For the third consecutive year, Art Madrid once again is engaged with Cultura Inquieta. Official media partner of this edition, Cultura Inquieta is one of the most interested and involved media in current culture. This year it invites all visitors to take their most creative side into its booth at the fair.

The two walls of the Cultura Inquieta stand began as two blank canvases, ready to welcome all kinds of artistic manifestations and encouraging free expression and creativity without limits. Artists present at the fair as well as visitors of all ages have participated ... In fact, we can all be creative and proof of this is that there is hardly any free space left to intervene in their booth. However, all those who want to be part of these collective murals will surely, with some ingenuity, find some way to leave their mark. In addition, at their booth, you can learn about other projects, such as the creative products they offer from the online store and those they have selected in order for you to see them at Art Madrid: art pills, design and inspiration.

Photo. Melisa Medina.

The Cultura Inquieta team presents "our own space, a couple of square meters where we synthesize our universe to channel, approach and soak up everything that happens. A space, overall for sharing. Sharing time, words and creativity. A place to rest for a few minutes, talk, laugh and reflect "with the ultimate goal" of bringing art to everyone absolutely".

Some of the reasons that motivate this type of proposal are so many that Cultura Inquieta compares them with the own principles of art. Unity or harmony, because, as explained by them, they are integrated, so naturally, that they come to lose sight of the limits imposed by space; variety, because they love having the chance to look out through an infinite window of inspiration, an exercise that they can feed by touring Art Madrid, where they find the production of both emerging artists and consecrated artists, "an almost mystical experience"; or balance, because "we are aware that life is what happens between 0 and 100 years, so we try to look with the eyes of children, and to children we try to give wings so that they can paint, dream, and believe in a much better future through art".

Photo. Miguel Mazuelo Álvarez.

Other reasons that support its proposal for the fair are related to contrast because, like Art Madrid, they enjoy the polyhedral side of things; proportion, because "we can not stop looking up towards the wonderful glass vault that surrounds everything. At the works, at the artists, at you, at us too, and then, is when the proportions of beauty escape us"; the emphasis and the enthusiasm of participating in a fair with which they share so many values and aspirations; and finally, for movement, for that "effervescent flow of people, ideas, concepts and messages that we share with artists, gallerists, visitors, friends ... during these five days".

Like Art Madrid, Cultura Inquieta has among its main objectives the spreading of the quality the current creation has, specialized in the promotion of young talent. Art, culture, trends, photography, trends or lifestyle; Cultura Inquieta is one of the most consulted and reputed digital portals worldwide. It is also the organizer of one of the major Spanish music festival, one of the most important annual events on the Madrid agenda, which this year celebrates its tenth edition beginning at end of June. From Art Madrid we encourage you to participate in the simple but so inclusive and exciting proposal of Cultura Inquieta: dare to express your creativity.

Buying the first work of art always instils respect. A difficult feeling to define that mixes vertigo with adrenaline. But over uncertainty and caution, a pleasurable sense of connection, understanding, and desire prevails. That work that, once seen, stays in the mind, reappears in the memory several times a day and seems to tell you that it is willing to be part of your home, is the perfect candidate to make the decision.

In the first steps, many collectors do point out that one does not start from an established plan, but rather that one acquires pieces based on taste and the connection one feels with them until, after time, they realise that the volume of works that accumulates can be labelled as a "collection". For example, this is how Alicia Aza explains it:

“I was not aware that I was collecting until many years later when a third party named me as a collector and talked about my collection. In 2005, I became aware of what collecting means and decided to articulate a collection with an identity of criteria and formats”.

Marcos Martín Blanco, co-founder, with his wife Elena Rueda, of the MER Collection, shares this same opinion:

“Collecting has been a passion, driven by a visceral state that encourages you to do so. The collection, in terms of acquisitions, has not been particularly complicated because, let's face it: it is easy to buy because they are all beautiful things and you have some clear idea of where you want to go, but at first those preferences were not so clear. It is with the time that a criterion is being formed”.

It is not always this way, of course, but for the buyer who starts out on this path, the personal connection that entails the first piece is essential. There it is the germ of a lasting relationship that is not limited to a simple aesthetic question but is an open window to knowledge, to exploration, to a world that is often unknown to us and awakens our fascination. The seed of that connection is purely sentimental, and it is precisely this impulse that determines the first acquisitions. The first piece is never forgotten.

Art Madrid'20, photo by Ana Maqueda

Exceeding the usual recommendations made by advisers and agents, rare is the occasion when the art lover decides to buy by pure investment. These paths usually open later, when the volume of pieces is large enough. In addition, there are those who are a bit against this classic concept of the traditional collector, approached from an eccentric, elitist and little accessible vision. On the contrary, art buyers are, above all, art lovers, sentient beings and permeable to creative stimulus who, at a given moment, decide to deepen the relationship they already have with art to take a piece home.

It is not that hard to overcome that small psychological barrier that turns the visitor into a buyer if one approaches the matter from a more personal and intimate perspective than from social consideration. Small-format works, graphic work or serial photography are of great help for this, whose price range, generally more affordable, allows a closer comparison to the daily basis expenses. In this way, the purchase of art falls within the range of feasible activities and becomes something close and possible.

Art Madrid'20, photo by Marc Cisneros

At that moment, a different relationship with art begins, based on pure experience and coexistence with the acquired piece. Perhaps it can be seen as an act of daring, but on many occasions, it is more a matter of necessity and transformation. Collectors also agree that the acquisition of an artwork is an exercise on personal analysis and opening up to a new field of knowledge that was previously alien to us. Alicia Aza explains that the reason she acquired her first piece of video art, by Sergio Prego, is because she did not understand it and because she saw it as a challenge and an opportunity to self-improve. This open window to knowledge creates new connections and bonds with creators, as one of the most fascinating parts of the process. Candela Álvarez Soldevilla explains that

"I think the most interesting thing in the art world is talking to artists. They are people with a special sensitivity to listen and understand.”

And Alicia Aza also says:

"I can share the satisfaction of being able to count on many artists in my circle of close friends today, and that is a long way to go."

Thus, with works that seem acceptable within the horizon of expenses that each one considers affordable, it is easy to find a piece that catches us. Since then, our home also evolves into a space in which art has a permanent place and presence, and there is no doubt that this transforms us inside.

Art Madrid'20, photo by Henar Herguera

Jaime Sordo, owner of Los Bragales collection and founder of the 9915 Contemporary Art Collectors Association, has always defined his relationship with art as a true passion and a vital necessity. For buyers who start on this path, he has the following recommendation:

“It is an essential condition that they feel the need to live with their passion to enjoy the works. Another very important aspect is that before making decisions for purchases, they are informed, so it is necessary to read specialised newspapers and books, visit exhibitions and museums and a lot of contact with galleries, which is an important and very specific source of information of the artists they represent. Finally, the presence in national and international art fairs. All this generates information and training.”

Indeed, fairs have become a good place for discovery because they condense a wide offer and allow diverse and global contact in a concentrated way. For this reason, many new generation buyers start in the context of an event such as Art Madrid, whose closeness and quality constitute a unique opportunity to meet, soak up and feed the passion for art.

(*) quotes taken from various interviews published in public media between 2013 and 2019.