Natalia Alonso Arduengo retratada por Federico Granell

The critic and independent curator Natalia Alonso Arduengo will be in charge of the curated tour of Art Madrid for the second consecutive year, which, together with the Collecting Program, will form part of "One Shot Collectors".

Natalia Alonso Arduengo (1984, Madrid): Lives in Gijón and works between her place of residence and Madrid. She has a degree in Art History from the University of Oviedo, and she's a critic and independent curator. Part of her interests are oriented to art made by women and focused on gender aspects. In this sense, she has curated shows such as "Perséfone's Fugue" by Cristina Ferrández and Norma Desmond's Syndrome by Cristina Toledo. Another issue towards which she directs her work is living and how the contemporary subject relates to the environment. Under this theme, she was the guest curator of Art Madrid in 2021 with the project "El arte de habitar", which brought together, among others, artists such as Sandra Paula Fernández, Silvia Flechoso, Hugo Alonso and Guillermo Oyágüez.

She has worked for media such as the magazine "Tendencias del Mercado del Arte" and has been at the helm of the blog "Con el arte en los talones" for years, which has now changed to radio format in a program broadcast on RTPA's La Buena Tarde. Currently, she works as Liaison Manager for Arteinformado. She is director of ArteOviedo, a contemporary art fair held in the Principality's capital that brings together a selection of galleries from the region.

Mário Macilau

Breaking news, 2015

Pigmento inyectado

60 x 90cm

ICONOSPHERE

Every image is an artifice. This axiom of Román Gubern sticks in mind like the finger of the recruitment poster made by James Montgomery Flagg, which is the cover of Gubern's book entitled Iconic mass media of the late nineties of the last century. In his final chapter, dedicated to the electronic image, he outlined the future that was to come. Over two decades later, the presence and influence of images in our society are winning the battle of oversupply and over information, from mass media to self-media and the metaverse. The curated selection of works for ARTMADRID22 seeks to reflect on the ways of looking at and the ways of reading images, the subject's interaction with them, and the relationships and influences between them. How do we assimilate and rework images today? What look do we apply to multiform reality?

Lantomo

(un)MASKED FIGHTER, 2021

Grafito, carbón, acuarela sobre papel encolado a madera

130 x 97cm

The curated tour comprises twelve works from different disciplines, among which drawing and photography stand out. The artists that are part of this selection are: Catarina Patrício (Sâo Mamede), Mário Macilau (Galerie Alex Serra), Lantomo (BAT alberto cornejo), Beatriz Díaz Ceballos (Rodrigo Juarranz), Chang Teng-Yuan (Yiri Arts), David Delgado Ruiz (DDR Art Gallery), Juana González (Arena Martínez Projects), Aurora Cañero (Galería Kreisler) , Julien Primard (Galerie LJ), Jaime Sancorlo (Inéditad), Kepa Garraza (Víctor Lope Arte Contemporáneo) y María Treviño (Moret Art).

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.