ART MADRID’25 PRESENTS THE PARTICIPATING GALLERIES AND THE PARALLEL PROGRAM FOR THE EDITION

Art Madrid celebrates 20 years of contemporary art in 2025, reaffirming its role as a key legitimizing event in Spain's visual arts sector. As the contemporary art fair that paved the way for other fairs and events now coinciding on the same dates, it once again welcomes national and international galleries during Madrid Art Week. This edition promises to lay the foundation for the new directions the fair will take in the future.

650:892

Art Madrid’25 presents the Gallery Program for its 20th edition

The Gallery Program of Art Madrid’25 is the main axis of the fair, serving as a meeting point where diverse voices of contemporary art converge. Comprised of a selection of established, mid-career, and emerging galleries, the program offers a representative vision of the latest artistic trends. Through experimentation and the exploration of new visual languages, participating artists present works that reflect the aesthetic codes and concerns of our time. Each edition, Art Madrid stands out for its curatorial approach, featuring a carefully curated selection of national and international galleries and artists, showcasing the pulse of the most innovative proposals that define the present and future of contemporary art.

In this 20th edition, Art Madrid becomes an essential meeting point for those who closely follow the work of galleries and artists. The Crystal Gallery will be filled with fresh and daring proposals from thirty-five galleries, both national and international, inviting us to rethink art in its purest form. What we will see is not just a display of the best of the moment, but a testament to how art continues to challenge conventions, evoke emotions, and push the boundaries of what is possible.

The exhibition proposals, varied in approaches and techniques, bring us closer to an art that is unafraid to experiment and encourages us to reflect on the world around us. Each work, more than just an aesthetic object, will be a provocation, an invitation to look beyond the obvious. Throughout the fair, it will be impossible not to feel how these creations leave their mark on contemporary culture while simultaneously finding their place within the complex framework of the art market, reaffirming Art Madrid as a key reference within the national art scene.

Photo courtesy of Beatriz Maestre

Spanish galleries: New voices emerge

Spain will be represented by twenty-one galleries, a strong showcase of the creative diversity across the country. Two of them are participating in Art Madrid for the first time: Carmen Terreros Gallery (Zaragoza) and Canal Gallery (Barcelona), bringing with them a breath of fresh air that promises to surprise. Nineteen galleries are returning to the fair, celebrating the twenty years of an event that opened its doors to them from the very beginning, with the shared commitment to continue working for contemporary art produced locally. The galleries returning to Art Madrid’25 are: 3 Punts Galería (Barcelona); Alba Cabrera Gallery (Valencia); Aurora Vigil-Escalera (Gijón); CLC ARTE (Valencia); DDR Art Gallery (Madrid); Galería Arancha Osoro (Oviedo); Galería BAT alberto cornejo (Madrid); Galería Espiral (Noja); Galería La Mercería (Valencia); Galería Luisa Pita (Santiago de Compostela); Galería Metro (Santiago de Compostela); Galería Rodrigo Juarranz (Aranda de Duero); Inéditad Gallery (Barcelona); Kur Art Gallery (San Sebastián); Moret Art (A Coruña); OOA GALLERY (Sitges/London); Pigment Gallery (Barcelona); Shiras Galería (Valencia); and Uxval Gochez Gallery (Barcelona).

Photo courtesy of Beatriz Maestre

International galleries: A dialogue without borders

Pero el arte no entiende de fronteras, y por eso Art Madrid siempre ha sido un lugar de encuentro global. Este año, trece galerías internacionales ocupan sus lugares de enunciación para enriquecer la propuesta expositiva del evento. Cuatro de ellas participan por primera vez: Aria Gallery (Florencia, Italia), CHINI Gallery (Taipéi, Taiwán); Gallery 1000A (Nueva Delhi, India) y Ting Ting Art Space (Taipéi, Taiwán), aportarán una visión fresca y diversa, consolidando a Art Madrid como una feria en expansión hacia el escenario del arte contemporáneo internacional. Junto a estas, otras como Collage Habana (La Habana, Cuba); Galeria Sâo Mamede (Lisboa, Portugal); Galleria Stefano Forni (Bolonia, Italia); Jackie Shor Projects (São Paulo, Brasil); Loo & Lou Gallery (París, Francia); Nuno Sacramento Arte Contemporânea (Ílhavo, Portugal); O-Art Project (Lima, Perú),Trema Arte Contemporânea (Lisboa, Portugal) y Yiri Arts (Taipéi, Taiwán), que una edición más vuelven a confiar en Art Madrid como apuesta segura.

