Contemporary art drinks from the great artists of the avant-garde, creators who squeezed the plastic languages to get the maximum expressiveness to color, shape or texture in contrast with the more traditional and academic figuration. We can not understand much of the emerging art without knowing the avant-garde masters, and in Art Madrid we have some of their most representative names.

Antoni Tàpies

Sense titol, 1970

Acrylic, graphite, collage and assembly on cardboard

28 x 39cm

Surrealism, abstract expressionism, the school of Cuenca, pop art, Equipo Crónica, the El Paso Group ... the avant-garde movements removed the foundations of art in the last century and its authors are the seed of the most current art. Conceptualism, site specific, ready made, material painting have their roots in those masters and there are galleries whose background is a treasure of the vanguards.

Antonio Saura

Charles, 1989

Oil on canvas

130 x 97cm

The Benlliure Gallery (Valencia) founded in 1984 and directed by Vicente and Alejandro Segrelles has specialized in these consolidated values without neglecting young artists. In these 20 years they have exposed artists of recognized prestige, painting of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, School of Paris, El Paso Group, historical Vanguard, Spanish landscape of the twentieth century, highlighting their collective exhibitions entitled "Muestra Benlliure" where they annually exhibit selected works of reknowned authors. In Art Madrid'18 they propose a collective exhibition of different reference authors, belonging to the El Paso group, such as Luis Feito, Antonio Saura or the eclectic Luis Gordillo, supporter of the new figuration. They also feature the work of José Guerrero, an American nationalized Spanish engraver and painter framed within abstract expressionism, and artists such as Carmen Calvo, Eduardo Chillida, Juan Genovés, Manuel Hernández Mompó, Joan Hernández Pijuan, Miquel Navarro, Jaume Plensa, Antoni Tàpies, Juan Uslé and Manolo Valdés.

Joan Miró

Peinture VI, 1969

Oil on canvas

27 x 16cm

For its part, the Marc Calzada Gallery (Barcelona), founded in 1996, presents in Art Madrid'18 a collective that unites the figure of Joan Miró with the artists present at the controversial Spanish exhibition of the XXXVII Venice Biennial of 1976, entitled "Artistic Vanguard and Social Reality: Spain 1936-1976".

Marc Calzada will turn his stand into the fair in a mini Biennial of the 76th with the work of Miró and those artists he chose to accompany him in Venice: Picasso, Calder, Alberto Sánchez, Josep Renau, Dau al Set, El Paso, Eduardo Arroyo, Alberto Corazón, Chillida, Oscar Domínguez, Equipo Crónica, Team 57, Juan Genovés, Gordillo, Millares, Lucio Muñoz, Oteiza, Palazuelo, Saura or Tàpies ... A true journey through the history of Spanish "new art".

At the most recent edition of Art Madrid, artist Luis Olaso (Bilbao, 1986), represented by Kur Art Gallery (San Sebastián), received the Residency Prize of the Art Madrid Patronage Program. This award, the result of a collaboration between Art Madrid, DOM Art Residence, and the Italian association ExtrArtis, enabled him to undertake an artistic residency in Sorrento (Italy) in August 2025.

Through initiatives like this, the fair reaffirms its support for contemporary creation—a commitment aimed at increasing artists’ visibility and strengthening art collecting through concrete actions such as acquisition prizes, recognition of emerging talents, and international residencies.

Artists in Residence. DOM & ExtrArtis. Image courtesy of Agata D’Esposito.

The DOM & ExtrArtis 2025 Residency Program took place in Sorrento from August 1 to 31, 2025. The artists lived together at Relais La Rupe, a 16th-century villa surrounded by cliffs and centuries-old gardens, which became an ideal setting for experimentation and exchange.

In this edition, residents worked around the theme “Reimagining Genius Loci”, an invitation to reflect on how the movement of people and traditions transforms the “spirit of place.” During the residency, DOM organized two public group exhibitions: the first to present the artists’ previous work, and the second to showcase the projects developed in Sorrento.

Work by Luis Olaso. DOM & ExtrArtis. Image courtesy of Agata D’Esposito.

Luis Olaso’s work moves between expressionist figuration and abstraction, always employing a pictorial language charged with strength and emotion. Initially self-taught, he later graduated in Fine Arts and has developed a solid international career, with exhibitions at venues including JD Malat (London) and Makasiini Contemporary (Turku, Finland), and participation in fairs such as Untitled Miami, Estampa, and Art Madrid itself.

His work is part of prestigious collections, including the Tokyo Contemporary Art Foundation, Fundación SIMCO, and the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, and has been recognized in competitions such as the Reina Sofía Prize for Painting and Sculpture and the Ibercaja Young Painting Prize.

In Sorrento, Olaso found a unique context to expand his pictorial research, engaging in dialogue with the Mediterranean landscape and the region’s historical heritage. The residency provided him with time, resources, and a framework for exchange with other international artists, fostering the production of new works that were later presented in the group exhibitions organized by DOM.

Luis Olaso working on his project. DOM & ExtrArtis. Image courtesy of DOM.

Luis Olaso’s experience at DOM Art Residence concluded with a public showcase of the works produced, reinforcing his presence on the international circuit and consolidating his position as one of the most prominent Basque artists on the contemporary scene.

Through initiatives such as this, Art Madrid demonstrates its active role as a platform for direct support of contemporary creation, creating opportunities for research, production, and intercultural dialogue that extend beyond the fair itself and accompany artists in their professional development.