2020 promises to be a special year, full of news, action and movement. In Art Madrid, we face with enthusiasm these final steps before the opening of the fair, an edition in which we want to celebrate our 15th anniversary with all of you. Save the dates on the agenda: join us from February 26th to March 1st 2020 at the Crystal Gallery of the Palacio de Cibeles.

Mónica Sumillera, imagen de la pasada edición de Art Madrid

Within emblematic space of Art Madrid in the heart of the city, this year we will count on 41 exhibitors who will exhibit works by almost 200 artists. From emerging creators to mid-career artists, Art Madrid defines as an open and global proposal that offers the perfect opportunity to discover and acquire unique pieces by dozens of artists that cover all disciplines: painting, sculpture, graphic work, photography, video art and installation.

The fair will become a dynamic event where the audience will enjoy an immersive experience in contemporary art thanks to our program of actions outside and inside the fair. The contact with art will become an experience that transcends the limits of the Crystal Gallery and extends its programming to all lovers of contemporary creation, with a proposal designed for all audiences and that houses the most avant-garde and emerging artistic projects of the moment.

On its 15th anniversary, Art Madrid brings together 27 national and 14 foreign galleries from 9 countries. From France, Portugal, Austria, Germany and Italy, through Ecuador and Cuba, up to Taiwan. International participation is consolidated year after year, and today 35% of the fair is filled with proposals, ideas and projects come from other places to live with national initiatives in the intense Art Week of the capital. This exchange generates a great positive impact on the experience of the public and collectors, that each edition can enjoy a renewed, current and accessible fair.

There are 13 exhibitors that come to Art Madrid for the first time: es.Arte Gallery from Marbella, Galería ATC from Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Galerie LJ from París, Galleria Stefano Forni from Bolonia, Kaplan Projects from Palma de Mallorca, Luisa Catucci Gallery from Berlín, MA Arte Contemporáneo from Palma de Mallorca, Más ARTE Galería from Quito, N2 from Barcelona, Offspace | galerie panoptikum from Gilgenberg, Pigment Gallery from Barcelona, Plastic Murs from Valencia y Urban Spree from Berlín.

Among the galleries that visit again the fair there are the national exhibitors Alba Cabrera Gallery and Shiras Galería from Valencia, Arancha Osoro from Oviedo, Aurora Vigil-Escalera and Bea Villamarín, both from Gijon, Moret Art from A Coruña, Galería Luisa Pita from Santiago de Compostela, Galería Espiral from Noja, Kur Art Gallery from San Sebastián, Rodrigo Juarranz from Aranda de Duero; from Barcelona they come 3 Punts, Galería Miquel Alzueta, Víctor Lope Arte Contemporaneo and the Galería Zielinsky, while from Madrid they come DDR Art Gallery, Galería BAT Alberto Cornejo, Galería Hispánica Contemporánea, Galería Kreisler, Marita Segovia and Soraya Cartategui. In the international sphere, they return: Art Lounge Gallery, Lisbon, Collage Habana, Havana, Galeria São Mamede, Lisbon, Norty, Paris, Nuno Sacramento, Ilhavo, Paulo Nunes Arte Contemporânea, Vila Franca de Xira, Schmalfuss, Berlin, and Yiri Arts, Taipei.

Artwork by Jorg Karg

Nor can we forget the ONE PROJECT program. Under the enigmatic title of Salvajes Art Madrid has wanted to go a step further in this curated section turning it into a place of dialogue (but also of conflict) where nine artists will share a face-to-face space presenting new projects specific to the fair. The program is directed by the art critic and independent curator Fernando Gómez de la Cuesta.

For the ART MADRID-PROJECTOR’20 program, Art Madrid once again trusts on Mario Gutiérrez Cru, director of the pioneering video art festival PROYECTOR, who will be the curator of this program dedicated to visual and interactive arts and action art. The goal is to involve the public outside and inside the fair through performative actions, masterclasses, meetings with artists and a cycle of screenings. Soon, we will release all the details of this program that starts on February 12th until March 1st and will have the collaboration of spaces such as Medialab Prado and Sala Alcalá 31.

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.