But art knows no boundaries, which is why Art Madrid has always been a global meeting point. This year, thirteen international galleries will take their places to enrich the event's exhibition proposal. Four of them are participating for the first time: Aria Gallery (Florence, Italy), CHINI Gallery (Taipei, Taiwan), Gallery 1000A (New Delhi, India), and Ting Ting Art Space (Taipei, Taiwan), bringing a fresh and diverse perspective, consolidating Art Madrid as a fair expanding into the international contemporary art scene. Alongside them, others such as Collage Habana (Havana, Cuba), Galeria Sâo Mamede (Lisbon, Portugal), Galleria Stefano Forni (Bologna, Italy), Jackie Shor Projects (São Paulo, Brazil), Loo & Lou Gallery (Paris, France), Nuno Sacramento Arte Contemporânea (Ílhavo, Portugal), O-Art Project (Lima, Peru), Trema Arte Contemporânea (Lisbon, Portugal), and Yiri Arts (Taipei, Taiwan) return once again, trusting Art Madrid as a reliable platform.

The journey through these twenty years of contemporary art has been a milestone that we reach with the same commitment as the emerging project that once reshaped the landscape of art fairs in Spain and has since been both a participant and witness to the growth of a welcoming, diverse, strong, and constantly evolving art scene.

Photo courtesy of Beatriz Maestre

Parallel program: Sensitive Cartographies of the City Territory

The Parallel Program of Art Madrid'25 goes beyond the boundaries of the fair, proposing a dynamic connection between art and the city. Under the concept of Territory and City, this edition takes art to urban spaces, to the everyday corners that shape the memory and present of Madrid.

Highlighted activities include augmented reality and digital experiences, video creation, ephemeral installations, and urban interventions that engage directly with the city of Madrid. These actions expand the work of the artists into the urban environment, fostering an ongoing conversation between art and the territory. In this way, the city becomes a creative laboratory where the everyday and the artistic intertwine, opening new forms of connection between the community and art.

The program also explores the emotional and identity geographies that run through Madrid, inviting reflection on the meaning of belonging to a place and how artistic practices transform our relationship with space. Through the theme of Territory and City, the Parallel Program of Art Madrid'25 creates a map that connects the local with the global, the intimate with the collective, and opens a sensory experience that strengthens the ties between art, territory as an expanded concept, and the city as a container of sensitive realities.

The Parallel Program of Art Madrid'25 invites you to explore the intersections between art, public space, and community, transforming Madrid into a territory-city of creation and shared reflection.

Photo courtesy of Beatriz Maestre

In this 20th edition, we proudly celebrate the journey of our fair and deeply appreciate the support and trust of artists, gallerists, collectors, and art enthusiasts who have been key to Art Madrid’s continued growth with an eye on the future. It has not been an easy path, but we have understood the importance of ensuring that an event like this endures, solidifies its place in the national art market circuit, and becomes a gateway to the international art scene.

Painting, in its most classical sense, has traditionally been considered a representative medium of human creativity, defined by the support, pigments, and figure. However, contemporary art has pushed this concept toward a radical redefinition. What was once a two-dimensional surface limited to visual representation has transformed into a multisensory experience involving space, time, and interaction. In this context, expanded painting emerges as a field of experimentation that invites us to reconsider the boundaries between disciplines and traditional forms of art-making.

In its origins, painting was conceived as an act of representation; a visual medium whose primary function was to capture reality through images. From the Renaissance to Impressionism, artists developed techniques and approaches aimed at increasingly accurate depictions of nature, the human body, and light.

Paco Díaz. TDE Carne y Piedra. Oil on paper glued to wood. 50 x 50 cm. 2024.

