Art Madrid'26 – Alfonso de la Torre, new member of the Selection Committee AM16

 

 

Since its last edition, the fair has an independent committee of art professionals in charge of the analysis and evaluation of the proposals submitted by the applicants galleries.

 

The Selection Committee includes experts from the world of gallerism, curating, art collecting and art fairs consulting, and now from the criticism and theory of contemporary art, with the aim of shaping the General Programme of the fair to make it more complete, open, diverse and international.

 

In Art Madrid’16, the committee is made up by the specialist on international art market Angel Samblancat; the gallery owners Javier Lopez Velez (3 Punts Gallery, Barcelona) and Ricardo da Cruz Tenreiro (Art Lounge, Lisbon); the independent curator Carlos Delgado Mayordomo and the art critic Alfonso de la Torre. The team will meet in late October for viewing portfolios and proposals.

 

In the last edition of the fair, the selection committee reviewed more than a hundred proposals for national and international galleries. This year we expect to exceed that number and make the best possible program

 

ABOUT THE MEMBERS OF THE COMITTEE...

 

 

D. ÁNGEL SAMBLANCAT

Director of Editorial and Polígrafa Graphic&Print Art Gallery (Barcelona) for 40 years and member of the Direction Bureau in Joan Prats Art Gallery Barcelona) since its founding. Jury Member for the Triennial of Graphic Art in Grenchen (Switzerland) and a member of the Selection Committee for International Contemporary Art Fairs as Art Chicago (Illinois), Art Miami (Florida), Art Los Angeles (California), ARCO (Madrid ), Art Cologne Art Basel / Miami Beach (Florida).

 

 

 

D. JAVIER LÓPEZ VÉLEZ

Since 1994, he is the artistic director of 3 Punts Art Gallery, based in Barcelona and Berlin. Expert in Technical Drawing Projects and with studies in Sociology, he has been independent curator in various institutional exhibitions in Barcelona, Hospitalet and Andorra. Under his direction, the gallery organizes seven to eight individual exhibitions per year, with a clear evolution towards new artistic languages and where the work of curating and selecting art-works and artists is impeccable. As a gallery owner, participates in art fairs and events inside and outside our borders for nearly two decades.

 

 

D. RICARDO TENREIRO DA CRUZ.

Director of ArtLounge Art Gallery in Lisbon (Portugal). While he was in London, at an International Business school, he discovered the taste for painting and the power of art as a key factor in the increase of culture of the cities. Since these days, he is usual visitor in galleries and art fairs in order to find new artists that are worth bringing to Portugal. Nowadays, he is member of the Chamber of Commerce of Portugal- Singapore and he develops commercial and artistic

 

 

 

D. CARLOS DELGADO MAYORDOMO

BA in Art History at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Coordinator of exhibition projects of the International Fund for the Arts Foundation / FiArt, responsible for exhibitions in Culture Department of the City of Las Rozas (Madrid). Writer in Xtrart, on-line art magazine and professor of Contemporary art and Culture in Aularte. Since 2008, he is freelance curator for museums and institutions in Spain and Latin America. Has developed, among others, Ciria’s exhibition “Rare paintings” (2008), “Agustí Centelles: Case report” (2009), “Synergies. Contemporary Latin American art in Spain”, “Storymakers” (2013), “David Trullo. Fauxtographies” (2013). "Ciria. Las puertas de Uaset" (2014). Curator of the ONE PROJECT program in Art Madrid.

 

 

D. ALFONSO DE LA TORRE

Theoretician and art critic, specialist in contemporary Spanish art. He has curated more than one hundred exhibitions and has published numerous essays and taught at various universities and institutions: MNCARS, Teruel Museum, University of Los Andes, University of Córdoba, University of Granada, University of Castilla-La Mancha and University La Sorbonne. He is the author of the detailed catalogs about “El Paso”, Manolo Millares (MNCARS and Fund. Azcona, 2004) and Manuel Rivera (Diputación de Granada and Fund. Azcona, 2009), and he has recently concluded its catalog about Pablo Palazuelo (MNCARS, MACBA, Palazuelo Foundation Fund. Azcona). Since 2005 he leads an annual program of artistic interventions in public space (“The Field of Cultural-El Corte Inglés”) during the week of ARCO, which has the support of Madrid City Council. Regularly participates in discussion forums ARCO, responsible for the graduates: “Contemporary art and sponsorship” (2012); “The new power of collectors” (2013); “What is art in times of crisis?” (2014) and “In the Collector privacy” (2015). He directed one of the most comprehensive studies on the birth and evolution of the art market in Spain since the war until today “The Spain of the XXI Century” (Foundation System). In 2012 he was invited by the University of the Sorbonne to the International Colloquium “Le travail du visible” (Hermann éditeurs, Paris 2014). He directs the collection “El Ojo que ve” (University of Cordoba-La Fábrica) of photographic essays. He is vice president of the Pilar Citoler Foundation, dealing with the conservation of the collection. The Ministry of Education and Culture appointed him as jury in the National Award of Art (2015).


ART MADRID CLOSES ITS 21ST EDITION AS A KEY EVENT OF MADRID ART WEEK


The Galería de Cristal of the Palacio de Cibeles hosted the 21st edition of Art Madrid from March 4 to 8, once again consolidating its role as one of the must-see events of Madrid Art Week. Over the course of five days, the fair brought together 35 national and international galleries and more than 200 artists, turning the venue into a meeting point for gallerists, collectors, professionals, and lovers of contemporary art.

