For thirty years, CDS Gallery showcased the works of recognized masters of Modern and Contemporary Art from the United States, Latin America, Europe and Australia. The gallery, originally known as Estudio Actual, was founded in Caracas, Venezuela in 1968 by Clara Diament Sujo, art historian and critic.
Estudio Actual began as a non-profit institution dedicated to showcasing the many facets of International Modern and Contemporary Art through the exhibition of critically acclaimed artists such as Marcel Duchamp, Robert Rauschenberg, Jesús Raphael Soto and Marisol.
In 1981 Estudio Actual moved to New York and began activities as CDS Gallery, opening with a show of major North American artists (Pollock, Still, Rothko, Guston, and Motherwell) and Latin American Masters (Rivera, Lam, Matta, Orozco, and Torres-Garcia).
John Russell, chief art critic of The New York Times wrote a conceptual review emphasizing the importance of the CDS program, underlining the fact that it was the first world presentation of Art of the Americas as a crucial, unified arena of Contemporary Art.
This was evidenced by Ms. Sujo’s instrumental role in the organization of the first ever auction of Latin American Art at Sotheby’s, New York in 1979. Using her expertise within the field, Ms. Sujo collaborated on this significant undertaking with Mr. Roger Stone, (U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela and President of the Americas Society in New York) William S. Luers, (Chairman and President of the United Nations) and Edward Lee Cave, Executive Director of Sotheby’s. The event met with great success as every work in the auction was sold, establishing Latin American Art as a major field amongst collectors and scholars alike, and in May of 1981, Sotheby’s created a full time Latin American program of auctions.
With the cooperation of committed individuals who share the values and mission of CDS Gallery, major museums across the world have since developed significant collections of Latin American Art, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Louvre in Paris, the Tate Modern of London, and many others. CDS Gallery has been a Member of the Art Dealers Association of America (1981-2014).
Museum Placements
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Guggenheim Museum of Art, New York, NY
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY
Bronx Museum of Art, Bronx, NY
Albright Knox Gallery, Buffalo, NY
Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY
Munson Williams Proctor Arts Institute, Utica, NY
Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, Purchase, NY
Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, AL
Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, CA
Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, CA
Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA
Stanford University Museum of Art, Stanford, CA
New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT
The William Benton Museum of Art, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.
Vero Beach Museum of Art, Vero Beach, FL
Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN
Spencer Museum of Art, Lawrence, KS
Davis Museum, Wellesley College, MA
Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Springfield Museum, Springfield, MA
Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA
The Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, MI
The Newark Museum, Newark, NJ
The Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence, RI
Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas, Austin, TX
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
TATE, London, United Kingdom
MALBA, Buenos Aires, Agentina
Galeria de Arte Nacional, Caracas, Venezuela
Instituto de Investigación Científica, Pipe, Venezuela
Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas, Venezuela
Museo de Artes Visuales Alejandro Otero, Caracas, Venezuela
Modern & Contemporary Art of the Americas 