Projects

Parede Gentil

Parede Gentil is a wall that displays artwork outside Brazilian art gallery A Gentil Carioca.

Brazil & Aotearoa New Zealand

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Nº 02 Abrigo, 2006 Dane Mitchell

Parede Gentil (Gentil’s wall) is an ongoing project run by the Brazilian art gallery A Gentil Carioca. This project gives artists the opportunity to produce and display an artwork on the gallery's external wall for up to four months. Located in the multicultural downtown area of Rio de Janeiro, the gallery – especially Parede Gentil – is in the perfect location to reach the public and spread the word about art to large numbers of people. Each artwork on the wall is sponsored by an art collector. This demonstrates the value of the artist and the importance of collecting art.

Since Parede Gentil started in 2005, artists have displayed 38 artworks on the wall. It has attracted work by artists such as Anna Bella Geiger, Paulo Bruscky, Marcos Chaves, Lenora de Barros, Neville D'Almeida, Guga Ferraz, Carla Zaccagnini, Nico Vascellari, Gabi Gusmão, Maria Nepomuceno, Arjan Martins, OPAVIVARÁ! and Carlos Garaicoa.

The second work displayed – from February to June 2006 – was Abrigo by New Zealand artist Dane Mitchell. Abrigo is Portuguese for “shelter”, and referred to the small tent that Dane mounted high up on the exterior wall of A Gentil Carioca.

In 2014, the art collective OPAVIVARÁ! displayed CHUVAVERÃO on Parede Gentil. CHUVAVERÃO was an installation that featured five showers, which anyone passing by could use free of charge. The installation referred to the public water sources that used to exist throughout Rio de Janeiro, in particular the historical Fonte do Largo da Carioca.

Both Dane – in 2011 – and OPAVIVARÁ! – in 2019 – have exhibited the Dunedin Public Art Gallery International Visiting Artist programme.

A Gentil Carioca is a contemporary art gallery in Rio de Janeiro, founded in 2003 by three Brazilian artists: Ernesto Neto, Laura Lima and Márcio Botner. It was set up so that artists could capture and share the diversity of Brazil's art with others. The gallery now leads the art scene in Rio de Janeiro. It has become a prominent cultural centre and social hub that gives art lovers and collectors a place to interact with art, have artistic and critical debate and expand their networks. In 2021, A Gentil Carioca expanded to a new exhibition space in São Paulo.

Published 02 November 2023