Art Madrid'25 – 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).

At the most recent edition of Art Madrid, artist Luis Olaso (Bilbao, 1986), represented by Kur Art Gallery (San Sebastián), received the Residency Prize of the Art Madrid Patronage Program. This award, the result of a collaboration between Art Madrid, DOM Art Residence, and the Italian association ExtrArtis, enabled him to undertake an artistic residency in Sorrento (Italy) in August 2025.

Through initiatives like this, the fair reaffirms its support for contemporary creation—a commitment aimed at increasing artists’ visibility and strengthening art collecting through concrete actions such as acquisition prizes, recognition of emerging talents, and international residencies.


Artists in Residence. DOM & ExtrArtis. Image courtesy of Agata D’Esposito.


The DOM & ExtrArtis 2025 Residency Program took place in Sorrento from August 1 to 31, 2025. The artists lived together at Relais La Rupe, a 16th-century villa surrounded by cliffs and centuries-old gardens, which became an ideal setting for experimentation and exchange.

In this edition, residents worked around the theme “Reimagining Genius Loci”, an invitation to reflect on how the movement of people and traditions transforms the “spirit of place.” During the residency, DOM organized two public group exhibitions: the first to present the artists’ previous work, and the second to showcase the projects developed in Sorrento.


Work by Luis Olaso. DOM & ExtrArtis. Image courtesy of Agata D’Esposito.


Luis Olaso’s work moves between expressionist figuration and abstraction, always employing a pictorial language charged with strength and emotion. Initially self-taught, he later graduated in Fine Arts and has developed a solid international career, with exhibitions at venues including JD Malat (London) and Makasiini Contemporary (Turku, Finland), and participation in fairs such as Untitled Miami, Estampa, and Art Madrid itself.

His work is part of prestigious collections, including the Tokyo Contemporary Art Foundation, Fundación SIMCO, and the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, and has been recognized in competitions such as the Reina Sofía Prize for Painting and Sculpture and the Ibercaja Young Painting Prize.

In Sorrento, Olaso found a unique context to expand his pictorial research, engaging in dialogue with the Mediterranean landscape and the region’s historical heritage. The residency provided him with time, resources, and a framework for exchange with other international artists, fostering the production of new works that were later presented in the group exhibitions organized by DOM.


Luis Olaso working on his project. DOM & ExtrArtis. Image courtesy of DOM.

Luis Olaso’s experience at DOM Art Residence concluded with a public showcase of the works produced, reinforcing his presence on the international circuit and consolidating his position as one of the most prominent Basque artists on the contemporary scene.


Through initiatives such as this, Art Madrid demonstrates its active role as a platform for direct support of contemporary creation, creating opportunities for research, production, and intercultural dialogue that extend beyond the fair itself and accompany artists in their professional development.