Art Madrid'25 – Starts the third edition of Art Lima Contemporary Art Fair

It has become the most important event of the Peruvian contemporary art and the engine of his nascent market, Art Lima celebrates its third edition between 23 and 26 April at the School of Army War Peru (ESGE), a space dedicated to the tradition that opens to the latest trends in artistic creation.

 

We want to educate people, remind them, for example, that art was in his life before writing, we drew when we were children and the formal education it is moving apart from this field of magic, dreams and creativity." With these words, a real statement of intent by Laura Fernández, creative director of Art Lima, starts the third edition of the most important contemporary art fair in Peru.

 
In this issue are involved 58 galleries from 16 countries in 6 distinct sections such as "Principal", with 41 galleries of long career from different cities of the world and selected by the evaluation committee of the fair; "Solo Show Contemporary Art", with 8 artists with a new and unique approach to the fair; "Solo Show Photography", curated by Christian Bendayán under the slogan Amazonismos; "Cabinets", consists of 5 installative proposals and performances; "Project Rooms", curated by the Spanish Octavio Zaya and "Platform" with 10 emerging galleries, with a maximum of four years of management .. Art Lima, according to your organization, is already "a show that works as the most important catalyst of the Creative industry of Peru ".
 

Fotografía del Programa Solo Show Fotografía - Aamazonismos.

 

With artists and galleries from Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, United States, France, Israel, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Venezuela, included the presence of a large representation of Spanish galleries as Fernando Pradilla (Madrid), Space Valverde (Madrid), 6más1 (Madrid), Married Santapau (Madrid), Ponce + Robles (Madrid), Xavier Fiol (Palma de Mallorca), Imaginart (Barcelona), Poligrafa Graphic Work (Barcelona), T20 (Murcia) and Trinta (Santiago de Compostela), at the Principal Program and Cervantes6-Art Space (Madrid) in the Platform section.
 
In parallel to the fair, there are many activities as the conference program entitled "Art Lima Spekas" directed by the Spanish gallerist Eva Ruiz and focused on collecting and museums highlights.
 
 
Obra del peruano José Tola.

 

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.