Art Madrid'26 – When reality overtakes photoshop

George Rousse. From the series “architectures virtuelles”, 2016.

 

 

This piece by George Rousse is a fascinating optical illusion where the artist has intervened in the space looking for the right perspective to form the image. This French creator, who initially worked as a doctor, is a photographer that at a certain moment wanted to turn around his career. He entered into this discipline by specialising in architectural photography, and he reached to open a studio devoted to this kind of work. The next step was to create himself the image taken, with colourist designs and a perspectives game. Here, the point of view changes everything.

 

 

Igor Podgorny

 

 

 

Igor Podgorny is a freelance photographer from Moscow, though he educated as a geologist and, besides, he works as the efficient energy project manager of Greenpeace in Moscow. He counts on an incredible bank of images available at platforms like Shutterstock or Flickr, many of them taken in natural environments. This surprising photograph shows the effect of fire on an electric post that is still hanging from the wiring, suspended over a field completely devastated by the fire. It is hard to believe that this is not a set up.

 

 

 

Ilya Pitalev

 

 

 

The famous idiom “an image worths more than a thousand words” perfectly fits with this photograph by Ilya Pitalev. This photojournalist from Moscow focused his recent work on portraying the social everyday life of North Korea, in a place where many times reality overpasses fiction. This image was taken during one of the military parades that the Government of Kim Jong-un periodically organises.

 

 

 

ChazDoge

 

 

 

The image enclosed in millions of water drops of an aeroplane while landing is delicate and beautiful. Colours create a hard contrast that outlines the aircraft silhouette and make it even more visible. The author of this image hides behind the mysterious name of Chaz Doge. Among the explanations that circulate on the net regarding this photograph, many people comment the chemical effect of acid rain to achieve this resu

 

 

 

Hotel Sun Cruise Resort & Yacht, Jeongdongjin.

 

 

 

Finally, we bring this image that seems the scene of a sinking where a transatlantic had gotten stranded after water being emptied. But nothing further from reality. It is indeed a luxury hotel located in Jeongdongjin, in South Korea, that offers vertiginous sights of the cliff, though of a dubious aesthetic choice.

 


ART MADRID’ 26: 21 YEARS OF CONTEMPORARY ART


Discover all the information about the artists and galleries participating in the 21st edition of Art Madrid. The catalog features a curated selection of the works presented in this edition, along with the most relevant details of the event, making it an essential tool for engaging with the fair’s key figures and exploring the defining elements of today’s art scene.


In 2026, Art Madrid celebrates its 21st edition, further establishing itself as a leading event within Spain’s cultural sector. From March 4 to 8, the Galería de Cristal of the Palacio de Cibeles will once again become a meeting point for galleries, collectors, artists, and contemporary art enthusiasts.


Over the past twenty-one years, the fair has evolved into a dynamic and ever-expanding platform, fostering diversity in artistic languages, techniques, and discourses. In this edition, the Galleries Program brings together around 35 exhibitors from more than seven countries, offering a representative overview of the most recent developments in contemporary creation.


The Art Madrid ’26 catalog serves as a key publication for discovering the work of this edition’s galleries and artists —marked by experimentation and a plurality of perspectives— while also documenting the conceptual axes that shape the fair. As part of the Parallel Program, INHABITING THE EPHEMERAL: A Reflection on the “Species” of Spaces proposes a reflection on space, relationships, and shared experience, expanding the understanding of the fair beyond its commercial dimension and highlighting its cultural and experiential significance.


In addition, the catalog presents the initiatives that complete the program, such as the Open Booth dedicated to emerging creation, the Nebrija Space in collaboration with Nebrija University, the Performance Series “Open Infinite. What the Body Remembers,” the One Shot Collectors Program, and the Patronage Program, reaffirming the fair’s commitment to supporting, mediating, and accompanying contemporary art at every stage.

We invite you to discover more about Art Madrid ’26 through the catalog of its 21st edition — a publication that, beyond serving as documentary memory, becomes a cartography of the present artistic moment and an open door to new ways of inhabiting contemporary art.