Liquitex, market leader in acrylic paint, will once again participate in this new edition of Art Madrid as a collaborator through a very special project: #SomosKanva. Art and solidarity come together in a broad and admirable project led by (Kanva), International aid network through artistic creation; together with Shanga India, non-profit organization for schooling children from poor families in India; and Un Plato de Comida, a non-profit organization whose purpose is to provide the necessary meals at the "María Soliña" School (India).

The three organizations, together with Liquitex and Art Madrid as collaborators, offer you the possibility of contributing to a project aiming to improve the vital needs and education of children living a poverty situation, marginality or abandonment in India. Although Liquitex has collaborated in the #Somoskanva project from the beginning, donating painting materials for (Kanva), in their visit to India, especially in actions at the Uma Sankar School "María Soliña", giving them the possibility to paint murals and organizing art workshops with children -this uplifting experience was recorded in a brief documentary. Now, Liquitex joins forces with Art Madrid in a new project in which we propose a charity challenge. If you are an artist and you want to help this immense and necessary workforce, we encourage you to support the project in the best way you can: through your art.

The first step of the challenge is selecting or creating a work for the project; in the second, (4th of February-10th of March), you would publish your work with the hashtags #Somoskanva and #Liquitex, this way sharing the project with your followers. This work of art will be a part of the following exhibition (18th of March-18th of April) presented in Art Madrid's online art gallery, the Art Madrid market, where the work will be sold (under contract with the artist). Before, a team of specialists from Art of Madrid will carry out a selection process (11-17 March) of the participating works, choosing a total fifteen works that will form the online exhibition in the Art Madrid market. All 100% of the proceeds from the sale will be given to the NGO Un Plato de comida. In addition, Liquitex will select one of these fifteen works and will reward its author with 500 euros in supplies.

Liquitex, that has been innovating in the acrylic paint industry since 1955, for instance, inventing the first water-based acrylic paint, currently offers a range of intense and vibrant acrylic paints in all formats (thick and thin bodied paint, inks, markers and sprays), acrylic medium and various accessories. In addition, their products have the particularity that they can be mixed perfectly so that the palette of any artist will not encounter any experimentation limits. Thus, Liquitex offers infinite possibilities of expression in one of the cornerstones of creation, colour, something that has undoubtedly made the brand a great reference for contemporary creators.

Artists often as committed as the creators of (Kanva): Desi Civera, Nicolás Chiaravalloti and Rodrigo Molinero, who since 2018 have been working in this social and artistic action bringing the most disadvantaged children closer to art. An aspiration that they share with the organization Un Plato de Comida, founded by Antonio Valiente in 2011 to provide the children of rural Orissa the meals they need at the Uma Sankar School "María Soliña" (Pubai, Orissa, India) a school that offers free basic education and also takes in homeless children non-profit. Likewise, the organization founded by María (Neneta) Herrero, Shanga India, which their main goal since 2004 is educating children from humble families.

National and international artists such as Carla Fuentes, Thomas Cian, Anwei and Julio Linares, have united with this cause, creating and donating works that were later presented in a charity exhibition that raised 6,000 euros, entirely allocated to these NGOs. What about you, do you want to be a part of #SomosKanva?

Buying the first work of art always instils respect. A difficult feeling to define that mixes vertigo with adrenaline. But over uncertainty and caution, a pleasurable sense of connection, understanding, and desire prevails. That work that, once seen, stays in the mind, reappears in the memory several times a day and seems to tell you that it is willing to be part of your home, is the perfect candidate to make the decision.

In the first steps, many collectors do point out that one does not start from an established plan, but rather that one acquires pieces based on taste and the connection one feels with them until, after time, they realise that the volume of works that accumulates can be labelled as a "collection". For example, this is how Alicia Aza explains it:

“I was not aware that I was collecting until many years later when a third party named me as a collector and talked about my collection. In 2005, I became aware of what collecting means and decided to articulate a collection with an identity of criteria and formats”.

Marcos Martín Blanco, co-founder, with his wife Elena Rueda, of the MER Collection, shares this same opinion:

“Collecting has been a passion, driven by a visceral state that encourages you to do so. The collection, in terms of acquisitions, has not been particularly complicated because, let's face it: it is easy to buy because they are all beautiful things and you have some clear idea of where you want to go, but at first those preferences were not so clear. It is with the time that a criterion is being formed”.

It is not always this way, of course, but for the buyer who starts out on this path, the personal connection that entails the first piece is essential. There it is the germ of a lasting relationship that is not limited to a simple aesthetic question but is an open window to knowledge, to exploration, to a world that is often unknown to us and awakens our fascination. The seed of that connection is purely sentimental, and it is precisely this impulse that determines the first acquisitions. The first piece is never forgotten.

Art Madrid'20, photo by Ana Maqueda

Exceeding the usual recommendations made by advisers and agents, rare is the occasion when the art lover decides to buy by pure investment. These paths usually open later, when the volume of pieces is large enough. In addition, there are those who are a bit against this classic concept of the traditional collector, approached from an eccentric, elitist and little accessible vision. On the contrary, art buyers are, above all, art lovers, sentient beings and permeable to creative stimulus who, at a given moment, decide to deepen the relationship they already have with art to take a piece home.

It is not that hard to overcome that small psychological barrier that turns the visitor into a buyer if one approaches the matter from a more personal and intimate perspective than from social consideration. Small-format works, graphic work or serial photography are of great help for this, whose price range, generally more affordable, allows a closer comparison to the daily basis expenses. In this way, the purchase of art falls within the range of feasible activities and becomes something close and possible.

Art Madrid'20, photo by Marc Cisneros

At that moment, a different relationship with art begins, based on pure experience and coexistence with the acquired piece. Perhaps it can be seen as an act of daring, but on many occasions, it is more a matter of necessity and transformation. Collectors also agree that the acquisition of an artwork is an exercise on personal analysis and opening up to a new field of knowledge that was previously alien to us. Alicia Aza explains that the reason she acquired her first piece of video art, by Sergio Prego, is because she did not understand it and because she saw it as a challenge and an opportunity to self-improve. This open window to knowledge creates new connections and bonds with creators, as one of the most fascinating parts of the process. Candela Álvarez Soldevilla explains that

"I think the most interesting thing in the art world is talking to artists. They are people with a special sensitivity to listen and understand.”

And Alicia Aza also says:

"I can share the satisfaction of being able to count on many artists in my circle of close friends today, and that is a long way to go."

Thus, with works that seem acceptable within the horizon of expenses that each one considers affordable, it is easy to find a piece that catches us. Since then, our home also evolves into a space in which art has a permanent place and presence, and there is no doubt that this transforms us inside.

Art Madrid'20, photo by Henar Herguera

Jaime Sordo, owner of Los Bragales collection and founder of the 9915 Contemporary Art Collectors Association, has always defined his relationship with art as a true passion and a vital necessity. For buyers who start on this path, he has the following recommendation:

“It is an essential condition that they feel the need to live with their passion to enjoy the works. Another very important aspect is that before making decisions for purchases, they are informed, so it is necessary to read specialised newspapers and books, visit exhibitions and museums and a lot of contact with galleries, which is an important and very specific source of information of the artists they represent. Finally, the presence in national and international art fairs. All this generates information and training.”

Indeed, fairs have become a good place for discovery because they condense a wide offer and allow diverse and global contact in a concentrated way. For this reason, many new generation buyers start in the context of an event such as Art Madrid, whose closeness and quality constitute a unique opportunity to meet, soak up and feed the passion for art.

(*) quotes taken from various interviews published in public media between 2013 and 2019.