Vasarely stated in 1955 in his famous Yellow Manifesto: "the art of tomorrow will be a collective treasure or it will not be art at all". Perhaps, at that time, the artists attached to the Op Art and Kinetic Art movements were not aware of the impact their works would have on the future of later art, but today there is no doubt that the concern and research surrounding the movement have left their mark.

Karl Gerstner

Op Art was officially inaugurated with the exhibition "The responsive eye" that MoMA organised in 1965. In fact, it was about labelling an artistic trend that had sprung up a few years ago and one of which main milestones was the collective exhibition organised by the gallery Denise René under the title "Le mouvement". At that time, the works of Duchamp, Calder, Vasarely, Jesús Rafael Soto, Robert Jacobsen... lived together in an enriching dialogue that gave birth to a new style defined within geometric abstraction: the Kinetic Art.

Carlos Cruz-Diez

Halfway between research and artistic production, the obsession of many of these creators was focused on, not capturing the movement, but incorporating it into their pieces, in a literal and physical way. From Calder's famous mobile-sculptures to multi-perspective works that force visitors to move around to find the exact point of view. Whether incorporated or projected, movement was the essence of this trend of art, where we cannot forget that the line of creative development was strongly linked to the recent sociological and psychological theories about the changing context of the 20th century and that it has its own background in the art world such as Futurism or Suprematism.

Francisco Sobrino. Sin título, 1989

Op Art delves into another kind of movement, the one generated by the viewer's own perception through a game of optics or repetition patterns. Geometry and colour are fundamental in these works, where a simple contrast effect can produce a sense of depth or superposition of planes with a volume. Symmetries, asymmetries, minimalism, pure forms ... ingredients of a composition designed to deceive and confuse the senses of the observer.

Yaacov Agam

The Würth Museum collects a total of 76 works (31 from its own collection) of the leading authors of these trends with pieces from 1921 to 2013. The colour, shape, light and perspective join around a paradigmatic collection of changes that the 20th century introduced in the art world. This exhibition opens the calendar of activities scheduled to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Würth museum.

ART MADRID’ 26: 21 YEARS OF CONTEMPORARY ART

Discover all the information about the artists and galleries participating in the 21st edition of Art Madrid. The catalog features a curated selection of the works presented in this edition, along with the most relevant details of the event, making it an essential tool for engaging with the fair’s key figures and exploring the defining elements of today’s art scene.

In 2026, Art Madrid celebrates its 21st edition, further establishing itself as a leading event within Spain’s cultural sector. From March 4 to 8, the Galería de Cristal of the Palacio de Cibeles will once again become a meeting point for galleries, collectors, artists, and contemporary art enthusiasts.

Over the past twenty-one years, the fair has evolved into a dynamic and ever-expanding platform, fostering diversity in artistic languages, techniques, and discourses. In this edition, the Galleries Program brings together around 35 exhibitors from more than seven countries, offering a representative overview of the most recent developments in contemporary creation.

The Art Madrid ’26 catalog serves as a key publication for discovering the work of this edition’s galleries and artists —marked by experimentation and a plurality of perspectives— while also documenting the conceptual axes that shape the fair. As part of the Parallel Program, INHABITING THE EPHEMERAL: A Reflection on the “Species” of Spaces proposes a reflection on space, relationships, and shared experience, expanding the understanding of the fair beyond its commercial dimension and highlighting its cultural and experiential significance.

In addition, the catalog presents the initiatives that complete the program, such as the Open Booth dedicated to emerging creation, the Nebrija Space in collaboration with Nebrija University, the Performance Series “Open Infinite. What the Body Remembers,” the One Shot Collectors Program, and the Patronage Program, reaffirming the fair’s commitment to supporting, mediating, and accompanying contemporary art at every stage.

We invite you to discover more about Art Madrid ’26 through the catalog of its 21st edition — a publication that, beyond serving as documentary memory, becomes a cartography of the present artistic moment and an open door to new ways of inhabiting contemporary art.