Post, the first artist to depict Brazilian Iconography. The sale also included rare works from the 1950s and 60s by major Brazilian figures.
Perhaps most striking: nearly 100% of the Brazilian lots found buyers, while the unfolding scandal involving Jhonnatha Schimitd Yanowich, now under investigation for a multi-million-euro money laundering scheme tied to the sale of Brazilian artworks.
Phillips
May 14, 2025 — Modern & Contemporary Art Day Sale
The performance of Brazilian artists in Phillips’ May sales was modest yet exceeded expectations. With 4 lots, 100% sold, the total high estimate for Brazilian works reached $268.000, while the total hammer price amounted to $326.660, surpassing projections by more than 21.9%, reflecting growing market interest in selected names.
Out of a total sale of $30.214.600, Brazilian lots accounted for 1.08% of the overall value.
Executed in the 1960s, Imaginary Animals reveals the fantastic universe of Chico da Silva, a pioneer of Amazonian naïve art. The gouache work, with dreamlike creatures and vibrant colors, acquired from International Museum of Naïf Art of Brazil collection by the present owner was sold for $25.400.
The artist’s previous record was set in 2023 by the monumental work Serpente da Serra Luminosa (c. 1966), measuring 119.4 x 203.2 cm, which reached $330.200.
Chico da Silva
Animais Imaginários, 1960
Gouache on paper mounted on hardboard
55 x 75 cm
Estimate: $12.000 – 18.000
Sold: $25.400
Modern & Contemporary Art Day Sale – Morning Session – 14 May
Known for his ethereal and meditative landscapes, Brazilian Lucas Arruda, internationally represented by gallery David Zwirner, has gained significant attention with recent exhibitions at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris and the Carré d’Art in Nîmes. His work, which mixes abstraction and landscape in atmospheres of light and silence, fetched $139.700 at auction.
Lucas Arruda
Untitled 17, 2011
Oil on canvas
18 x 24 cm
Estimate: $50.000 – 70.000
Sold: $139.700
Modern & Contemporary Art Day Sale – Morning Session – 14 May
The work O dia em que a Andorinha não voou, 2005, by Brazilian artists OSGEMEOS, was sold for $101.600 in an after sales transaction, rather than during the live auction.
The duo, formed by twin brothers Gustavo and Otavio Pandolfo, is currently in the spotlight with the exhibition OSGEMEOS: Endless Story, on show at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., until August 3, 2025. This is the largest exhibition ever dedicated to the artists in the United States, bringing together around a thousand works that explore their dreamlike universe and Brazilian urban culture.
Mixed media on panel with digital audio player, USB, headphones and remote, in artist’s wooden box
179 x 139
Estimate: $80.000 – 120.000
Sold: $101.600
Modern & Contemporary Art Day Sale – Morning Session – 14 May
Painted in 2021 in Brazil, this oil on canvas, by Marina Perez Simão, reflects the poetics of the artist from Minas Gerais in compositions that evoke landscape, color and memory. The painting was sold for $60.960, at the same time as the Guggenheim in New York celebrates the artist with the exhibition Beatriz Milhazes: Rigor and Beauty on view from March 7-September 7, 2025.
Oil on canvas
50 x 40 cm
Estimate: $40.000 – 60.000
Sold: $60.960
Modern & Contemporary Art Day Sale – Morning Session – 14 May
Christie's
The performance of Brazilian artists in Christie’s May sales reflects a consistent presence in the Day Sale segment.
With 11 lots, 100% sold, the total high estimate for Brazilian works reached $1.190.000, while the total hammer price amounted to $1.357.300, exceeding expectations by more than 14%, signaling growing market confidence.
Out of a total sale of $66.515.140, Brazilian lots accounted for 2.04% of the overall value.
Mira Schendel’s Graphic Object, 1967 exemplifies the delicate innovation that defines the Swiss-Brazilian artist’s groundbreaking work. This captivating piece, a testament to her mastery of form and subtlety, was sold for $302.400.
Mira Schendel
Graphic Object, 1967
Oil and graphite on rice paper, metal hardware and acrylic sheets
49 × 49 cm
Estimate: $200.000 – 300.000
Sold: $302.400
Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale – 15 May
Sold for $98.280, Untitled, 1984, by Mira Schendel, exemplifies the artist’s formal maturity in her exploration of language and matter. Executed in oil on panel and signed on the back, the work reflects the poetic synthesis that marked her final years of production.
Mira Schendel
Untitled, 1984
Oil on panel
35 × 25 cm
Estimate: $40.000 – 60.000
Sold: $98.280
Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale – 15 May
This duo of works by Mira Schendel, executed in 1971, uses ink on paper printed on Formica, highlighting her innovative exploration of textures and surfaces. The pieces, sold for $52.920, reflect the complexity and delicacy of her production in the 1970s, a crucial period for her career.
