Casa Daros Rio, an institution of Daros Latinamerica, is a new venue located in Botafogo for contemporary art exhibition and education. After six years of great work of remodeling and restoration, the building was reopened to the public with rooms for exhibitions, art and education, library, auditorium, restaurant/café and shop.
I visited the 19th century building in neoclassical style, designed by architect Francisco Joaquim Bethencourt da Silva (1831–1912) – who also conceived the Real Gabinete Português and the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, in downtown Rio – and I was very impressed with the grandeur of the place, with the architectural beauty, and of course with the quality of the works exhibited there. In the first month of opening, the house has received 18000 visitors.
If you have time, you should consider visiting the open exhibition Cantos Cuentos Colombianos, a panoramic view of excellence in contemporary Colombian art. The curator Hans-Michael Herzog has assembled a grouping of emblematic works by the artists Doris Salcedo, Fernando Arias, José Alejandro Restrepo, Juan Manuel Echavarría, María Fernanda Cardoso, Miguel Ángel Rojas, Nadín Ospina, Oscar Muñoz, Oswaldo Macià and Rosemberg Sandoval.
You will also see the exhibition Para (Saber) Escutar (To know how to listen), under the curatorship of Eugenio Valdés Figueroa, director of art and education of Casa Daros. Nossa Senhora das Graças (2008), by Vik Muniz, a photograph of the work made from rubble, within the series Pictures of Junk, is one of the featured works that impress the visitors.
My suggestion is to visit first the Documentation Space, where you can learn more about the artists and its works, and have an overview of Colombian contemporary art production. I guess it is worth, so you can understand better its concepts and artistic concerns.
To close your visit with a flourish, you can take a coffee or have a lunch in the Mira! Restaurant, headed up by the trio consisting of chef Roberta Ciasca, Danni Camilo and Steph Quinquis, the owners of Miam Miam and Oui Oui, two other good restaurants also located in Botafogo.
Some pictures for you have a taste!
SERVICE
*** Exhibition “Cantos Cuentos Colombianos”: until September 8th, 2013
*** Exhibition Para (Saber) Escutar (To know how to listen): until July 28th, 2013
Time >>> Wednesday to Saturday – 12pm to 8pm / Sundays and holidays – 12pm to 6pm. The ticket office closes half hour before the end of the visiting hours.
Rates >>> Adults – BRL 12.00; Children under 12 years of age – Free; Students and seniors – BRL 6.00, with ID. Free on Wednesdays.
Payment >>> Cash payment R$(real) only.
Map >>> http://goo.gl/maps/ypeXp
How to arrive >>> The Botafogo Subway Station, on Rua Nelson Mandela, is about 10 minutes on foot from Casa Daros.
Casa Daros Website >>> http://www.casadaros.net
Amazing Rio Trip 