Albert Bonet

Winner of the International Painting Prize in the Realism category at the latest edition of the FIABCN (Barcelona International Art Fair), Albert Bonet's work is characterized by an acid social criticism inspired by his closest surroundings. Through this interpretation of the world around him, this young artist shows both conceptual and technical maturity, which interferes with his work by playing with POP themes and with a markedly realistic style.

Artistically, he has been trained at the Barcelona Academy of Art. He has been selected in the DKV Young Art Contest ''Fresh Art'', where he was awarded an honorable mention at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (2015). This promising artist has two individual exhibitions to his credit, the last one last November at the Mutuo Gallery in Barcelona. He now exhibits for the first time in Art Madrid at the hands of Inéditad Galería (Barcelona).

Interview:

Tell us about your creative process

My creative process always starts with an idea, which I can come up with while walking down the street or in the bathroom of my colleague's house doing my business, and then I mature that idea for a few weeks, giving it shape, sketching a lot, and then I meet up with models, who are always people around me, my colleagues or people who are close to me, I do a photo session with them and then I edit those photos until I make a photographic montage that's quite close to the idea I had initially, always taking it to my own territory, adding social criticism, which, given the state of things in the world, is a lot of work. The last step is to paint in oils, give it shape, take the oils and lock yourself up at home until the idea comes out.

Albert Bonet

1984, 2022

Oil on canvas

162 x 130cm

What are you working on at the moment?

Right now I'm currently working on the piece I have behind me, which is a painting that I'm going to present at Art Madrid'22 with the gallery Inéditad, and the truth is that it's been quite a challenge because I have to finish it on time and I've locked myself up at home to paint for seven or eight hours a day until it's ready. Otherwise, it won't arrive in time for the catalogue and I have to make sure it gets there. Apart from that, this year is packed with a few urban art festivals with huge graffiti, a few exhibitions in a number of places. I'll keep you posted. There are several commissions for paintings, so the year is off to a great start, full of energy. Looking forward to it.

What do you expect from your participation in Art Madrid?

Exhibiting at Art Madrid is a dream come true for me. I've been locked up at home for a long time, mentally beating myself up, painting all day long, and to be able to take my work out of Barcelona for me is already a huge dream come true. It fills me with enthusiasm and energy to continue painting and I hope to give visibility to my work, above all outside Barcelona, and step by step, to be able to make a living from it.

Albert Bonet

La Duquesa de Sants, 2021

Oil on canvas

81 x 59cm

What inspires you when creating?

When it comes to creating, what inspires me most is my surroundings, all my surroundings. The places I go to, the objects I use every day in my house, my friends, my mates' houses, the city where I live, the cities I go to most frequently, everything that surrounds me. My everyday life is what inspires me when I create.

You are a multidisciplinary artist who started out in graffiti and tattooing. What have these two disciplines contributed to your work as a painter?

Graffiti, tattooing and painting are artistic facets that complement each other perfectly because you can apply concepts from each of them to the other. In the end they all have an individual magic that fills me a lot and I never want to stop doing any of them.

Albert Bonet participates for the first time in Art Madrid with Inéditad gallery, along side with Jaime Sancorlo, Jordi Diaz Alàma, Lautaro Oliver, Núria Farré y Raúl Álvarez Jiménez.

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.