Mira Schendel
Untitled [Two Works], 1971
Ink on paper printed on Formica
Aach: 49 × 64 cm
Estimate: $40.000 – 60.000
Sold: $52.920
Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale – 15 May
Sold for $176.400, Jogo de Velha XA/OP 8B, 1993-94, by Cildo Meireles, transforms carpenter’s rulers into pictorial support, combining geometric precision and conceptual criticism. The work reflects the artist’s interest in language games and perceptual structures, central elements in his production since the 1970s.
Cildo Meireles
Jogo de Velha XA/OP 8B, 1993–1994
Acrylic on carpenter rulers mounted on panel
63 × 62 cm
Estimate: $100.000 – 150.000
Sold: $176.400
Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale – 15 May
An icon of Latin American conceptual art, Inserções em Circuitos Ideológicos: Projeto Coca-Cola, 1970-75, by Cildo Meireles, subverted mass circulation media such as banknotes and Coca-Cola bottles to convey messages critical of the dictatorship. The work, a symbol of silent resistance and political creativity, was sold for $27.720
Cildo Meireles
Inserções em Circuitos Ideológicos: Projeto Coca-Cola, 1970–1988
Transfer text on Coca-Cola glass bottles, in three parts
Each: 25 × 5 × 5 cm
Estimate: $20.000 – 30.000
Sold: $27.720
Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale – 15 May
Part of the iconic Metaesquemas series, Hélio Oiticica’s 1958 work marks a crucial turning point in Brazilian art by proposing a break with traditional geometric abstraction. With floating red shapes on a white background, the work, which anticipates the artist’s search for a more sensorial and participatory art, was sold by
Hélio Oiticica
Metaesquema, 1958
Gouache on board
31 × 33 cm
Estimate: $80.000 – 120.000
Sold: $113.400
Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale – 15 May
Another work from the emblematic Metaesquema series, this piece, executed between 1956 and 1958, reveals the artist’s radical research into color, rhythm and form, anticipating the developments of neoconcretism. Composed in gouache and ink on cardboard, Metaesquema n° 229 was sold for $75.600, exceeding the initial estimate.
Hélio Oiticica
Metaesquema n° 229, circa 1956–1958
Gouache and ink on board
42 × 48 cm
Estimate: $100.000 – 150.000
Sold: $75.600
Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale – 15 May
Lygia Clark‘s Planos em superfície modulada n° 94, 1957 sold for $94.500. The collage work highlights her contribution to neo-concrete art. The Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin will soon be holding a major retrospective of the artist from May to October 2025.
Lygia Clark
Planos em superfície modulada n° 94, 1957
Paper collage on paper
29 × 29 cm
Estimate: $30.000 – 50.000
Sold: $94.500
Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale – 15 May
Lygia Pape‘s O Olho do Guará n° 13, executed in 1984, is an emblematic piece by the Brazilian artist, recognized for her contribution to the neo-concrete movement. The work, part of the Olho do Guará series, which explores the relationship between the viewer and the work of art, was purchased in the after-sales for $81.900.
In 2025, Pape’s relevance will continue to be celebrated with the Weaving Space exhibition at the Bourse de Commerce in Paris, from September to February, 2026. This will be the artist’s first French retrospective, highlighting her importance in global contemporary art.
Lygia Pape
O olho do guará n° 13, 1984
Synthetic fur, gesso, and neon light fixture mounted on panel
59 × 59 cm
Estimate: $150.000 – 250.000
Sold: $81.900
Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale – 15 May
Painted in 2021, this untitled work by Marina Perez Simão presents abstract atmospheres and imagined landscapes that reflect her poetic investigation into space and memory. Sold for $47.880, the painting confirms the artist’s growing prominence on the international circuit.
Marina Perez Simão
Untitled, 2021
Oil on canvas
60 × 50 cm
Estimate: $40.000 – 60.000
Sold: $47.880
Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale – 15 May
Lucas Arruda sold his work from 2011, for an impressive $227.200, well above the initial estimate of $100.000 to $150.000. The Brazilian artist is in the spotlight in the contemporary market, with sales that exceed the average and consolidate his position as one of the most promising names in art today.
Lucas Arruda
Untitled, 2011
Oil on canvas
50 × 40 cm
Estimate: $100.000 – 150.000
Sold: $227.200
Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale – 15 May
A painting by Lucas Arruda from his Deserto-Modelo series achieved $378.000 at auction, it surpassed the high estimate by 26%, setting a new record for the artist for a work of this size. Previously exhibited at VeneKlasen/Werner in Berlin, the work exemplifies the quiet magnetism of Arruda’s practice, capturing his deep connection to Brazil’s natural and symbolic landscapes. His atmospheric compositions blur the boundaries between the ethereal and the tangible, inviting viewers into a space where imagination and reality converge.
