Alexandre Gabriel, a partner at São Paulo gallery Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel, opens his home in the Praça da República neighborhood to reveal his personal art collection, which includes works by friends and a Robert Mapplethorpe photograph of Peter Berlin (1976). Gabriel describes how his collection began with gifts from artist friends he met while interning at a film production company in 1996, including Ivens Machado, Luiz Zerbini, Barrão, and Ernesto Neto, and emphasizes that his collection is strictly personal, guided by love and memory rather than market trends.
This article matters because it offers an intimate look at how a prominent Brazilian gallerist navigates the intersection of personal collecting and professional representation, highlighting the distinctiveness of Brazil's contemporary art scene. Gabriel discusses the growing international visibility of Brazilian art, citing increased foreign interest during the São Paulo Biennial, and underscores the importance of relationships and cultural dialogue—especially between contemporary practice and Indigenous, Afro-diasporic, and vernacular traditions—in shaping the country's artistic identity.