Galeria Raquel Arnaud

Carla Chaim defines her studio as a laboratory for research, in which she conducts experiments that go beyond the traditional boundaries of drawing. Understood as a trace of the artist’s presence and her action, drawing manifests itself not only on paper, but also in photographs, videos, installations and Chaim’s own body, which is so evident in her production that it becomes the very instrument of her work, the primary material of creation. The body has an indicative character that leaves traces revealing the friction between rigid rules, such as the limited color palette, and the organic movements that respond to them. Repetition displaces the gesture from its solely expressive character and reveals its reflective power.

Carla Chaim holds a degree in Fine Arts and a postgraduate degree in Art History from the Armando Álvares Penteado Foundation (FAAP). She has participated in several artistic residencies, including AnnexB (USA, 2018) and The Banff Centre for the Arts (Canada, 2010). Her work has been presented at important cultural institutions in Brazil and around the world, such as the São Paulo Museum of Art (2020), Rio Art Museum (2016), and Art Basel (USA, 2015). She has received several awards, including the Funarte Contemporary Art Prize in 2011 and the CCBB Contemporary Prize in 2015. Her works are featured in prominent collections, such as Ella Fontanals-Cisneros (USA), Museu de Arte do Rio, Pinacoteca de São Paulo, Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro, Museu de Arte de Ribeirão Preto, and Ministério das Relações Exteriores, Itamaraty.

Galeria Raquel Arnaud is defined by strong visual choices and a continuous effort to bring forward the aesthetic profile it represents. Created in 1973, the gallery is a forerunner in the Brazilian art market and a key player in the development and consolidation of contemporary art. Its focus on geometric abstraction and the special attention given to specific investigations of contemporary art, such as constructive and kinetic art – materialised in installations, sculptures, paintings, drawings and objects – have perpetuated Galeria Raquel Arnaud in Brazil and abroad, both for its coherence and for its unique contribution to the appreciation and consolidation of Brazilian art. Artists such as Amilcar de Castro, Willys de Castro, Lygia Clark, Mira Schendel, Sergio Camargo, Hércules Barsotti, Waltercio Caldas, Iole de Freitas and Arthur Luiz Piza, among others, have made a fundamental contribution to its 50-year history.