The history of painting was marked by an obsession with perspective, proportion, and harmony. However, as we move into the 20th century, avant-garde movements began to challenge these conventions. Cubism, Surrealism, and Abstraction introduced new ways of conceiving the pictorial act, which was no longer confined to imitating reality but aspired to deconstruct and reconfigure it. This break from visual tradition was merely the beginning of a series of transformations that would lead painting into previously unexplored territories.

Expanded painting, a term coined to describe this evolution, refers to the broadening of the medium’s possibilities in both materiality and context. Experimentation with new supports, the fusion of media, and the dissolution of boundaries between painting, sculpture, architecture, and performance are some of the most prominent aspects of this trend. Instead of being confined to canvas or panel, contemporary artists have incorporated materials such as wood, plastic, metal, glass, and even digital elements.

Alexander Grahovsky. The Unbreakable Will of the Spirit. Oil, spray paint, and colored pencils on canvas. 46 x 61 cm. 2024.

The flat surface has given way to a broader, more three-dimensional concept of space, where painting inhabits not only the support but also the surrounding space, inviting direct interaction from the viewer. Many of these breakthroughs can be seen in the works of artists who use heavy and textured materials to endow their two-dimensional pieces with a sculptural quality. The notion of painting as an object has disappeared in favor of a spatial experience encompassing both the visible and the conceptual.

Luis Miguel Rico. Untitled from the Sand Series. Oil on linen. 140 x 100 cm. 2024.

In this same vein of boundary expansion is Luis Miguel Rico, who, through a series of material explorations combining pigments, fabrics, and textures, addresses the relationship between color and space, seeking a balance between the emotional and the formal. His work focuses on transforming the traditional canvas, inviting viewers to reconsider the potential of painting as a three-dimensional expressive medium.

Jan Schüler. Dresden Die Elbe Bei Wachwitz. Oil on linen. 70 x 90 cm. 2024.

Jan Schüler, on the other hand, acts as a bridge between classical and contemporary painting. His introspective approach, where portraits and landscapes transcend mere visual representation, highlights the viewer’s interaction with the work. Through direct gazes that meet the viewer’s eyes, the characters in his portraits challenge the traditional conception of painting as a passive medium, inviting emotional and personal reflection.

César Goce. Liquid Shadows. Oil on wood. 58 x 42 cm. 2023.

César Goce, blending graffiti influences with traditional painting, brings expanded painting into his own dimension by integrating urban art with academic techniques. His approach aligns with the dissolution of disciplinary boundaries, incorporating graffiti, a contemporary medium, within a studio format that could be considered traditional. This reflects the process of expanded painting, where contemporary artists blur the lines of mediums to create a hybrid experience.

The expansion of the pictorial medium pertains not only to the choice of materials but also to the redefinition of what we understand as "painting." In this context, painting is no longer limited to representing the real or visible but becomes a field for exploring the invisible, the subjective, and the emotional. Instead of working within a single perspective or defined style, contemporary artists operate with multiple languages, where process and creative action become essential elements of the work. Spontaneity, error, improvisation, and the deconstruction of gesture have been integrated into pictorial practice, generating works that invite not only contemplation but also active reflection on the nature of art.

Federico Uribe. Still Life. Bullet casings. 65 x 75 cm. 2020.

Federico Uribe, through his assemblages of everyday objects, offers a radically different vision of expanded painting. While he does not adhere directly to traditional painting, his use of unconventional materials such as bullet casings and pieces of colored pencils creates a point of contact between painting, sculpture, and nature. Uribe’s reinterpretation of common objects relates to the expansion of painting beyond the canvas, suggesting a new way of thinking about the medium and its function.

The use of unconventional supports and the incorporation of performative elements are also fundamental aspects of expanded painting. By moving painting out of its traditional space, artists invite the viewer to engage more actively and participate in the work.

The advent of digital technologies has provided artists with a new palette of possibilities. Painting, understood as an action or process, can now simultaneously involve both digital and traditional creation, demonstrating that painting need not be bound to a single medium. This digital integration not only expands the painter’s tools but also raises questions about the very essence of art: must painting retain its physical and material character to remain painting, or can it transcend into the virtual and ephemeral without losing its essence?

