MIAMI, FL (January 31, 2008) – Merrill Lynch arteaméricas, the premier fair of art from Latin America, will be returning to Miami for the sixth year in a row. Starting on Friday, March 28th through Monday, March 31st, Merrill Lynch arteaméricas will showcase the latest trends in paintings, sculpture and multimedia from contemporary artists as well as renowned masters at the Miami Beach Convention Center.

In six short years, Merrill Lynch arteaméricas has become one of the world’s most important and most prestigious fairs of Latin American art. Seventy of the best galleries from Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Spain, Uruguay, the Dominican Republic, the United States and Venezuela will be in attendance this year. With them, they will bring works by internationally celebrated artists, including Fernando Botero, Lygia Clark, Wifredo Lam, Armando Reverón, Jesús Soto, Rufino Tamayo and Joaquín Torres-García. Vanguard contemporary artists including José Bedía, Tony Bechara, José Pedro Costigliolo, Eduardo Chapela, Bastón Díaz, León Ferrari, Carmen Herrera, Kcho and Hugo Zapata will also be represented at the 2008 edition of Merrill Lynch arteaméricas.

The 2008 edition of Merrill Lynch arteaméricas will welcome the return of many galleries from previous years, as well as many new additions, all carefully selected by an Advisory Committee of art experts. Participating galleries include: Aldo de Sousa, Alvear Arte, Fundación Alfonso y Luz Castillo / Arte x Arte, Archimboldo, Del Infinito Arte, Dharma Galería, Fundación Leopoldo Torres Agüero, GM Espacio de Arte, Pabellón 4, Javier Balina, RO Galería , Van Eyck Galeria de Arte and Via Margutta Arte Contemporáneo, from Argentina; Fundación Es Art and Salar Galeria de Arte, from Bolivia; Alonso Arte, Galería El Museo and Galería Sextante, from Colombia; Galería Jacob Karpio, from Costa Rica; dpm Arte Contemporáneo, from Ecuador; Galería Fernando Pradilla and Joan Guaita, from Spain; Galerie Bourbon-Lally and Galerie Marassa, from Haití; Alfredo Ginocchio, Aqua Gallery, EDS Galería and Quetzalli, from México; Galería Arteconsult, Aleman & Grimberg, from Panamá; Artco Galería, Enlace and La Galería, from Perú; Alinka Arte Contemporáneo, Arawack, Arte Berri and Lyle O. Reitzel Gallery, from Dominican Republic; Galería Sur, from Uruguay; Artepuy, Galería Blasini, Galería Durban Segnini, Galería Okyo and Juan Ruiz Galeria, from Venezuela.

Latin American art in the United States is widely represented by: Aldo Castillo Art Gallery, Chicago; PanAmerican Art Projects, Dallas; Alejandra von Hartz Fine Art, Amat Gallery, Arévalo Arte, ArtSpace / Virginia Miller, Beaux Arts, Cernuda Arte, Dot Fifty One, Hardcore Art Contemporary Space, Diana Lowenstein Fine Art, Durban Segnini Gallery, dpm Arte Contemporaneo, Latin Art Core, PanAmerican Art Projects, Praxis International Art, Sammer Gallery, Signature Art , The Americas Collection and Tresart, Miami; Cecilia de Torres LTD, Galería Solar, Latin Collector and Leon Tovar Gallery, New York; A. Cueto, Gómez Fine Art and Latitude Art Project, Puerto Rico; Ruiz-Healy Art, San Antonio; and Blue Morphos Gallery, West Palm Beach.

Prestigious art institutions like Florida’s Arts Connection, Bass Museum of Art, CIFO/ Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation, Lowe Art Museum, MAM / Miami Art Museum and MOCA / Museum of Contemporary Art, Museum of Art Ft. Lauderdale, Rubell Family Collection, and the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum; IDB Cultural Center from Washington, Museo del Barrio from New York; MoLAA from California; Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico; and Caracas’ Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros are all supporting the 2008 installation of Merrill Lynch arteaméricas in Miami Beach..

Year after year, Merrill Lynch arteaméricas exceeds all expectations with outstanding exhibits, a diverse audience, and excellent sales, while maintaining its intimate, boutique feel. The art available at Merrill Lynch arteaméricas ranges from $2,000 to close to one million dollars.

Merrill Lynch arteaméricas is directed by Leslie Pantín serving as the fair’s President; Emilio Calleja as Vice President; and Diego Costa Peuser, publisher of Arte al Día Internacional and director of PINTA Art Fair in New York as Fair Director of arteaméricas. For the sixth year in a row, Merrill Lynch returns as the title sponsor for arteaméricas.

Cadillac joins this year as the official automobile sponsor of arteaméricas. Other sponsors include American Airlines, FedEx, Bacardi and The Miami Herald / El Nuevo Herald. Merrill Lynch arteaméricas is also made possible with the support of the Miami Beach Visitor & Convention Authority and the Greater Miami Convention & Visitor’s Bureau, as well as its media partners: Arte al Día, Art Nexus, Art Circuits, ALMA, América Economía, Casa & Estilo, Hispanic Magazine, Latin Trade, Miami Monthly, Selecta, Social Affairs, South Florida CEO, Vanidades and Vista Magazine. Visit Merrill Lynch arteaméricas online at www.arteamericas.com for more information.

About Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch is one of the world's leading wealth management, capital markets and advisory companies, with offices in 40 countries and territories and total client assets of almost $2 trillion. As an investment bank, it is a leading global trader and underwriter of securities and derivatives across a broad range of asset classes and serves as a strategic advisor to corporations, governments, institutions and individuals worldwide. Merrill Lynch owns approximately half of BlackRock, one of the world's largest publicly traded investment management companies, with more than $1 trillion in assets under management. For more information on Merrill Lynch, please visit www.ml.com.

For Media Only:
Press materials and images can be found on our ftp site: ftp://press.arteamericas.net/ (username – artepress; password – Arte2008).

Public Relations Director:
Liana Pérez, liana@artcircuits.com, 305.661.0511
Press Contacts:
Sara Bradford, sara@thinkbsg.com, 305.929.9710
Carolina Ledezma, contacto@artcircuits.com, 347.901.6641

Click on images
to enlarge




Baston Diaz
Serie de la Ribera
2006
39x35x35 in
Patinated iron
Courtesy: Galeria Aldo
de Sousa, Argentina














Lucio Dorr
Untitled (from Paralipomenas Series)
Synthetic enamel,
printed on glass
Edition 1/1
24x11 in
Courtesy: Alejandra Von
Hartz Gallery,
Miami, USA














Jorge Cabieses
Landscape
2007
Mixed media on canvas
55x70 in
Courtesy: Galeria Enlace
Arte Contemporaneo,
Peru














Claudio Roncoli
Equilibrio life
Mixed media on canvas
2007
51x71 in
Courtesy: Enlace Arte
Contemporaneo, Peru