Art Madrid'25 – Art documentaries for this summer

 

 

‘The salt of the earth’, Win Wenders

 

 

 

We will start with two documentaries about photography. On the one hand, ‘The salt of the earth’, by Win Wenders, filmmaker, playwright, actor, photographer and director of other documentaries such as the one about Pina Bausch. `The salt of the earth’, 2004, approaches Sebastião Salgado´s life and work, and his humanistic photography to reflect the poverty, violence or environmental problems. On the other hand, we will mention ‘Finding Vivian Maier’, 2013, a documentary directed by Charlie Siskel and John Maloof, that reveals the self-taught photographer´s biography and how her legacy was discovered.

 

 

 

“Finding Vivian Maier”, Charlie Siskel and John Maloof

 

 

 

We travel from photography to urban art, highlighting ‘Writers: 20 ans de Graffiti à Paris’, a documentary from 2004, directed by Marc-Aurèle, essential to understand the world of graffiti. And the older ‘Style wars’, from 1983, directed by Henry Chalfant and Tony Silver, reveals us the graffiti linked to Hip-Hop and artistic urban practises that emerged in the heart of New York.

 

 

 

 “Style Wars”, Henry Chalfant and Tony Silver

 

 


A documentary that relates us to functional diversity and its connection with art is ‘What's under your hat?’ (2006), by Lola Barrera and Iñaki Peñafiel. It describes, through her twin sister, the life and work of the north american sculptor with Down's syndrome and deafness Judith Scott, and about how the artistic practise strengthened her communicative abilities.

 

 

 

‘What's under your hat?’, Lola Barrera and Iñaki Peñafiel

 

 

 

'La Belle Noiseuse’ (1991), by Jacques Rivette, reflects through the relationship between a painter and her model, about reality and its representation, about creative passion and its frustrations. It was inspired by the Balzac´s novel ‘The Unknown Masterpiece’ and obtained the ‘Grand Jury Prize’ in Cannes Festival.

 

 

 

'La Belle Noiseuse’, by Jacques Rivette

 

 

 

Having passed through photography, urban art, sculpture and painting, we reach the Land Art, with ‘Rivers and Tides’ (2001), a beautiful documentary in which the artist Andy Goldsworthy submerges himself into nature to create with her his poetic and ephemeral sculptures.

 

 

 

‘Rivers and Tides’, Thomas Riedelsheimer

 

 

 

We will finally recommend a classic for those that have not seen it yet. It is ‘The Sun of the Quince’ (1992), by Víctor Erice, in which the renowned hyperrealistic artist Antonio López tell us his ideas about artistic creation in general and his particular creative process, through the elaboration of a quince´s painting.

 

 

 

‘The Sun of the Quince’, de Víctor Erice

 

 

 

This brief selection goes through several artistic disciplines, which would allows us to choose the one we prefer in order to learn and enjoy.

 

 

 

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.