CHOU Ching-Hui. A Promised Land: The Planet of Angels No.9. Inkjet print. 148 x 290.8 cm. 2023.

Chou Ching-Hui’s photographic approach also aligns with the idea of expanding the boundaries of traditional art. His transition from photojournalism to artistic photography shows how the photographic medium can interact with pictorial works, creating a new way of experiencing and reflecting on reality. Ching-Hui’s transformation of the real into the conceptual in his projects is a clear manifestation of expanded painting, now integrating other visual disciplines.

In this sense, expanded painting is defined not only by technical or material innovation but by a more philosophical approach to art. By eliminating the barriers between disciplines and expanding the boundaries of the medium, contemporary artists challenge our conceptions of art’s role in society. Painting, rather than being a closed and static process, becomes an open practice, in constant dialogue with its environment and its audience. Painting is no longer just a transcription of reality but an active intervention in it.

Alexander Grahovsky. If Only You Were as Prickly as a Thistle. Oil, spray paint, and colored pencils on canvas. 33 x 41 cm. 2024.

In the case of Alexander Grahovsky, his surrealist pictorial treatment merges the classical with the contemporary, combining figurative elements with the dreamlike. His work invites continual reflection on what lies beyond the surface, dissolving the boundaries of representation in an approach that resonates with the concept of expanded painting.

Tiffany Alfonseca. The Barbie You Can’t Buy in Stores. 183 x 152 cm. Acrylic, pencils, glitter, and rhinestones on canvas. 2023.

Meanwhile, Tiffany Alfonseca transcends the traditional sense of painting as well. Her vibrant portraits not only depict Afro-diasporic communities but also provoke reflection on themes of race, identity, and representation. Through her work, painting becomes a vehicle for amplifying historically silenced voices, transforming the pictorial act into a social and political intervention that invites viewers to experience more than just the visual.

Paco Díaz. RIBERA. Oil on paper glued to wood. 50 x 50 cm. 2024.

Paco Díaz, with his conceptual and reflective work, emphasizes the relationship between viewer and artwork, creating space for reflection on the personal, collective, and political. By focusing on the everyday, he invites us to reconsider life’s simplest elements through painting imbued with emotion and meaning. His compositions play with nostalgia and memory, creating works that are both a tribute to the commonplace and an exploration of the self.

Iyán Castaño. Circular Currents. Experimental graphics on canvas. 130 x 100 cm. 2024.

Iyán Castaño demonstrates how painting adapts to the contemporary era, where printmaking techniques, direct landscape intervention, and the exploration of social and personal themes offer a broad field for artistic reflection. By working with the changing conditions of the sea, he integrates nature into his work in a way that blurs the lines between painting and environmental intervention.

Antonio Ovejero. The Tomato Can. Oil and acrylic on board. 50 x 35 cm. 2024.

Antonio Ovejero’s unique fusion of kitsch and popular elements challenges traditional conceptions of painting. His work explores tensions between the banal and the artistic, creating a space where kitsch acquires aesthetic and critical relevance. Ovejero prompts viewers to question the relationship between art and popular culture, reflecting on nostalgia, consumerism, and the aesthetics of the everyday.

Paco Dalmau. A Borderline of Gules. Mixed media on canvas over board. 36 x 36 cm. 2024.

Paco Dalmau, on the other hand, delves into the relationship between color and form in contemporary painting. His work is characterized by a profound exploration of these elements, where structure and composition become vehicles of communication. Dalmau deconstructs traditional painting, leading viewers to a sensory experience where color and form are perceived not only visually but also emotionally, expanding the medium’s boundaries toward greater viewer interaction.

Painting has ceased to be a medium confined to visual representation and has become a discipline in constant expansion. By questioning what we understand as pictorial art, expanded painting not only broadens the boundaries of its discipline but also invites deeper reflection on the role of art in understanding the world. In conclusion, contemporary painting has evolved into a space of unprecedented creative freedom. Expanded painting redefines the boundaries between disciplines, materials, and meanings, inviting both artists and viewers to participate in an active reflection on the nature of art and its relationship with society. Far from being a closed discipline, painting today presents itself as an open field, in constant dialogue with the present and its infinite possibilities.