In 2023, Arruda presented Assum Preto, his first solo exhibition in Spain, at Fundación Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Madrid (FSRRM), with a strong emphasis on the Deserto-Modelo series — landscapes that oscillate between abstraction and figuration, evoking inner states shaped by memory. The series, which subtly references Brazil’s lush flora and fauna, was displayed in dialogue with rare botanical books, historical illustrations, and delicate watercolors of native species from the Flora Brasiliensis.
Lucas Arruda
Untitled (from the Deserto-Modelo series), 2014
Oil on canvas
30 x 30 cm
Estimate: $200.000 – 300.000
Sold: $378.000
21st Century Evening Sale – 14 May
Sotheby's
May 16, 2025 — Contemporary Art Day Sale
The performance of Brazilian artists in Sotheby’s May sale was discreet yet consistent, with several works exceeding individual expectations. Featuring 8 Brazilian lots, 90% sold. The total high estimate reached $1.180.000, while the combined hammer price closed at $1.233.190 — outperforming projections by 4.5%, signaling steady demand across both established and emerging names.
Out of a total sale of $52.021.500, Brazilian lots represented 2.37% of the overall value.
Antônio Bandeira, one of the essential names of post-war Brazilian abstraction, lived between Fortaleza, Rio de Janeiro and Paris – the city where he settled in 1946 and found an echo in the gestural freedom of Art Informel and Tachisme. From there, he gave back to the world a deeply sensitive painting, where urban memory and tropical emotion meet in a rare balance.
In Ville, 1956, sold for $101.600, this fusion is powerfully revealed: vibrant lines and free brushstrokes suggest affective maps, dreamed cities, atmospheres in suspension. A lyrical, pulsating instant on canvas.
The artist’s auction record was set at Bolsa de Arte in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where A Grande Cidade, 1950–1952 sold for a hammer price of $795.050 in 2017.
Antônio Bandeira
Ville, 1956
Oil on canvas
45 × 55 cm
Estimate: $100.000 – 150.000
Sold: $101.600
The work Le flamboyant, 1956, executed in Paris, where Antonio bandeira lived for much of his career, exemplifies the fluid dialog between European Art Informel and the Brazilian sensibility that Bandeira never abandoned. The title suggests not only the tropical tree, but also the incendiary nature of his brushstrokes.
Sold for $152.400, this oil on canvas is a rare work, marked by intense gestures and a vibrant palette that evoke the visual rhythms of abstract urban landscapes.
Antônio Bandeira
Le flamboyant, 1956
Oil on canvas
45 × 55 cm
73 X 60 cm
Estimate: $120.000 – 180.000
Sold: $152.400
Lygia Clark revolutionized the relationship between work and viewer when she created Bichos, articulated aluminum sculptures that move and move us. More than objects, they are living organisms. “I don’t know, you don’t know, but Bicho does,” Clark used to say about the internal logic of these structures, which are articulated with the precision of a backbone and the fluidity of an organic being.
Bicho desfolhado, 1960, version 1, remains unsold. Despite this result, in May 2023 another Bicho by Lygia Clark, executed in 1960 and measuring 37 × 54 × 36 cm, was sold by Sotheby’s for $762.000.
Lygia Clark
Bicho desfolhado, 1960
Aluminum
27 × 31 cm
Estimate: $400.000 – 600.000
Unsold
Sold for $57.150 the 1966 acrylic on canvas by Brazilian artist Almir Mavignier reveals the strength of an abstraction built on rhythm, repetition and silence. A central figure in concrete art and international Op Art, Mavignier developed a language marked by modular structures and rigorous chromatic research, always combined with a lyrical and almost meditative sense of the image.
On April 2025, Sotheby’s Paris showcased works from the collection of Niomar Moniz Sodré Bittencourt, a journalist, visionary collector, and emblem of resistance against Brazil’s military dictatorship. Among the highlights was a piece by Almir Mavignier from his Aramado de Linhas series, measuring 81 x 81 cm and executed between 1954 and 1956. The work sold for €95.250 (approximately $102.500), underscoring the growing international recognition and demand for Mavignier’s art.
Almir Mavignier
Untitled, 1966
Acrylic on canvas
73 × 100 cm
Estimate: $60.000 – 80.000
Sold: $57.150
This recent monumental painting by Marina Perez Simão was sold for $127.000 under the expectatives.
