RB:  I was in the restaurant business, but I collected art. In 1986, I opened a small gallery with a few young Mexican artists in Monterrey, Mexico. Back then, the art scene was very provincial, with very few collectors. There was only one other gallery in Monterrey at that time.

RB:  The opening of MARCO was a big turning point. The museum organized international shows that put Monterrey on the art-world map, which motivated artists and collectors and encouraged new dealers. I had four great years after it opened.

RB:  After the Mexican financial crisis in late 1995, I began to consider projects with galleries in New York. At first, I shared a space with Robert Miller Gallery in the Fuller Building at 57th Street and Madison Avenue, but once my artists gained success, I rented my own space in the building.

RB:  I have shown Rufino Tamayo, Diego Rivera, Leonora Carrington, Francisco Toledo, Julio Galan, Ray Smith, and many others. I currently represent a talented group of Mexican artists, including Betsabeé Romero, Ruben Mendez, Fernanda Brunet, Laura Anderson Barbata, Mauricio Alejo, and Marco Arce — who is currently on view in our Chelsea space.

RB:  The attention to the shows has been much stronger in Chelsea. We have a street-level space, which has drawn many new collectors.

RB:  I don't actually believe that there's anything in women's work that separates them from the boys — maybe that's why I show more female artists than most Mexican galleries. The women that I represent have very different sensibilities. Both Betsabeé Romero and Laura Anderson Barbata work very closely with local communities in developing countries, but the way they express these interactions diverges entirely. Fernanda Brunet is concerned with the power of nature, the abstract representation of sex, and the sublime in painting, while Angela de Rosette explores the layered textures of paint through portraiture, and Jennifer Reeves questions the history of art through imaginary characters representing moments in painting. I would say that the only common denominator among these artists is that they're all female!

RB:  I believe FEMACO has had a very positive influence on the international consideration not only of Mexican art, but also of Mexico as an emerging art market. There are plenty of young people in Mexico who have developed an interest in collecting contemporary art, and I think that that interest has to do with the fair and, of course, with the ongoing efforts of Mexican galleries.

RB:  Our project for the fair this year includes several international artists such as Sergio de Beukelaer, Angela de Rosette, and Jennifer Reeves, and of course we are also exhibiting works by Mexican artists such as Fernanda Brunet, Mauricio Alejo, Betsabeé Romero, Victor Rodríguez, Marco Arce, and Alex Hank.

RB:  I began to buy 20th-century furniture eight years ago. At a certain point, I realized that I had accumulated a lot of pieces, and so I started to think of ways to create exhibitions around them and to sell them. In 2005, I decided to open Sebastian + Barquet, a gallery dedicated to design.

RB:  I was considering a few important architects, and there was he was. I had never met Norten, but I was aware of his work and knew that he had offices in New York. I arranged to meet him at my storage space in Chelsea and spoke to him about my ideas. A few days later, I received a spectacular concept book with digital images of his designs for the gallery and showroom, and I loved it.

RB:  I'm very excited about how modern and contemporary design are related to art. At present, I'm dealing with each form as two separate businesses, but in time, my galleries will present exhibitions combining both art and design.