Filipe Assis from the pioneering exhibition platform Aberto

0:12Eduardo Longo:Hello and welcome to the Monaco Weekly. I am Fernando Augusto Pacheco and today I speak with Filipe Assis, founder of Aberto, an innovative exhibition platform that celebrates art and design within modernist houses and landmarks. This time we speak about their fifth edition at Eduardo Longo's spectacular Casa Bola. Let's hear it from Felipe.

0:42Eduardo Longo:Felipe Assis, founder of Aberto, a pleasure talking to you again. And I say a pleasure because it is really a pleasure because I love the project that you founded in 2022. And there's been quite a lot of expansion as well. First of all, a very basic question. Once again, I wonder if you can introduce us in the easiest way possible. What is Aberto and what did you want to achieve when you founded Aberto?

1:07Filipe Assis:Aberto, which means open in English, is a project that I founded back in 2022. And I wanted to open places that usually are close to the public, but places with an iconic architecture. So usually we open these modernist houses here in São Paulo for a dialogue with art and also design.

1:30Eduardo Longo:And one thing I liked about Alberto from the beginning, of course, there was a concept, you know, being in a beautiful architectural house somewhere, but every year you manage to find something different. You know, one time you go to Paris and now, you know, we will talk more about this year, but you don't rest. You always wanted to do something different and exciting. And I think that's super nice.

1:52Filipe Assis:I think I like to create problems for myself, maybe. But yeah, but this is edition number five. And we've been doing these shows for the past three years and a half only. So the first one at the Niemeyer house, I think it was a very disruptive project because nobody was expecting and nobody even knew about this house signed by Niemeyer here in São Paulo. because it's the only one remaining in the city. The second house, which was Villanova-Archiga's project, I think it was also surprising in a way because Villanova-Archiga, everyone knows, he's the most recognized architect of this Scola Paulista, which means the São Paulo School of Architecture.

2:41Filipe Assis:But nobody knew this project, which was a real masterpiece of his production. And the third edition we hosted in two different houses at the same time. One was Tomi Otaki's house, projected by his son, Huyo Taki. And the other one was completely unexpected, was Xuming Silveira's house. She designed the Brazilian telephone cabin, which is called Ore Leão. And it's very well known here in the country by all the generations. not Gen Z maybe and the fourth edition we did the first international project of Alberto at Maison La Roche projected by Le Corbusier and at the time we presented a few artworks in dialogue with this story with this relationship of Le Corbusier and the Brazilian modernist architects like Oscar Niemeyer Lucio Costa, Afonso Reige and many others and this one It will be a surprise again as we are doing at the Bauhaus.

3:52Filipe Assis:The Bauhaus doesn't fit in any type of architecture specifically. As our curator Fernando Serapiano once mentioned, that Eduardo Longo never followed any masters and will leave no followers, which is kind of a disruptive way of thinking.

4:14Eduardo Longo:And radical, disruptive and radical, right?

4:17Filipe Assis:Yes, disruptive and radical. And also unique because I don't think an architect is projecting a Bauhaus again in the near future.

4:29Eduardo Longo:And is it true that he still lives in the house as well? So that would make the first time that you're going to show the art in a house that's still inhabited by the artist or designer?

4:40Filipe Assis:Yes. The first time not in a modernist house, the first time a living architect and the first time the architect living inside the house but not the exhibition because the ball house sits on top of the of his actual home but he was living inside the ball house for the past 50 years so last year he moved from the ball house to downstairs, let's say. And the show will happen also in a gallery that he has, that it's connected also to the Bauhaus. So it's like a T-form property. And it will have around a thousand square meters of exhibition, yes.

5:27Eduardo Longo:One thing that I'm curious, especially this year, because as I said, it's a radical house, very different from any of the previous Alberto, What about in terms of the art that is going to be exhibited? Will they have a radical aspect or not necessarily?

5:42Filipe Assis:A hundred percent, because when you think about the previous editions, all of them happening in modernist houses, we had more abstract geometric artworks. For this one, we are choosing completely different artists. So, for instance, we're going to have some historical Brazilian pop art, but also the contemporary ones they are producing, they were commissioned to produce specifically for the show. We are going to show, for instance, Marina Pérez Simão, Luiz Zerbini, Erika Verzucci, all of them commissioned.

6:18Eduardo Longo:What I love about Alberto as well is access to those wonderful kind of houses that, you know, they're never open to the public. And I think that's very important. And I think this year more than ever, because besides Casa Bola, there will be a separate kind of aberto rua I wonder if you could tell us a bit more about that as well

6:37Filipe Assis:yes, this is the first time that we are doing a show in the public space, which will be in the Faria Lima Avenue the Faria Lima, for people who don't know São Paulo, it's like the financial center of the country and very busy avenue, it has the lowest estimate is like 500 thousand people passing by every day in this on this avenue and we are gonna show over 20 artworks installations sculptures paintings we're gonna have like some interventions on the on the street it will be an interesting aberto and this aberto rua means like aberto open but also rua means streets in Portuguese.

7:27Eduardo Longo:And Felipe, I'm so happy. So Abed, of course, is opening now in March, is going to be on until the 31st of May. So it's a good period, even for visitors of Sao Paulo, because a lot of my friends, as you know, Brazilian tourism is increasing, you know, and a lot of people love Brazilian architecture. They want to know more. And they always tell me, but where can I find some of those places? And I feel in Brazil, sometimes it's quite hidden under doors and, you know, especially in a city like Sao Paulo. So I think this is such an exciting project as well. So you see those wonders, architectural wonders in the city as well, don't you think?

8:00Filipe Assis:Yes, I agree 100%. And interestingly, the Tomiotaki house, which we hosted the third aberto, they are opening for their first time to the public. They will become a house museum. They will open on the very same day that we open on the 7th of March, running through the 31st of May. And it's good to note that also this Aberto will be the longest one because we are expecting many, many visitors.

8:32Eduardo Longo:It deserves to be. And Felipe, I just want to ask as well, is it true that there will be kind of a special magazine for this Aberto? I wonder if you can tell us because it would be interesting to own something or if not, let me know.

8:45Filipe Assis:Yeah, yeah. Actually, the Revista Aberto, it's the project that I'm most in love with right now, because we are doing a magazine focused on art, design, and also architect slash urbanism. and we're going to have some great articles for instance Hans Ulrich Obrist and Rem Kuhas they interview Eduardo Longo about the ball house when they visited the house so we are going to show this interview there's also a chat between Kiki Mazoukeli who is one of our curators with Cicilia Alemani about discussing the importance of art in the public space and also some parallels between the Aberto Rua and the High Line and many, many other articles that we are proud to present to the public.

9:43Eduardo Longo:Thank you, Felipe. The fifth edition of Aberto is open now to the 31st of May in São Paulo. For more information, go to aberto.art. I'm Fernando Augusto Pacheco and this show was edited by Jack Dewars. Thank you for listening. Thank you.