Valerie Brugal is an art advisor and curator whose practice is defined by discernment, research, and a deep commitment to contemporary Latin American art. Born and raised in Santo Domingo, DR, her work is shaped by a transnational career spanning Miami, New York, Mexico City and the Caribbean.
 

Her foundation in visual culture began with formal studies in fashion merchandising, followed by a Master of Science in Communication and Media Studies, where she developed a deep understanding of narrative, audience and cultural systems. She later pursued advanced training in Art Business at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in New York and completed a Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies at Florida International University, building a multidisciplinary framework that bridges aesthetics, strategy, and institutional practice.

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This layered formation informs an approach that considers artworks not only as aesthetic objects, but as cultural carriers, situated within broader narratives of place, identity, and value.
 

Valerie’s professional experience across museum collections, private cataloguing projects and advisory roles has cultivated a rigorous understanding of stewardship, condition and context. In 2020, she founded Catalysta, a platform dedicated to the discovery and acquisition of emerging and mid-career Latin American artists, now operating as an expanded advisory and curatorial practice.
 

Today, Valerie works with private collectors and artists to shape collections that are thoughtfully placed and built with long-term vision. Her approach privileges clarity over trend, depth over volume and relationships over transactions.