Art Madrid, sponsored by One Shot Hotels, launches: "One Shot Collectors", a Collectors Program integrated into the heart of the fair with the commitment to continue building bridges to bring the public closer to contemporary art. One Shot Hotels is a young chain of boutique hotels with meticulous design and an unbeatable location in the center of Madrid, Valencia, Sevilla, Barcelona, San Sebastián and Oporto.

The interest in collecting art can become a true passion based on various criteria, be they historical-artistic, aesthetic, emotional, social or economic. All of them result in an aesthetic and personal exercise. Owning art is experiential, from meeting the artist to understanding and sharing the discourse behind the work. Building a collection is also a way to invest in something tangible and secure that could offer significant payback in the future. But above all, it is an essential support for the creative economy.

An art collection is something that must evolve gradually, that must be built over time, always based on information according to our interests. The main thing is to enjoy the experience of seeing art, not to be intimidated, and to trust our taste. But how do we decide what to focus on and which direction to go? Where do we start? How do we relate one purchase to the next?

A good acquisition occurs by following one's tastes, learning to recognize what attracts and interests us, while informing ourselves before and during the purchase. Collecting can be an emotional journey, one of knowledge with a social or economic background, or simply an aesthetic and personal exercise. That is why the accompaniment of an advisor when acquiring art is always a clear point, just as it is to have the endorsement of a gallery that supports and legitimizes the work of art.

© Photo by Christian Monsalve. Courtesy from TOO MANY FLASH

The professional advice of an expert is a "safe" and coherent way of deciding the collector, in addition to promoting and maximizing the quality and value of his collection, also seeks to enrich the shopping experience and its enjoyment. For this, in this edition of Art Madrid, we will have a space for advice by Ana Suárez Gisbert, Art Advisor, Law Degree, and Expert Appraiser with extensive experience in the art market. This advisory service is designed for experienced collectors, those looking for their first collector's item, and even corporate collectors looking to reflect their brand values ​​in an art collection. Thus, the Art Madrid'23 collecting program considers the different profiles, needs, and preferences, by generating a personalized tour and orientation.

Whether due to lack of time or desire to receive professional guidance, our Art Advisor will be able to find and prepare a selection of works of art according to the requirements and budget of each buyer, as well as help negotiate the acquisition of a construction site.

Collecting can start from a desire for knowledge and exploration at an aesthetic, social, economic, or even business level. At Art Madrid, we encourage collecting for those people and companies that want to bet on patronage and investment. This initiative is aimed at both professionals in the sector and lovers of contemporary art who are thinking of starting collecting or continuing to build their collection. Art Madrid offers a wide range of possibilities when it comes to acquiring works from disciplines such as: photography, painting, sculpture or installation, within a wide range of prices.

The advisory service is part of the "One Shot Collectors" program and is free for those who request it with prior registration. Request more information via email vip@art-madrid.com

The practice of the collective DIMASLA (Diana + Álvaro) is situated at a fertile intersection between contemporary art, ecological thinking, and a philosophy of experience that shifts the emphasis from production to attention. Faced with the visual and material acceleration of the present, their work does not propose a head-on opposition, but rather a sensitive reconciliation with time, understood as lived duration rather than as a measure. The work thus emerges as an exercise in slowing down, a pedagogy of perception where contemplating and listening become modes of knowledge.

In the work of DIMASLA (Diana + Álvaro), the territory does not function as a framework but rather as an agent. The landscape actively participates in the process, establishing a dialogical relationship reminiscent of certain eco-critical currents, in which subjectivity is decentralized and recognized as part of a broader framework. This openness implies an ethic of exposure, which is defined as the act of exposing oneself to the climate, the elements, and the unpredictable, and this means accepting vulnerability as an epistemological condition.

The materials—fabrics, pigments, and footprints—serve as surfaces for temporary inscriptions and memories, bearing the marks of time. The initial planning is conceived as an open hypothesis, allowing chance and error to act as productive forces. In this way, the artistic practice of DIMASLA (Diana + Álvaro) articulates a poetics of care and being-with, where creating is, above all, a profound way of feeling and understanding nature.

In a historical moment marked by speed and the overproduction of images, your work seems to champion slowness and listening as forms of resistance. Could it be said that your practice proposes a way of relearning time through aesthetic experience?

Diana: Yes, but more than resistance or vindication, I would speak of reconciliation—of love. It may appear slow, but it is deliberation; it is reflection. Filling time with contemplation or listening is a way of feeling. Aesthetic experience leads us along a path of reflection on what lies outside us and what lies within.

The territory does not appear in your work as a backdrop or a setting, but as an interlocutor. How do you negotiate that conversation between the artist’s will and the voice of the place, when the landscape itself participates in the creative process?

Álvaro: For us, the landscape is like a life partner or a close friend, and naturally this intimate relationship extends into our practice. We go to visit it, to be with it, to co-create together. We engage in a dialogue that goes beyond aesthetics—conversations filled with action, contemplation, understanding, and respect.

Ultimately, in a way, the landscape expresses itself through the material. We respect all the questions it poses, while at the same time valuing what unsettles us, what shapes us, and what stimulates us within this relationship.

The Conquest of the Rabbits I & II. 2021. Process.

In your approach, one senses an ethic of exposure: exposing oneself to the environment, to the weather, to others, to the unpredictable. To what extent is this vulnerability also a form of knowledge?

Diana: For us, this vulnerability teaches us a great deal—above all, humility. When we are out there and feel the cold, the rain, or the sun, we become aware of how small and insignificant we are in comparison to the grandeur and power of nature.

So yes, we understand vulnerability as a profound source of knowledge—one that helps us, among many other things, to let go of our ego and to understand that we are only a small part of a far more complex web.

Sometimes mountains cry too. 2021. Limestone rockfall, sun, rain, wind, pine resin on acrylic on natural cotton canvas, exposed on a blanket of esparto grass and limestone for two months.. 195 cm x 130 cm x 3 cm.

Your works often emerge from prolonged processes of exposure to the environment. Could it be said that the material—the fabrics, the pigments, the traces of the environment—acts as a memory that time writes on you as much as you write on it?

Álvaro: This is a topic for a long conversation, sitting on a rock—it would be very stimulating. But if experiences shape people’s inner lives and define who we are in the present moment, then I would say yes, especially in that sense.

Leaving our comfort zone has led us to learn from the perseverance of plants and the geological calm of mountains. Through this process, we have reconciled ourselves with time, with the environment, with nature, with ourselves, and even with our own practice. Just as fabrics hold the memory of a place, we have relearned how to pay attention and how to understand. Ultimately, it is a way of deepening our capacity to feel.

The fox and his tricks. 2022. Detail.

To what extent do you plan your work, and how much space do you leave for the unexpected—or even for mistakes?

Diana: Our planning is limited to an initial hypothesis. We choose the materials, colours, places, and sometimes even the specific location, but we leave as much room as possible for the unexpected to occur. In the end, that is what it is really about: allowing nature to speak and life to unfold. For us, both the unexpected and mistakes are part of the world’s complexity, and within that complexity we find a form of natural beauty.