Fortes D'Aloia & Gabriel Partner Alexandre Gabriel Opens His São Paulo Home and Collection

Alexandre Gabriel, a partner at São Paulo gallery Fortes D'Aloia & Gabriel, gave CULTURED a tour of his home in Praça da República, downtown São Paulo, revealing a personal collection that includes a Robert Mapplethorpe photograph of Peter Berlin from 1976, given to him for his 40th birthday. Gabriel, who entered the art world through a film internship in 1996, began collecting with a small painting by Marina Rheingantz, bought before offering her a show. His collection also features works by Valeska Soares, Erika Verzutti, Antonio Henrique Amaral, Matthew Lutz-Kinoy, Tatiana Chalhoub, Mauro Restiffe, Wanda Pimentel, and Ernesto Neto. He describes the Brazilian art scene as distinguished by dialogue between contemporary art and Indigenous, Afro-diasporic, and vernacular traditions. Gabriel notes increased international visibility for Brazilian art, citing the São Paulo Biennial's draw of international visitors. He prefers discovering artists through gallery shows and artist recommendations over portfolio submissions.