For the emerging galleries in Art Basel’s Positions sector, Miami marks a key moment in the calendar—exposure on one of the world’s foremost art stages. From Dubai to São Paulo, 2025 was a year of reinvention, and sometimes reckoning, for these exhibitors, and they’ve brought all of that energy to the Miami Beach Convention Center for one packed week on the fair floor. CULTURED was on the ground to capture those breaking out of the pack during Art Week. Below, meet a few of the fresh faces shaping Positions.
Verve, São Paolo
Allann Seabra, Founding Partner and Director
Ian Duarte, Partner and Director
Describe the gallery’s year in three words.
Allann Seabra: Coming of age!
Can you share the gallery’s best moment this year?
Ian Duarte: Surely the highlight of the year was to see two of our represented artists, Moisés Patrício and Nádia Taquary, participating in the 36th Bienal de São Paulo. Both artists are central figures of the Afro-Brazilian contemporary art production, and even though they’ve been present in so many important institutional exhibitions worldwide, it has a special flavor to see them in Brazil so close to home, especially in such a potent and unforgettable edition of our Bienal.
How are you reflecting on 2025 as you approach 2026?
Duarte: 2025 has surely been a year of expressive growth for the gallery, with the doubling of our exhibition spaces at the iconic Louvre Building in São Paulo, but we say that much more in a sense of reflection and maturity. A gallery’s program is something that is built through time and very intuitively; 2025 was the year that we could finally take a breath, look back, and see the integrity of what we are building with the artists.
Verve functioned as an artist-run space until 2018, when it evolved into a commercial gallery representing artists—most of these first artists are still represented by the gallery, and it is beautiful to see their work gaining worldwide recognition year after year. 2025 was also the year we launched our editorial branch (an old dream of ours since I come from a family of book editors), a milestone that represents the ongoing commitment of the gallery in developing its artists’ careers institutionally.
What are you hoping to gain from this year’s edition of Art Basel Miami Beach?
Seabra: That people can continue to widen their understanding of the contemporary art scene in Brazil.
Duarte: We take that matter very seriously—we’re such a vast and culturally rich country where so many potent narratives are possible, but we feel people around the globe still know very little about our country. This year we bring Adriel Visoto’s intimate, profoundly atmospheric paintings, depicting urban scenes that anyone can relate to, regardless of where they come from. They speak of solitude, desire, universal themes. It is important to understand the complexity of Brazilian society, something you can grasp immediately in museums and exhibitions where you see Brazilian artists. The excellence of our contemporary production is tangible, and it is a mission of the gallery to show how plural it is.
What do your New Year’s resolutions look like for the gallery?
Seabra: In the turbulent waters of today’s market, it is way past due for the art world to reflect on what is real and lasting. The money and power game has eclipsed core values, and what we’ve been observing is that it hasn’t necessarily developed artists’ careers. Our New Year’s resolution is to continue to bet on what is real and drives our work ethic, one that has created a true sense of community around the gallery since its inception in 2013; one that is not for sale!
N.A.S.A.L., Mexico City and Guayaquil, Ecuador
Mauricio Aguirre, Founder
Describe the gallery’s year in three words.
Challenging, hectic and promising.
Can you share the gallery’s best moment, and the moment that gave you the most pause this year?
One of the gallery’s highlights this year was undoubtedly our acceptance to Art Basel Miami Beach last May. It has been a long journey since the gallery first opened in 2018, initially as a nomadic space, and later with permanent locations in my hometown of Guayaquil and in Mexico City. Exhibiting at ABMB marks an important milestone for the gallery, yet we feel the best is still ahead. As is often the case in the art world, the moment that gave me the most pause came during the summer. The gallery closed in August, giving me the time to reflect on the past months and prepare for what’s next. We’ve recently welcomed several promising artists to our roster and are developing exciting projects, both within our own spaces and at upcoming fairs across the Americas and Europe, including Manuela García’s presentation in Miami.
How are you reflecting on 2025 as you approach 2026?
2025 was a challenging year for much of the art market, yet also a time for reflection. For our gallery, this means that our choices are more deliberate. We seek to find an equilibrium between pushing ourselves and maintaining overall coherence, while staying true to our core: supporting and promoting emerging contemporary art from Latin America.
