Art Madrid'25 – Summa Contemporary fair in Matadero Madrid

 

 

With more than 60 national and international galleries and with the slogan Art in Context, SUMMA starts this Thursday its third edition with emphasis on the necessary connection between the art market and the society of the time. 

 

Imagen cortesía de galería Aina Nowak.

 

The director wanted to stress the idea that art and market are not oblivious to what happens in the world and therefore also in Transversal Section will be two projects in this very line: "How colleting political art" composed by T20 gallery (Murcia), with Democracy and Victor Jaenada among others; aural gallery (Alicante) with Isaac Montoya and Juan José Martín Andrés; the Prometheus Gallery (Milan), with Gabriela Ciancimino and Fabrizio Cotognini; and watersidecontemporary (London), which presents the work of Oreet Ashery. And "Focus Africa", curated by Gabriela Salgado in which Zimbabwe Gallery First Floor Gallery, Filomena Soares (Lisbon), Carlos Carvalho Contemporary Art (Lisbon), Andre Magnin (Paris), A Palazzo Gallery (Brescia) and Carles participate Projects Taché (Barcelona). Africa Focus is defended by De Blas because "contemporary art no longer belongs only to Europe and North America."

 

Imagen Cortesía de GALERÍA AURAL (ALICANTE)

 

 

New in SUMMA, the first fair in autumn in Madrid and, after Paris, the second "hot spot of the art", is the section TRAZOS, a section that reviews the art market of the twentieth century, especially the Spanish, and explores the connections between the twentieth century and contemporary arts. Another novelty is the SUMMA MAG project, curated by Marisol Salanova you selected specialist publishers in art, design, architecture, illustration ... The fair will include the section Madrid photo with various subject lines such as Latin American photography, photo book or photo Spanish in the 30s and 40s S.XX.

 

Imagen cortesía de Galería Hispánica-Contemporánea.

 

Imgen cortesía de galería ESPAI TACTEL.

 

In the General section, the fair has more than 50 galleries, more than half are Spanish and the rest come from the US, Argentina, Colombia, Canada, Mexico, France and the UK. Repeat as Filomena Soares gallery (Lisbon), Galería Enrique Guerrero (Mexico DF); Museum / Fernando Pradilla (Bogota / Madrid) or Luis Adelantado (Valencia / Mexico DF). Moreover galleries as BARÓ (São Paulo), Beta pictorisgallery / MausContemporary (Birmingham, Alabama), The Wrath of God (Buenos Aires) and Ponce + Robles (Madrid) is esntrenan. And will not miss the shot with spaces like Casa Sin Fin (Madrid / Caceres), Aina Nowack / ACC, TRINTA Gallery (Santiago de Compostela) and Space Valverde (Madrid).

 

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.