For its next edition of 2019, Art Madrid bets on the creative talent of Madrid-born artist Rubén Martín de Lucas, who will present an exclusive issue of his "Repúblicas mínimas" and will have a very active participation in the fair.

With the choice of the guest artist, Art Madrid wants to support authors in an initial or intermediate career that stand out for their committed character, their constant search for new expressive languages, the continuity in their artistic practice and the development of transnational projects that explore new discourses in contemporary art. It is a firm commitment to the creative talent that the fair will translate in a greater presence of the artist, by calling to participatory actions that involve the public with the processes of artistic production.

Rubén Martín de Lucas, "Repúblicas mínimas", nº 5

Since the beginning of his solo career, Rubén Martín de Lucas has developed a work focused on the relationship of the individual with the environment and his intervention on the territory. The discursive load of the work of this multidisciplinary artist adopts numerous forms and proposals, from painting to photography, although in recent times his projects tend to video creation. With an expressive language that starts from the exploration of the landscape and the analysis of the footprint of humankind in nature, Rubén proposes a critical approach to certain concepts that result in artificial delimitations, barriers and separations which the landscape does not understand. As he explains: "I speak of borders, of the strange concept of property of the land, of overpopulation, of industrial agriculture, of the anthropisation of the landscape. Understanding my work takes time and a small effort on the part of the viewer." To these ideas responds his most ambitious project "Stupid borders", of which "Repúblicas mínimas" is one of his lines of work: a process of creation permanently open that will have in Art Madrid a new unpublished piece.

Rubén Martín de Lucas, "Repúblicas mínimas", nº 11

From Art Madrid we want to value the constant evolution, the expressive search and the discursive commitment of Rubén's work. He is an indefatigable artist who does not understand obstacles, and risks in his works with innovative proposals. In addition, he has a mature and transcendent artistic discourse, resulting in a coherent and very promising career.

Rubén Martín de Lucas graduated in Civil Engineering in 2002, but before finishing his studies he began to excel in his artistic side by co-founding the Boa Mistura group, a collective that stands out mainly for its urban art interventions in Brazil, South Africa, Germany, Mexico or Norway. In 2015 he decided to start his solo career with a discourse focused on the reflection on the intervention of mankind in the environment; a thematic line from which several projects have already emerged and which have allowed Rubén to participate in numerous exhibitions inside and outside Spain.

If visual arts arouse emotions in the viewer, and also gastronomy, at its finest, can cause a similar effect, the relationship between both "disciplines" is more than demonstrated.

Cheese is a fundamental piece in gastronomy, its diversity allows it to be part of gastronomy different moments, from starters to desserts, and that is why Art Madrid includes it in this year’s edition of the Fair from an ambitious place. Cheese is given this way a closest view to the creation of a work of art, both from the point of view of the time spent in its execution process and the almost personalized study dedicated to each piece during its elaboration.

Like a plastic artist, the Cheese Master Affineur executes a series of actions making each piece an exclusive and individualized element. This is what Madrid cheese factory QAVA de Quesos and its Master Afinador José Luis Martín achieve.

QAVA & MARTÍN AFINADOR is a new store concept: a unique space designed to taste, learn, promote and buy cheese in Madrid, in the heart of Retiro district."

José Luis Martín is a key piece in the QAVA cheese factory. He has been working in the cheese world for more than 30 years, providing training throughout the world, visiting cheese shops, consulting and advising on the design and implementation of one of the most emblematic cheese shops in Spain. The fact of knowing the producers personally, and even advising them on the manufacture and design of their products, allows him to select specific batches, at different stages of maturation, to complete the cheese ripening and then convert each piece into a unique product, different and with its own distinct character, the signature of the Cheese Master.

In the profile of the Master Martín Afinador experience and pure knowledge merge. Martín Afinador is an advisor and consultant for artisanal cheese factories and product design, and for the best-specialised stores in the country, director of Gourmetquesos, director and coordinator of the Championship of the Best Cheeses in Spain during nine editions, technical director and jury in national and international cheese competitions and tastings, collaborator of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Academy of Spanish Gastronomy, director and coordinator of the cheese section of the Repsol Guide to the Best Foods in Spain and trainer for hospitality schools and food centres teaching, among other activities.

Cheese ripening is a complex process that requires time and dedication, in addition to a developed use of the senses. The Master Cheese Tuner, as a specialist in the field, works in all cheese stages (varied and complex), controls all stages of raw material transformation, supervises the evolution and development of cheeses according to the characteristics of each one of them, verifies the quality and the state when the cheeses arrive at their cellars, checks their care and conservation, and; finally, he controls its packaging and the type of wrapping suitable for its best preservation.

In Qava de Quesos they have two Cheese Refining Cellars. In these "tuning caves" or refrigerated chambers designed in constant conditions of temperature, humidity and ventilation, "we take great care of the cheeses until they reach their optimum point of consumption". The work of refining involves placing the cheeses on wooden shelves, turning them over daily and/or washing them frequently, brushing them periodically, as well as other regular handlings.

Among the services offered by Qava de Quesos, we can find specific courses and workshops, events for groups and companies, and advice on shop design and ripening rooms.