Art Madrid'25 – Art Madrid Maestros Modern Art Fair

Why a Modern Art exhibition?

In relation to the international market, the recently held TEFAF'14 in Maastricht has given pieces of great value to collectors and public. A Calder “mobile” of Odermatt-Vedovi gallery was bought by an European collector for 2.6 million euros. The gallery Ulrich Fiedler sold a Bugatti chair to a German museum for 350,000 euros and Gerhard Richter´s masterpiece "Abstraktes Bild" of the Van der Weghe Fine Art American Gallery, returned to a private collection for a price about 3 million euros, as Tendencias el Arte magazine says.

                                        

 

Fairs as Frieze (London), Armory Show (New York) and FIAC (Paris) offer a Contemporary section and also a "Masters" section in order to put in value works of authors who have been authentic standards of aesthetic trends and ideas that are a reference for actual artists.

In Spain there are homologous fairs that partly cover the spectrum of the late nineteenth century and early twentieth. The dean art fair in Spain, Feriarte, celebrates this year its 38th anniversary with a wide variety of pieces, from archeology, religious sculpture, furniture, fur and modern art that have kept the fair as an important event in the secondary market. Meanwhile, Almoneda that starts this week in IFEMA (Madrid), has the same identity but digging deeper in collectibles and antiquities, with a notable presence of Catalan Modernism and historical avant-garde authors.

With the celebration of Art Madrid MAESTROS from 15 to 19 October, 2014, the organization will strengthen the market in these decisive dates of the year, happening at the same time of the prestigious fairs Frieze Masters London or FIAC Paris. Madrid MAESTROS will compete not only in content, also with the venue, and will be held in the CentroCentro Cibeles Galería de Cristal.

 

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Our exhibition´s thematic segment (late nineteenth and twentieth century until 1980) will highlight the major national and international artists, offering collectors and public a unique opportunity to discover original and inedited works rarely seen in art shows. Art Madrid Maestros Modern Art Fair highlights key works what have built the emerging market of twentieth century.

Art Madrid Maestros will be surrounded by the influences that the site offers: Thyssen Art Museum, Reina Sofia Museum, Mapfre Foundation, Museo del Prado without forgetting CentroCentro exhibitions,a new benchmark for art lovers.

 

From July 7 to 9, 2025, the Balsera Palace will host the First Course on Collecting and Contemporary Art, an intensive 15-hour program that will explore the complex and fundamental question of taste in contemporary art. Organized by the Nebrija Institute of Arts and Humanities at Nebrija University and the Avilés City Council, in collaboration with 9915 — Association of Private Collectors of Contemporary Art and the Institute of Contemporary Art, the course offers a unique opportunity for analysis and debate on the dynamics that shape aesthetic and symbolic value in today’s art scene.


First Course on Collecting and Contemporary Art. Avilés, Asturias


The notion of taste, intrinsically tied to aesthetic judgments and power relations, has played a decisive role in the historical prominence of artists and artworks. However, contemporary art—marked by its breaking of conventions, diversity of media and techniques, and critical stance toward traditional canons—raises fundamental questions about the continued relevance of this concept.

This course will explore how the decisions made by key players in the art system—institutions, private collections, galleries, curators, and artists—continually redefine a field of taste shaped by aesthetic, symbolic, cultural, social, and political logics.


"¿But does it exist, and what is the prevailing taste of our time—so seemingly confused, fragmented, indecipherable?" - Omar Calabrese, The Neo-Baroque Era.


The academic program, directed by José Luis Guijarro Alonso, Director of the Master’s in Art Market and Related Business Management at Nebrija University, and Pablo Álvarez de Toledo, Head of the Department of Arts at Nebrija University and the Nebrija Institute of Arts and Humanities, will bring together a distinguished group of national experts—including collectors, critics, curators, gallery owners, and artists—whose contributions will address key issues in shaping aesthetic, symbolic, and market value in today’s art world.


PROGRAM

MONDAY, JULY 7

9:30 AM Registration.

10:00 AM Course Opening Nebrija University Avilés City Council Presented by Rosario López Meras – President of the Association of Contemporary Art Collectors, 9915, and Adrián Piera – President of the ICA, Institute of Contemporary Art.

10:30 AM Course Presentation By José Luis Guijarro Alonso – Art Historian and Anthropologist, Researcher, and Director of the Master’s in Art Market and Related Business Management at Nebrija University.

11:00 AM Coffee Break.

11:30 AM Panel Discussion The Taste of Private Collecting as a Prelude to History. Speakers: Candela Álvarez Soldevilla – Entrepreneur and Collector; Javier Quilis – INELCOM Collection; José Miguel Vegas Valle – Collector. Moderator: Luis Feás – Critic and Curator.

1:00 PM Lunch Break.

3:30 PM Individual Lecture On Good Taste in Contemporary Art. Speaker: Marisol Salanova – Curator and Art Critic, Director of Arteinformado.

4:45 PM Panel Discussion The Influence of Galleries in Shaping Contemporary Taste. Speakers: Elba Benítez – Gallerist; Ricardo Pernas – Gallerist (Arniches 26); Aurora Vigil-Escalera – Gallerist. Moderator: Rafael Martín – Coleccion@casamer.

6:00 PM End of Day.

6:30 PM Activity and Cocktail Visit to the Exhibition Asturian Artists in the Pérez Simón Collection – Avilés.

TUESDAY, JULY 8

10:00 AM Individual Lecture Contemporary (Bad) Taste: Kitsch, Camp, and Tacky. Speaker: Julio Pérez Manzanares – Autonomous University of Madrid.

11:00 AM Coffee Break.

11:30 AM Panel Discussion Institutions and the Formation of Contemporary Taste. Speakers: Virginia López – Artist, Founder of PACA_Proyectos Artísticos Casa Antonino; Julieta de Haro – Artistic Director of CentroCentro; Carlos Urroz – Director of Institutional Relations, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. Moderator: Laura Gutiérrez – Director, School of Art of Oviedo.

1:00 PM Lunch Break.

3:30 PM Panel Discussion Beyond the Eye: The Taste for Ethical, Ecological, Social, or Political Concerns in Contemporary Art. Speakers: Semíramis González – Independent Curator; Eugenio Ampudia – Artist; Claudia Rodríguez-Ponga – Independent Curator. Moderator: Bárbara Mur Borrás – PhD in Fine Arts.

5:00 PM End of Day.

5:30 PM Activity Visit to the Studiolo Exhibition – Candela Álvarez Soldevilla Collection.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 9

9:30 AM Meeting with Asturian Artists Speakers: María Castellanos – Artist; Avelino Sala – Artist; Consuelo Vallina – Artist. Moderator: Pablo Álvarez de Toledo – Nebrija University.

11:00 AM Activity Visit to the Niemeyer Center – Avilés.

Course Closing Ceremony.





This course is designed for art professionals, collectors, researchers, and students seeking an in-depth analysis of the dynamics that shape taste and collecting practices in contemporary art. Adopting a critical and multidisciplinary perspective, it provides a unique opportunity to rigorously examine the aesthetic, symbolic, and structural factors that underpin the legitimization of contemporary art.