Gallery lets Business School alum display his artistic side

New York City’s only Brazilian photography gallery has found its roots in Chelsea.

The 1500 Gallery—opened Feb. 11 by cofounders Alexandre Bueno de Moraes and Andrew S. Klug, Business ’09—is home to 17 photographers, both Brazilian and non-Brazilian. Eight of them are featured in the inaugural show, titled “Brazilian,” that will run until May 1.

Klug and Moraes understand the concept of Brazilian photography as much more than simply photographs shot by natives of Brazil. In fact, the gallery incorporates images shot by photographers from around the world. For example, there is an image in the current show by Jens Stoltze, a Danish photographer, of a Brazilian hilltop covered in colorful favelas. The show also includes images shot by Brazilian photographers that are completely unrelated to Brazil, such as a digital print of two bound sea horses by Christian Gaul, and Bruno Cals’ photograph of a building in Tokyo. Klug explained that the gallery displays images with no connection to Brazil only when the photographer is Brazilian and that “when the photographer is not Brazilian, the image needs to have some obvious link to Brazil.”

To further highlight how broad their definition of Brazilian photography can be, Klug and Moraes included a satellite image of the Amazon from NASA. “This is an image by a satellite of Brazil; it is Brazilian photography,” Klug said. To have an image in an art gallery shot by a non-human satellite with scientific rather than artistic motivation may boggle the mind of the average photography aficionado, but according to Klug’s understanding of photography, “the image is what ultimately stands by itself.”

While studying at the Columbia Business School, Klug realized that he was not entirely happy with the career he was pursuing in business. With a natural love for photography and the will to run his own business, Klug consulted Moraes, his good friend and future colleague, about opening a gallery. The two discovered an unexploited niche of photography in Brazil that begged for attention. “There are all these photographers that are super talented and nobody is showing them,” Klug said.

Despite the recession, Klug and Moraes gathered together their arsenal of photographers and found a quality space in Chelsea for their gallery. “It was difficult to make an entry, but I sensed this might be our chance to get in the art market because a lot of galleries were closing and space was available,” Klug said.

Klug and Moraes are pleased with the success of the gallery in Chelsea and hope to open a second branch in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. “The idea is ultimately to have bipolar galleries, a presence here in New York and in Brazil,” Klug said.

Klug intends to explore ideas for his next gallery, but has no specific project in mind. He credits Columbia for the opportunity to follow his ambitions. “I guess thanks to the MBA program for giving me the chance to pause and think about what I really want to do with my life,” he said.