Art Madrid'25 – Art Marbella first edition in the very summer

Art Marbella listed as "the first major art fair in the Mediterranean" and will involve 50 leading international galleries in addition to the sections dedicated to specific projects by guest artists, a VIP program for collectors and a space for research and education run by international curators.
Marbella, this summer, is a "hot spot" for art lovers, "one of the most important cities in the European summer and attracts many visitors with high purchasing power in Europe as well as Russia and the Middle East," explains his promoter Alejandro Zaia. "It's a great opportunity to establish an international fair of the highest level of quality aimed at this audience. We can help expand the frontiers of collectors, introducing new players and creating an environment in which artists, curators, gallery owners and collectors can communicate and share information on the latest trends in art, and with the work of the best artists exposed, "adds .
 
Zaia was co-founder of the fairs Pinta New York (2007) and Pinta London (2010), director of Mundus Novus collection dedicated to contemporary Latin American art, and member of the committee of international consultants Museum of Latin American Art of Los Angeles ( MOLAA) and the Art Museum for Private Collectors. Zaia is a recognized expert in communication and marketing. His idea is to "give the public a selection of art of exceptional quality, where the most innovative proposals coexist with great works of historical vanguards of the twentieth century."
Beside him, a committee of curators with big names in contemporary art as Omar Lopez-Chahoud, director of the Miami fair UNTITLED; Neri Torcello, in charge of the Masters section; and Maria Chiara Valacchi, director of Spazio Cabinet Foundation in Milan, in charge of special projects and Bruno Leitão, in charge of curating the Finistrella section. Its aim is to develop a contemporary art fair with some references to more established artists, giving meaning and context to young artists.
 
The fair is held at the Palace of Fairs, Exhibitions and Congresses of Marbella and it has a special guest: the actor and artista Jordi Molla.
 
 
List of participants:
 
Adhoc - Vigo, Spain
Alarcon Criado - Sevilla, Spain
Alimentacion 30 + Lounge - Madrid, Spain
APGallery - Madrid, Spain
Area 72 / Point - Valencia, Spain
Art Nine - Murcia, Spain
Bacelos - Vigo, Spain
Baro Gallery - Sao Paulo, Brazil
Carlos Carvalho - Lisbon, Portugal
Carreras Mugica - Bilbao, Spain
Daniel Cardani - Madrid, Spain
Elephant Kunsthall - Lillehammer, Norway
Minimum space - Madrid, Spain
F2 Gallery - Madrid, Spain
Fernando Pradilla - Madrid, Spain
Filomena Soares - Lisbon, Portugal
FL Gallery - Milan, Italy
Galeria de las Misiones - Montevideo, Uruguay
Galeria El Museo - Bogota, Colombia
Gallery Pelaires - Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Gema Llamazares - Gijon, Spain
L21 Gallery - Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Mark Hachem - Paris, France
Max Estrella - Madrid, Spain
Michel Mejuto - Bilbao, Spain
Narrative Projects - London, United Kingdom
Odalys Madrid - Spain Caracas, Venezuela
Operate Scelte - Turin, Italy
Red Penguin - San Pedro de Alcantara, Spain
Rodrigo Juarranz - Aranda de Duero, Spain
Rosa Santos - Valencia, Spain
Saro León - Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
September Espai D'Art - Valencia, Spain
STOA Gallery - Estepona, Spain
Twin Gallery - Madrid, Spain
Yusto / Giner - Marbella, Spain

 

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.