We share with you our particular selection of exhibitions in Madrid. They are not all of them, but let’s take the lead from here.

“Lujo y luto”, by Estefanía Martín Sáenz, at the ABC Museum of Illustration.

Within the program "Connections" started seven years ago by the museum in collaboration with the Santander Foundation, a guest artist is invited to develop a creative project inspired by two works. On this occasion, the chosen pieces were a still life by Juan de Arellano from the Banco Santander collection and a cover of "Blanco y Negro" by Manuel Escudero, belonging to the museum's collection. Starting from these two works, Estefanía Martín has tackled a proposal that plays with the concepts that give the title to the exhibition. Luxury and mourning live together in compositions with oriental reminiscences and works that represent very well her style, with floral motifs, embroidery and fabrics. Until September 30th.

"Victor Vasarely. The birth of Op Art ", at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum.

This exhibition suggests a journey through the career of this creator of Hungarian origin that settled in Paris, from his beginnings until the end of his career. A paradigmatic figure when defining this style that, although ephemeral, has enriched the postmodern artistic movements of the first half of the 20th century. Until September 9th. More information here

Victor Vasarely, Amir "(Rima)", 1953, Vasarely Múzeum, Budapest

"Eusebio Sempere" at the Reina Sofia Museum

This retrospective dedicated to Sempere approaches the career of this artist whose work shows connections with kinetic art, a movement in full bloom in Paris in the mid-50s, a time that marked his departure as a recognised artist. From that moment on, Sempere began his international projection, with exhibitions inside and outside the country that consolidate it as a reference creator of national geometric art. Until September 17th.

Eusebio Sempere, “El reloj”, 1966.

"In an instant, Morocco", in the Arab House

Within the program of PhotoEspaña 2018, Casa Árabe organises this exhibition with works by nine Moroccan photographers who portray the daily reality of this country offering a vision of its society, customs and day to day life unknown for many. An invitation to get to know more closely the people of the neighbouring country and get closer to the pulse of its contemporary production. Until September 23rd.

M’hamed Kilito. Destinies, 2017 © M’hamed Kilito

"Views of Rome", by Henryk Dąbrowski and the Lázaro Collection, at the Lázaro Galdiano Museum

This exhibition proposes a dialogue between the works of Henryk Dąbrowski on the city of Rome, a renowned Polish architect, and the pieces that make up the collection Lázaro Galdiano, who was also passionate about this Italian city. The exhibition has been organised in collaboration with the Polish Institute of Culture and the Embassy of Poland and was curated by Carmen Espinosa, chief curator of the museum. Until September 9th.

"Auschwitz. Not a long time ago. Not far away ", Arte Canal Exhibition Center of Madrid.

Although it is hard to face this period of our recent history turned into a tragedy of unimaginable magnitudes, it is necessary to remember not to forget, not to repeat in the future, the mistakes of the past. The exhibition is organised by the State Museum of Auschwitz-Birkenau and arrives in Spain in collaboration with the company Musealia. Our country is the first stop of this macro exhibition that will travel to thirteen other European and North American cities. Until October 7th.

Pawel Sawicki © Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum - Musealia

ABIERTO INFINITO. LO QUE EL CUERPO RECUERDA. CICLO DE PERFORMANCE X ART MADRID'26

Art Madrid, committed to creating a discursive platform for artists working within the field of performance and action art, presents Abierto Infinito: lo que el cuerpo recuerda, a proposal inspired by Erving Goffman’s ideas in The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (Amorrortu Editores, Buenos Aires, 1997).

The project unfolds within a theoretical framework that directly engages with these premises, conceiving social interaction as a stage of carefully modulated performances designed to influence others’ perceptions. Goffman argues that individuals deploy both verbal and involuntary expressions to guide the interpretation of their behavior, sustaining roles and façades that define the situation for those who observe.

The body — the first territory of all representation — precedes both word and learned gesture. Human experience, conscious and unconscious alike, is inscribed within it. Abierto Infinito: lo que el cuerpo recuerda departs from this premise: representation inhabits existence itself, and life, understood as a succession of representations, transforms the body into a space of constant negotiation over who we are. In this passage, boundaries blur; the individual opens toward the collective, and the ephemeral acquires symbolic dimension. By inhabiting this interstice, performance simultaneously reveals the fragility of identity and the strength that emerges from encounter with others.

PERFORMANCE: OFF LINE. JIMENA TERCERO

March 7 | 7:00 p.m. Galería de Cristal of the Palacio de Cibeles.

OFF LINE is a performance piece that reflects on the fragility of the body in the digital age. Our relationship with the outside world is mediated by a screen, which distances us further and further from physical contact and interpersonal relationships. Focusing on creating a digital identity causes the body to distance itself from the physical world and lose its memory.

Hyperconnectivity and fragmented attention lead to a more passive physical existence, characterised by reduced spontaneous movement and less direct sensory interaction. This raises fundamental questions: how is the concept of presence redefined when our relationship with the world relies on technological mediation? What will the experience of the body be like in a future where virtuality predominates over the physical? There is a risk of progressive bodily passivity: bodies that remain still, whose activity is determined by devices and whose memory is stored digitally. The fragmentation of physical experience and the primacy of technological representation create a scenario in which, although the body is visible, it is displaced from its original function as an agent of perception and action.

This conceptual framework invites reflection on the impact of digitisation on corporeality, memory and social relationships, and on the vulnerability and inertia experienced by bodies in environments that are increasingly mediated by technology.

ABOUT JIMENA TERCERO

Jimena Tercero (Madrid, 1998) is a multidisciplinary artist whose work explores the boundaries of the female body, identity, and the subconscious. She uses performance, video, and painting to address concepts such as memory, tangibility, and play. Tercero trained in painting with Lola Albín and in analog photography at Cambridge in 2014. She studied audiovisual direction from 2018 to 2020 with renowned figures such as Víctor Erice and the production company El Deseo. She is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Creative Direction at ELISAVA. She completed her performance training at La Juan Gallery. In 2011, she was part of the children's jury at the Isfahan Film Festival in Iran.

Her directed works include Private (2016) and Paranoid (2021), which were exhibited at the Aspa Contemporary Gallery. She has also worked on projects such as Yo, mi, me, conmigo (2023, Teatros del Canal), Inside Voices (2021, Conde Duque with Itziar Okariz), and La última regla (La Juan Gallery). She has directed fashion films for publishers and brands such as Puma, Dior, and Dockers. She has also provided art direction for artists such as Sen Senra and Jorge Drexler. Additionally, she directed the documentary Also Here for ArtforChange–La Caixa. She presented Out of View (Nebula Gallery), EDEN (White Lab Gallery), and Navel Bite (Sinespacio). She participates in residencies such as Medialab with Niño de Elche and Miguel Álvarez Fernández. In 2025, she will be part of the Special Jury of the Asian Film Fest in Barcelona and the International Cultural Museum of Assilah Art Residency in Morocco).