What are you hoping to gain from this year’s edition of Art Basel Miami Beach?
We hope that this year’s edition will allow us to expand our horizons. Art Basel gives a strong international exposure to its participants. We hope that this will allow us to connect with other people involved in the art world: whether it’s curators, collectors, institutions, artists, or simply enthusiasts.
What do your New Year’s resolutions look like for the gallery?
The second half of 2025 has, I believe, placed us on the right trajectory. Our resolution for 2026 is to sustain this momentum: to broaden our scope, challenge both ourselves and our collectors, and keep evolving with our artists.
Theta, New York
Jordan Barse, Director
Can you share the gallery’s best moment, and the moment that gave you the most pause this year?
Best moment was Elizabeth Englander organizing two death meditation events around her colossal Buddha sculpture this fall, which was so much more beautiful than I could have imagined. Most challenging moment was probably watching the country spin out into divisiveness and examining what role we can possibly play in this landscape.
How are you reflecting on 2025 as you approach 2026?
I’m really proud of the advancements we’ve made, which feel thoughtful and pragmatic—not biting off more than we can chew, but always putting more on our plate than the year before. I’m so excited for new projects coming up, and grateful to still have several amazing “firsts” ahead of us.
What are you hoping to gain from this year’s edition of Art Basel Miami Beach?
I’m beyond excited to introduce this completely new work from Kelsey Isaacs. I look forward to having many conversations about the advancements in this new series with people familiar with her already, and to engage with the reactions from people who are coming to her work for the first time. Also, I want time to swim!
What do your New Year’s resolutions look like for the gallery?
If I tell you they won’t come true—isn’t that how it works?
Margot Samel, New York
Margot Samel, Founder
Describe the gallery’s year in three words.
I have no words to describe this year…
Can you share the gallery’s best moment and the moment that gave you the most pause this year?
The best moments would have been some of the new artists we introduced to the program, who had their first exhibitions. For some of these artists, who had been making work for 50, 60, or 70 years, it was their first moment of recognition this year. Some of these works even ended up in museum collections, so that was maybe my biggest win—being able to introduce these works and receive the response I thought they deserved. As for moments that gave me pause, there are always little pauses in every day, just like there are things that keep you going.
How are you reflecting on 2025 as you approach 2026?
The gallery has only been going for three years, so there isn’t a lot to reflect back on. It all feels very fresh in many ways. This is my first Art Basel, for example, so it’s a new opportunity. So far, we’ve mostly been applying to fairs that focus more on younger galleries. I haven’t really had time to process what it means to enter Art Basel yet, but I’ve been working to promote the artists already on the roster, while also introducing new material in a way that fits with the program.
What are you hoping to gain from your Art Basel Miami Beach debut?
Further opportunities for the artists and for the gallery. A lot of that is already happening—there’s been a lot of curatorial interest in Carolina Fusilier’s work.
What do your New Year’s resolutions look like for the gallery?
Honestly, I’ve never had New Year’s resolutions. My 6-year-old son had a resolution this year: no more gallery shows. He’s grown up in this world—nearly born at the gallery—but he still likes museum shows, so there’s that!
Crisis, Madrid and Barranco, Peru
Juan Luis Balarezo, Director
Describe the gallery’s year in three words.
Hectic, promising, and fun.
Can you share the gallery’s best moment, and a moment that gave you pause this year?
The Venice Biennale was our best moment and also a moment that gave us pause. Our new partnership with Bon Bon Projects, a gallery from Barcelona with whom we opened our second space in Madrid, gave us the chance to not just reflect on what we’ve accomplished, but also consider what the future holds as we expand.
How are you reflecting on 2025 as you approach 2026?
As we approach our 10-year anniversary, I think it’s amazing that we still get to call this our job.
What are you hoping to gain from your Art Basel Miami Beach debut?
As it is only our second entry to the North American market, we hope to put get our feet in the door and gain an entrance to the U.S., which we hadn’t done before.
What do your New Year’s resolutions look like for the gallery?
