Catawiki is a curated online platform that makes buying & selling of special, hard to find objects extremely easy & reliable. The renowned art buying and selling platform Catawiki establishes itself as one of the official sponsors of Art Madrid in its 17th edition, also being part of the Art Week in Madrid.

Founded in 2008 with the mission to make special objects more accessible, Catawiki currently offers more than 600 auctions every week, in multiple categories such as collectibles, art, design, jewellery, watches, classic cars, among others.

Catawiki welcomes more than 650,000 visits from art, design and antiques enthusiasts every week. This international audience looks forward to discovering rare interior design pieces, paintings by their favourite artists or new original work by the artists and designers who sell directly with Catawiki.

Buyers | Offering inspiration in art, antiques and design

Catawiki fuels the passion of art, antiques and design lovers around the world, and it is the place to be for people who want to showcase special objects that reflect their personality in their homes. Over 90 experts select 20,000 items per week, ensuring that there are plenty of high-quality items for users to bid on. Catawiki’s experts combine years of experience with huge amounts of historical data on selling prices in a range of categories.

Ranging from contemporary art to vintage furniture, every week Catawiki offers the most coveted pieces. Whether they are interested in an antique Chinese vase, an impressionist artwork or an Eames chair, buyers with Catawiki can rest assured that every object on the platform is truly special.

Sellers | Helping the art world move online

Galleries and artists are increasingly choosing Catawiki as a platform to help transition their business online and reach new audiences. The weekly Direct from the artist auction empowers artists to submit their own work for expert review and it is becoming one of Catawiki’s most popular auctions. Respected artists such as Karl Lagasse, Kev Munday and FAKE have all appeared in the Catawiki auctions.

Reliability is of paramount importance at Catawiki, and the priority is to create a platform that is a safe place for buyers and sellers alike. The Catawiki payment system ensures secure and swift transactions. Payments from buyers are stored in a secure account and will only be released to the seller after the buyer has received their purchase.

Over 90 experts, recruited from the most prestigious art institutions in the world, select more than 20,000 objects in auction every week.

Whether they are interested in an antique Chinese vase, an impressionist artwork, iconic pop art, or an Eames chair, buyers with Catawiki can rest assured that every object on the platform is truly special. Interesting objects up for auction on Catawiki included: artwork by Andy Warhol, Banksy, Picasso, Monet and Man Ray, as well as design furniture by Eames or Sottsass.

More information about our sponsor Catawiki

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.