Art Madrid'24 – The illusion of far west in Thyssen Museum Madrid

 

 

 

Sitting Bull, Billy the Kid, dusty plains with herds of buffalo, wild horses scanning the horizon and the paradisiac waterfalls... The exhibition "Illusion of the Far West" is a myth and a romantic enthusiasm, and a topical and colonizing argument, too but it presses the appropriate key to leave us, once again, shocked because of its landscapes, the dignity of the wild Indians, their communion with the most exuberant nature, its connection with all powerful gods... and with how those all discoveries of the painters and artists of the nineteenth century ended up going through the filter of the market and cinema, transforming those "noble savages" into a parody of misery, in the story of a disappearance announced.

 

 

 

 

The exhibition, curated by the artist Miguel Angel Blanco, brings together more than 200 pieces including paintings, photographs, prints, books, comics, movie posters, ethnographic pieces ... and so resembles a curio cabinet that blends art pieces and objects, "treasures" of that nature (precious stones, weapons, fossils, turtle shells, ...). As Guillermo Solana, director of the museum, has explained "it is a time when museums are too predictable, we have wanted to go up to that time when there was no division between art and nature, and where fantasy and reality go hand by hand. A moment in which the Indian territory had already been occupied and most of its inhabitants exterminated with their cultural traditions ".

 

 

 

 

Early Spanish explorers during the sixteenth century, the first contact with native tribes, landscapes and photographs of artists of the nineteenth and Thomas Hill, Henry Lewis, Albert Bierstadt, Carleton E. Watkins, they marked an exciting episode in the history Art, being the eyes that saw the exoticism and grandeur of the new conquered lands and its inhabitants for the first time. Another part of the exhibition is dedicated to the Indian chiefs, with their headdresses, body-painting and their objects of power. For the first time in Spain we can see the famous portraits by George Catlin and Karl Bodmer, Sitting Bull, Geronimo and Joseph - they offered themselves to record their image and power. Edward S. Curtis was the author of the photographic series The American Indian, a controversial and valuable artistic and ethnographic legacy, today largely lost, from which they have been selected multiple images. Curtis portrayed Indian Chiefs when they went to the capital to try to keep the rights of their peoples.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, the curator of the exhibition, has presented a set of book-boxes from his Forest Library made with materials from the territories of the American West. Until 7 February at the Thyssen Museum in Madrid we can stroll through the political, military and strategic US history, and take a tour of building his own legend as a nation. The rest of the world have drunkthis legend in cinemascope format and posters of Comanche, The Return of a Man Called Horse...

 

 

 

 

Among the parallel activities to the exhibition there is a visit called "Death had a price," this Saturday November 14 at the Meadow of Navalvillar de Colmenar Viejo, location of important westerns as "The Good, the Bad and bad "with Clint Eastwood," The last adventure of General Custer "with Robert Shaw," Three outlaws and a gunman "with Lee Marvin and" Django "with Franco Nero. This activity is aimed at students and graduates in Fine Arts, History Art, Museology, Philosophy, Communication Sciences, interdisciplinary practices and working artists.
 

If you are a contemporary art gallery and would like to be part of Art Madrid'25, you can now apply to participate!

The 20th edition of Art Madrid will take place from 5 to 9 March 2025 in the Galería de Cristal del Palacio de Cibeles. This privileged location, good communications and the quality of the project have always been guarantees of success for an event that reaches 20,000 visitors in each edition.

Art Madrid has been held during the capital's Art Week for the last twenty years, consolidating itself as an interdisciplinary fair of new artistic trends, in which nearly 40 national and international galleries participate, working with painting, sculpture, graphics, photography, installation and digital art of recent production.

Partial view of Art Madrid'24. Contemporary Art Fair. 19th edition, 2024

Art Madrid carries out a series of programs designed by curators, consultants and cultural experts with the fundamental objective of encouraging collecting, promoting cultural dialogue and making the most recent trends in art accessible to the general public. These initiatives are always focused on the constant improvement of the visitor's experience at our event, always seeking to enrich their interaction with contemporary art.

Partial view of Art Madrid'24. Contemporary Art Fair. 19th edition, 2024

PROGRAMS

Gallery Program

Art Madrid's Gallery Program is the heart of the fair. In each edition of Art Madrid, the program consists of around 40 national and international exhibitors.

Parallel Activities Program

The Parallel Program of Art Madrid'25 will have as its main axis the concept of the Territory City. The public space, the city and the territory will serve as a link to the artistic practices that take place in the "imagined spaces" and revitalize the cultural geography of Madrid.

Collecting Program

Art Madrid offers a specialized consulting service for galleries and the public interested in acquiring works of art.

Support Program for New Entries

Through a specific communication package, new entries to the fair will be presented and given special visibility.

Activities

The program will include a series of activities that will take place throughout the month of February and during Madrid Art Week at the Galería de Cristal del Palacio de Cibeles. Likewise, the parallel program will maintain the 2nd edition of the Open Booth, the Performance Cycle, Lecturas: Curated Walktrhoughs by Art Madrid, and the Interviews Section curated by Art Madrid.

Partial view of Art Madrid'24. Contemporary Art Fair. 19th edition, 2024

AWARDS

Best Booth Award

Award that will be articulated around the gallery with the best booth set up at the fair.

New Entry Award

Award will be given to the newly incorporated gallery with the best booth setup and exhibition proposal at the fair.

Emerging Artist Award

Our sponsors, as part of their line of action to promote contemporary art, will offer a prize to one of the revelation artists participating in the fair.

Partial view of Art Madrid'24. Contemporary Art Fair. 19th edition, 2024

Our support for art and culture extends throughout the year and responds to a global vision in which constancy and commitment to the galleries are essential to achieve our objectives of disseminating contemporary art within and beyond our borders; to create new audiences and interest in art and culture in all sectors of society; to strengthen and promote artists, especially young talent; to value art and culture as essential elements of social development; and to create spaces for cultural visibility and communication that are accessible, open and dynamic.



Relevant information

Applications for the 20th edition of Art Madrid'25 can be sent to the following e-mail address: info@art-madrid.com until October 7, 2024