To be determined, keep working, and practice for interviews.
Carbon 12, Dubai
Nadine Knotzer and Kourosh Nori, Co-Founders
Describe the gallery’s year in three words.
“Illinx,” collaborations, and Dubai-chocolate!
Can you share the gallery’s best moment, and the moment that gave you the most pause this year?
Receiving the acceptance letter from Art Basel for our participation at Art Basel Miami Beach was a very special moment. Together with Nour Malas, we had selected ABMB as the venue to bring her beautiful and powerful project to life. In December 2024, while exhibiting at NADA Miami, we watched the Syrian regime fall. It was an incredible moment in history that we get to show via Malas’s eyes exactly a year later in Miami at Art Basel Miami Beach. The moment that gave us the most pause this year was probably somewhere with no phone reception in the mountains.
How are you reflecting on 2025 as you approach 2026?
Proud of a strong year with beautiful exhibitions at the gallery: Edgar Orlaineta’s first solo show in the Middle East, Michael Sailstorfer’s exhibition teaching us so much about his approach with materials and ways to look at energy, the pleasure of inviting Iraqi/Scottish Malik Jalil Thomas Kydd for his first solo show ever, Bernhard Buhmann, long-term Carbon 12 artist, curatorial debuts with an incredible show, and closing the year with the gallery’s 100th exhibition with Gil Heitor Cortesão, marking his 5th solo show at the gallery. Approaching the new year with a new artist representation announcement (more soon), Anahita Razmi’s long-awaited solo show, and probably the most exciting moment for the art community in the Middle East: the opening of the inaugural edition of Art Basel Qatar, where we will have the pleasure of exhibiting a solo project with Emirati artist Sarah Almehairi.
What are you hoping to gain from your Art Basel Miami Beach debut?
There is only one first-time showing at Art Basel! We need to make sure we let that sink in and enjoy that moment and the privilege. We are excited to gain new experiences while we share this moment with our artist and strive to place her powerful work in great collections, sparking new and meaningful conversations.
What do your New Year’s resolutions look like for the gallery?
We have put so much heart into the gallery, and the first thought and wish is to continue this further, contributing to our art scene and our artists’ journeys while building growth. Naturally, with a busy calendar of fairs, travel, and a very small team, we don’t get to spend the same amount of time at artists’ studios as we did in the past. A resolution and a wish would be to spend more quality hours with our artists in their studios, as well as more one-on-one meetings with collectors. Investing in purposeful gatherings!
Franz Kaka, Toronto
Aryen Hoekstra, Director
Describe the gallery’s year in three words.
We’re still here.
Can you share the gallery’s best moment, and the moment that gave you the most pause this year?
A number of our artists had their first institutional solo or biennial participation in 2025. It’s a tight group of artists that we work with, many of them from day one, so it’s really gratifying seeing them given the opportunity to realize projects at that scale. As for what moment gave us pause, it was a whole year of reflection. I had lots of conversations with colleagues about weathering the storm, how best to move forward, and really just a lot of checking in on one another. I’ve always valued those conversations with other gallerists, and this year it felt like there was a lot—maybe too much—to talk about.
How are you reflecting on 2025 as you approach 2026?
The gallery has always valued slow, steady growth over quick wins. That we didn’t have to stray from that in a year as chaotic as 2025 gives me hope for 2026, whatever it holds. We feel like the right people are still finding us and our approach is resonating.
What are you hoping to gain from this year’s edition of Art Basel Miami Beach?
Just as presenting Elif Saydam’s work in the Statements section of Art Basel brought new attention to their practice, we hope to do the same with Azadeh Elmizadeh in Miami. Elmizadeh’s paintings shift between figuration and abstraction, reflecting movements and techniques that span formal and historical precedents, from color field painting to Persian miniatures.
More broadly, we want to continue to grow our presence so that people know to seek us out at these fairs. We’re coming from a smaller market, so this is a tight but important window for us to reach a highly influential audience. We want to leave the week with new connections and conversations that we can continue to develop for the gallery.
What do your New Year’s resolutions look like for the gallery?
Go slowly. Don’t stop.
in your life?
