Art Madrid'25 – Masquelibros V Artist Book Fair

 

 

Is it an object? Is it a book? Is it a visual poem? Yes! and not! because it is all that and more, is the artist's book, a discipline strongly influenced by surrealism, collage-boxes, found objects of the Fluxus and conceptual art, and deeply rooted in the publishing world. The artist's book has become a hotspot in the landscape of contemporary creation and MASQUELIBROS has become the meeting point for artists, critics, fans and collectors of this genre.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For Asela Perez Becerril, director of the gallery Espacio Valverde and member of the MASQUELIBROS jury: "An artist's book is an infinite within another infinite, I like the metaphor of the uncertainty involved in creating something within the created. I value the seed from which the idea and manufacturing develops because, do not forget, a book mainly must be touched and seen".

 

 

 

 

MASQUELIBROS celebrates its 5th edition from 20 to 22 May in public library Eugenio Trias, at El Retiro park, with about 80 exhibitors and a full agenda of activities to bring the artist's book to all public and demonstrate the contemporary richness and versatility of this discipline. This year they have chosen Ana Vazquez-Anamusma (¡yes! our educator in children's workshops #ArtMadrid!) as Emerging Artist. She will present a selection of his work and will present two new pieces: "I am text" and "sell, exchange, Seeking "a participatory piece that will be setting the days before the show via Twitter and RRSS.

 

 

 

 

In addition, MASQUELIBROS shows the magnificent piece 'La Perfecta Casada', an installation of 19 meters long by Elena del Rivero (Valencia, 1952), currently one of the essential voices of national and international contemporary art and who has a particular relationship with the artist's book.

 

 

The fair is completed with a great program of parallel activities, conferences in collaboration with the Reina Sofia Museum, roundtables, workshops and master classes on editing and collage (thanks to the collaboration of miluca Sanz and the Madrid Association of Collage) and a selection of site-specific installations curated by Susana Blas, also part of the Biennial Miradas de Mujeres with a reinterpretation of feminism. Among the publishers present this year in MASQUELIBROS are NOCAPAPER, DUCKOUTMAGAZINE, CURATOR, BlankPaper, Libros del Zorro Rojo, Hilatina Editorial, Sopa Americana, Ed. Somrisas, Ediciones Deliciosas / Limited Edition ... but there will be also personal projects as Metafictions, by David Trullo .

 

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.