Art Madrid'25 – Eugenio Forcano photographies exhibition in the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando (Madrid).

Sin futuro, Barrio de Santa Caterina, Barcelona, 1964
Sin futuro, Barrio de Santa Caterina, Barcelona, 1964

The work of an almost obsessive, tireless observer, as was Eugeni Forcano can be seen until 31 August at the Museum of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando. "CATCH LIFE. EUGENI FORCANO. PHOTOGRAPHS 1960-1974" is an exhibition of 150 photographs that portraits the chronicle our towns and cities. 

Pata que quiere tocar pierna, Banyoles, Girona, 1966
"Market Day", "Gypsy People", "Life on the Street", Eugeni Forcano conserves on his camera how life happens, everyday, with the talks under the doors, the buzzy markets, the squares, the neighborhood and corners... All these things are the fuel of his fascination with the common people and the main pillar of his photographs about the development of Catalonia, the contrast between the city and rural areas, the last years of the war and the "franquismo". 
 
Now the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando collect a good sample of the enormous work of the National Photography Prize 2012 "Catching life. Eugeni Forcano. Photographs 1960-1974 ". The selection of 150 photographs is done by the curator Daniel Giralt-Miracle, "highlights the work of which I think he is most proud because on one hand is the one that allowed him to devote himself to photography and on the other it is the brooch with which decided to close their career. "
 
Exaltación franquista, catedral, Barcelona, 1962
The exhibition includes the "Experimental Photography" section, with images taken between 1980 and 1995, when it was proposed to investigate the possibilities of color photography, with influences of surrealism and abstraction. In addition, a selection of magazines, books about his work and the chapter dedicated to him in the documentary series "The Voice of the image" complete the journey through the work of one of the foremost chroniclers of Spain in the last years of the war.
Por bulerías, Canet de Mar, Barcelona, 1963
Self-taught, born in Barcelona in 1926 and raised in Canet de Mar, Forcano wanted to know the world and on his path he met dozens of anonymous people that appear in his photos. He took a place in the news-weekly "Destino", recommended by Verges and Nestor Luján. 
 
Together with his brother opened Forcano studies, dedicated to portraiture, illustration, fashion and advertising. In 2005 he was awarded the Gold Medal of Barcelona and starred in the major retrospective "Eugeni Forcano. Photographs, 1960-1996. "In 2012 he received the National Prize for Photography and the Creu de Sant Jordi from the Generalitat de Catalunya. 
 
Oración en el desierto, Hogares Mundet, Barcelona, 1968

In his photographs, said Andres Trapiello, "the most important is the heartbeat of all that still lives", and that his characters "you can hear they talking", as Josep Maria Espinas said and as the art critic and curator Rosario Martínez Rochina remarks in her texts.

 
Confidencias, catedral, Barcelona, 1966

 

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.