Throughout its trajectory, Art Madrid has built a distinct identity, with a constant focus on giving visibility to both emerging and established galleries and on opening contemporary art to diverse audiences. Rather than being structured around a single curatorial line, the fair embraced a plural proposal, respecting the unique DNA of each exhibitor.



Art Madrid’26 presented a Gallery Program distinguished by the diversity of artistic proposals and languages, encouraging dialogue between different generations and contemporary practices. Painting, sculpture, photography, drawing, installation, and new hybrid forms coexisted in an edition that once again confirmed the dynamism of today’s art scene

During the days of the fair, nearly 20,000 visitors explored the booths of the participating galleries and enjoyed a parallel program that expanded the experience beyond the traditional exhibition format.


The Parallel Program: An Expanded Art Fair

The Parallel Program once again took center stage in the Art Madrid experience, activating the fair space through projects that explored new forms of interaction between artworks, artists, and the public.

Among the most notable initiatives was the performance series Open Infinite: What the Body Remembers, which presented a daily performative action at the fair featuring works by Colectivo La Burra Negra, Rocío Valdivieso, Amanda Gatti, and Jimena Tercero. The pieces incorporated the body as a critical device and a space of memory, reinforcing the presence of performance within Art Madrid’s programming.

The third edition of Open Booth presented Despiece. Protocolo de mutación, by Daniel Barrio, a site-specific project that transformed the booth into a landscape constructed from urban remnants and industrial materials. The installation invited visitors to physically engage with the work, creating an immersive experience within the exhibition space.

Meanwhile, Espacio Nebrija hosted the project Estancias transitorias (NotanIA SipedagogIE), a proposal by Nebrija University that reflected on Aesthetic Intelligence in the face of the growing dominance of algorithmic logic. The installation proposed a reclamation of gesture, materiality, and the time inherent to the creative process as dimensions that cannot be reduced to automation.

Lecturas. Curated Walkthroughs also returned, with itineraries designed by Zuriñe Lafón and Marisol Salanova that offered curatorial insights for exploring the fair from specific critical perspectives and expanding the visitor experience.



Patronage, Awards, and Acquisitions

Support for contemporary creation once again stood as one of the fair’s central pillars through the second edition of the Art Madrid Patronage Program, which recognizes the work of artists and strengthens the connections between galleries, collectors, and private entities.

On this occasion, the following awards were presented:

Cervezas Alhambra Emerging Artist Award Iyán Castaño, represented by Galería Arancha Osoro


One Shot Hotels Breakthrough Artist Award Joost Vandebrug, represented by KANT Gallery


In the Acquisition Awards category, several private collections incorporated works presented at the fair into their collections.


Studiolo Collection Roger Sanguino — DDR Art Gallery


Devesa Law Kim Han Ki — Banditrazos Gallery


E2IN2 Collection Albert Bonet — Inéditad Gallery


dn2 Collection Iván Baizán — Galería Arancha Osoro

These acquisitions reflect the private sector’s commitment to the development of contemporary art and contribute to advancing the professional trajectories of emerging and mid-career artists.



Collecting and Support for the Artistic Ecosystem

The promotion of collecting once again played a prominent role in this edition thanks to the One Shot Collectors program, which offered personalized advice to both new buyers and more experienced collectors, facilitating access to the contemporary art market and fostering direct relationships between artists, galleries, buyers, and collectors.


This program, together with the Patronage Program, continues to strengthen the professional ecosystem surrounding the fair and reinforce Art Madrid’s commitment to supporting contemporary creation.

Among the most notable sales were works by Antonio Ovejero, represented by CLC ARTE; Leticia Feduchi and Ángela Mena, represented by Galería Sigüenza; Idoia Cuesta and Iyán Castaño, represented by Galería Arancha Osoro; and Yasiel Elizagaray, represented by Nuno Sacramento Arte Contemporânea. Likewise, the proposals presented by Inéditad Gallery were very well received, with notable sales of works by artists Albert Bonet and Eduardo Urdiales, as well as Carmen Mansilla, who debuted at Art Madrid'26 and achieved a sold out.



The overall balance of the edition has been particularly positive, with sales reported by all 35 participating galleries, confirming the strong interest from collectors and the dynamism of the market throughout the fair. Among the galleries that recorded notable commercial activity are La Mercería (Valencia), LAVIO (Murcia–Shanghai), 3 Punts Galería (Barcelona), Galerie One (Paris), Shiras Galería (Valencia), Galería Rodrigo Juarranz (Aranda de Duero), Galería São Mamede (Lisbon), Yiri Arts (Taiwan), and Trema Arte Contemporânea (Lisbon), among others.


A Fair made possible thanks to Its network of Partners

The success of Art Madrid’26 has been made possible thanks to the support of its official sponsors: Cervezas Alhambra, One Shot Hotels, Liquitex, Universidad Nebrija, and Posca, as well as the trust of its collaborators: Asociación 9915, Colección Studiolo, E2IN2, Colección dn2, Devesa Law, Enviarte, Cova 13, and Vanille Bakery Lab & Café. The fair also benefits from the involvement of its media partners and the support of various cultural organizations, private collections, and institutions that contribute to strengthening the contemporary art ecosystem.



Art Madrid: A Future Full of Possibilities

After 21 years of history, Art Madrid continues to consolidate its position as a key event in the contemporary art calendar, both nationally and internationally. Its ability to bring together galleries, artists, collectors, and institutions reinforces its role as a space for encounter, exchange, and discovery. The fair maintains a steadily growing outlook, driven by a program that evolves each year and increasingly opens up to more innovative proposals.

Thank you for being part of the 21st edition of Art Madrid. Your support is essential for continuing to promote art and culture.


SEE YOU AT ART MADRID'27!