Verve and Athena galleries present the second chapter of Caros Amigos, a collaborative project that brings together artists, curators, and spaces from both galleries.

In this Second Act, entitled “A água era um céu” (The water was a sky), works by artists Edu de Barros, Jonas Arrabal, and Ruan D’Ornellas, represented by the Athena gallery, are in dialogue with Francisco Hurtz, represented by Verve. The exhibition’s subtitle pays homage to Antonio Cícero, inspired by the excerpt “… the water was a sky, and we flew on the transparent, sliding waves of blue…” from his poem “Na praia” (On the beach). Exposed bodies appear in countless situations, both intimate and public, with the color blue and aquatic elements correlating the different research projects. A celebratory tone, characteristic of the Caros Amigos project, also marks the transition from spring to summer, the period during which the exhibition will be on display at the gallery. Completing the occupation of the different rooms of Verve in the Louvre Building, artist Renata Leoa, also represented by Athena, occupies the window of the Project Room with an installation that investigates the tensions of the urban fabric and its speculations in the territory of Rio de Janeiro, straining the boundaries between public and private spaces in the context of an iconic building in São Paulo.

In Act I of Caros Amigos, entitled “Mi Casa es Mi Casa,” in July 2025, the Athena Gallery welcomed Verve to its headquarters in the Botafogo neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro; this time, the Athena Gallery is invited to occupy the rooms of the Verve Gallery in the iconic Louvre Building in downtown São Paulo. In this way, the two galleries end the year celebrating their common affinities, the friendship and collaborative spirit that characterize their activities.