The artist’s auction record was set last year during Sotheby’s fall sales, with the sale of a work from 2022 for $422.000, consolidating her name among the most sought-after of the new generation of Latin American artists.
Her first solo show “Diffusion” inaugurated in at Mendes Wood DM gallery, place des Vosges in Paris, parking the inauguration of the gallery’s new space in the French capital, coinciding with the opening of Paris+ par Art Basel in October 2023.
Marina Perez Simão
Untitled, 2021
Oil on canvas
200 × 160 cm
Estimate: $150.000 – 200.000
Sold:127.000
The São Paulo brothers known worldwide as OSGEMEOS are once again shining a light on the international market with their vibrant, personality-filled work. Pupila, 2021 sold by $88.900 reveals all the power of the style that has made the duo famous.
Recognized for their unique fusion of street culture, Brazilian folklore and the language of graffiti, the Gêmeos create visual universes that dialogue with the urban, the fantastic and the collective imagination. In Pupila, intense colors and enigmatic characters intertwine, inviting the viewer to explore layers of meaning and deep emotions.
Os Gêmeos
Pupila / Pupil, 2021
Acrylic and spray paint on panel
160 × 200 cm
Estimate: $60.000 – 80.000
Sold: $88.900
Sergio Camargo‘s 1970 masterpiece combines geometric lyricism and sensory delicacy, transforming light and shadow into a living relief, sometimes architectural, sometimes organic. Produced at the height of the artist’s maturity, the monochrome white enlivens the surface with subtle chiaroscuro effects, inviting a profound tactile and visual experience.
This rare and iconic toquinho — a striking example of Brazilian constructivism was sold for $635.000. In 2024, Relief No. 21/52, 1964, measuring 85 x 85 x 7 cm, reached an impressive milestone at Sotheby’s, fetching $1.391.000 and reaffirming the enduring strength of this body of work on the international market.
Sergio Camargo
Untitled, 1970
Painted wood construction
104 × 64 × 5 cm
Estimate: $600.000 – 800.000
Sold: $635.000
Sold for $101.600, this piece exemplifies Antonio Obá’s characteristic combination of noble materials, such as gold leaf, and the exploration of themes related to Afro-Brazilian ancestral traditions and spirituality, inviting the viewer to reflect on care, protection, and the sacred in everyday life.
The artist achieved his auction record in May last year with the work Sankofa – Figure with Espadrilles, 2020, which sold for $228.600. The piece had an initial estimate of between $60.000 and $80.000 and was sold at Sotheby’s in New York.
The Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève presents Rituals of Care, the first major mid-career retrospective in Europe for Antonio Obá, showcasing works that explore care as a ritualistic, spiritual, and political practice centered on protection, healing, and resistance.
Antonio Obá
Sem título, 2017
Oil and gold leaf on canvas
140 × 90 cm
Estimate: $80.000 – 120.000
Sold: $101.600
Antonio Dias is one of Brazil’s most influential post-war artists, recognized for his pioneering role in conceptual art and experimentation with multiple media and visual languages.
The work, dating from 1990, was sold for $53.340 the piece came from the renowned Galerie Dr. Luise Krohn in Badenweiler, the work was acquired in 1990 by the current owner as part of a distinguished Swiss private collection.
Antonio Dias
Untitled, 1990
Oil on 2 joined canvases
75 × 135 cm
Estimate: $30.000 – 40.000
Sold: $53.340
This May auction season in New York reaffirmed the market’s steady appetite for Brazilian art, particularly within the mid-price range, where liquidity and name recognition continue to reign. While the demand held firm, no landmark masterpiece emerged to disrupt the status quo. Even the most buzzed-about lots remained just out of reach: Mulata de vestido branco, 1936 by Candido Portinari, listed by Sotheby’s, vanished from the lineup due to a missed shipping deadline; and a rare 1960 Bicho by Lygia Clark was quietly pulled from Christie’s without explanation. These omissions speak volumes, pointing to a recurring challenge: sourcing and securing Brazilian masterpieces, both for global visibility and local pride, remains a delicate, often elusive endeavor, as masterpieces often circulate between the same private hands, out of reach from the public stage.
Yet beneath the surface, something stirs. Contemporary names with strong estimates continue to anchor collector interest. The market isn’t stagnant; it’s watchful, coiled with potential.
And perhaps the real shift is just around the corner. On May 21st, Sotheby’s will unveil View of Olinda by Frans Post, an extraordinary relic of Brazil’s colonial past, during the Elegance & Wonder sale from the collection of Jordan and Thomas A. Saunders III. This rare colonial landscape estimated between $6.000.000 – 8.000.000 Promised to mark a shift in momentum.