Art Madrid'25 – 10 CREATION PROJECTS FOR THE SALA DE ARTE JOVEN

El Banquete, "El color blanco", 2017.

 

 

The process to select the ten winner projects of the 28th Edition of Circuitos de Artes Plásticas started in February 2017. Since 28 years ago, the Regional Government of Madrid organises this call for projects to fund the making of creative proposals by authors younger than 35 years. In addition to contribute to the production of the work, the award includes the exhibition of the pieces in the Sala de Arte Joven of Madrid.

 

 

 

 

Sala de Arte Joven.

 

 

 

 

This exhibition space has consolidated as a place of reference to contemporary art and artistic creation. On the 15th of November, the opening will finally show the work of these creators, which since their selection didn’t take a breath on work. The artists selected are: Miguel Sánchez Bastida, Antonio Menchén Iglesias, Javier Velázquez Cabrero, Covadonga Moya Álvarez-Buylla, Rafael Munárriz Gimeno, Julia Varela Arribas, Marian Garrido Herrojo, Víctor Santamarina Castaño, José Jurado Gómez y the collective El Banquete (compounded by Alejandría Cinque, Raquel G. Ibáñez y Marta van Tartwijk).

 

 

 

 

Coco Moya, "Vera Icon" and "Copia sin original", 2017. 

 

 

 

 

The selection process, ended up in July, was made by Antonio J. Sánchez Luengo, general under-director of Fine Arts; Javier Martín-Jiménez, Art Advisor of the Regional Government of Madrid; Manuel Segade, director of CA2M Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo; Sabrina Amrani, as a representative of the galleries sector; Patricia Villanueva, as a representative of the cultural management realm, and Isidro López Aparicio, an artist.

 

 

 

 

Julia Varela "Speech, speed, speechless, speeding, speedy, speedometer, speedboat, speed, skating, speed or nullum crimen, nulla poena sine praevia lege", 2012–2016.

 

 

 

 

Carlos Delgado Mayordomo was the curator of the showing, who will also lead the guided tours organised around the exhibition, starting on Wednesday 22nd. With these tours, the curator will enter more in-depth into the underlying subject of the exhibition, focused on art as a language of social critics in several aspects of human relationships, from power to gender issues.

 

 

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.